What should be my first mash?

[Aabrewedxxxx]

I have 175 bottles priming for New Years. And when we hit the halfway mark I'm going to start my first mash.

My PH is roughly 8.5 So unless I add salts I'll need to make a dark beer. What would you guys suggest I make?

 

[david_42]

Make a stout now, so you'll have it ready. Bad idea to wait until you're down to a 3-4 cases.

 

[the_bird]

If it's a big Russian Imperial Stout, a little bit of aging will do it some good.

 

[chillHayze]

A pale ale is the easiest to make due to a smaller, more manageable grain bill.

 

[the_bird]

Oh yeah, it's your first mash.

I concur on the pale ale idea; nice, clean simple beer to start with. Maybe some Cacsades, some Amarilo...

 

[ajf]

A stout is almost as easy as a pale ale, and you don't have to worry about haze.
Also, as you mentioned, the darker malts will help with your water pH.

If the pH is caused by carbonates, you could try boiling it before brewing, and much of the carbonates will precipitate out, and some pH strips should be able to verify the results for very little cost.

-a.

 

[jcarson83]

IPA:rockin: , That was my first mash and I haven't been able to get enough bitter since. Gotta love the hops. And who cares about PH. Seriously its just homebrew.

 

[Orfy]

Hob Goblin.

 

[texasgeorge]

I have a lot of bicarbonate in my water supply... about a teaspoon and a half of lactic acid in the strike water and another teaspoon and a half in my sparge water and I'm right on the money for my mash pH. The stuff's cheap too... $3.99 for a 4oz bottle at my LHBS that will last me for a while. Then you can say "to hell!" with style.

 

[Aabrewedxxxx]

To balance out the PH how about I put in some fresh lemon juice in the mash? Or even orange juice?

 

[ajf]

Do you like lemon or orange flavored beer?
How do you know how much juice to add to bring the pH into an acceptable range?
Have you tried contacting your water supplier for suggestions. I did this once (before the Internet existed), and got some excellent information from one of their chemists, once she realized that I had valid reasons for wanting to change the water profile.

-a.