Water Ph question for AG brewing?

[jmoore77]

I can't find RO water locally and I'm waiting on a float valve to get my 5 stage RO filter running again. So with that said I'm planning to brew this weekend using straight Primo filtered water and they claim to have a Ph from 6.3-7 with an avg of 6.6. Now I know that's a full point higher than what's recommended but how much can I really expect that to effect my mash efficiency. Would changing my mash temp help in anyway to counteract the higher Ph or am I just making this a lot harder than it needs to be?

Cheers
Jason

 

[2bluewagons]

I think you are confusing the recommended pH range for a mash with that for water.

There is no pH range for brewing WATER, just a range for your mash. When you add your grain to that filtered water, chances are the combination will sink that pH right where it needs to be. Different grains can affect the pH to different degrees (in general, darker grains will pull the pH lower) and although it is a great idea to monitor your mash pH, it is not required in order to come out with a good mash.

Now if your water's pH was higher than 7, that would indicate that its alkalinity might also be high, which would reduce the degree to which the pH would be pulled down when adding the grain to the water. Situations like that are what additives such as the 5.2 stabilizer are made for.

Maybe brush up with How To Brew on water chemistry to learn about the relationship between pH, alkalinity, and mash efficiency.

Or alternatively, just throw some grain in that water and go for it. :rockin:

 

[Buna_Bere]

There is no simple answer. I'd recommend the EZ Water spreadsheet as a good starting point, you'll need to know the mineral content of the water. The brewing water chemistry primer sticky in the Brewing Science forum here on HBT is a great resource. For my water adjustments I like to add 5 grams calcium chloride and 3 oz of acid malt to bring my mash pH to a good range with my Poland Springs water when making a pale ale, but your water and your grain bill wil most likely need a different adjustment.

Just wanted to add, many good beers are made without any water adjustments at all, it's just a piece in the puzzle to making excellent beer.

 

[jmoore77]

Or alternatively, just throw some grain in that water and go for it. :rockin:

Rock ON...Thanks guys! I was told that my starting water needed to be 5.5 so I guess he was misinformed or misunderstood as well. I'll just give it a go with my Primo water and see what happens...I'll post my efficiency back here when I'm done brewing. I'm trying not to make this overly complicated I just love making great tasting beer!!!

Cheers
Jason

 

[InLimbo]

I think you are confusing the recommended pH range for a mash with that for water.

There is no pH range for brewing WATER, just a range for your mash. When you add your grain to that filtered water, chances are the combination will sink that pH right where it needs to be. Different grains can affect the pH to different degrees (in general, darker grains will pull the pH lower) and although it is a great idea to monitor your mash pH, it is not required in order to come out with a good mash.

Now if your water's pH was higher than 7, that would indicate that its alkalinity might also be high, which would reduce the degree to which the pH would be pulled down when adding the grain to the water. Situations like that are what additives such as the 5.2 stabilizer are made for.

Maybe brush up with How To Brew on water chemistry to learn about the relationship between pH, alkalinity, and mash efficiency.

Or alternatively, just throw some grain in that water and go for it. :rockin:

You raise some valid points, but you guys both either are overlooking or are failing to take into consideration sparging. Yes, mashing lowers pH. But when you sparge, you are theoretically hitting the grains with whatever pH your sparge water is, especially towards the end of the sparge where the gravity is lower. While sparge pH shouldn't effect efficiency, if too high you run a greater risk of extracting unwanted flavor compounds (tannins for example) from the grains. Lower efficiency can be adjusted with a lb or two of DME. You can't un-extract tannins from your wort.

OP, what kind of beer are you brewing? If you're brewing a lager, kölsch or other clean fermenting beer for a competetion--and you're anal--you might want to consider adjusting your sparge water pH. Also I'd be hesitant about tannin extraction from a recipe featuring lots of dark grains. If you're brewing a pale ale, IPA etc.. that you can hide off flavors in, then don't worry about it. Personally I wouldn't worry about it. But if you do end up with tannin extraction, then at least you know one of the places it could have come from.

 

[jmoore77]

I'm doing a pumpkin ale this time going for OG of 1.089 anf FG of 1.023 8.65% ABV...5 Gallon batch with pumpkin puree, various spices, 18.5 lbs. of grain, and magnum, saaz hops. I've been batch sparging lately with 172 deg water pouring off the wort after an hour.

Thanks

 

[Denny]

I'm doing a pumpkin ale this time going for OG of 1.089 anf FG of 1.023 8.65% ABV...5 Gallon batch with pumpkin puree, various spices, 18.5 lbs. of grain, and magnum, saaz hops. I've been batch sparging lately with 172 deg water pouring off the wort after an hour.

Thanks

If you're batch sparging, sparge pH is not much of a worry. Since you add all the sparge water at once you're not continually diluting the buffering power of the grain like you would in a fly sparge.

 

[tgmartin000]

+1 to ez water. As long as your water doesn't have too much alkalinity, you should be ok.