bigken462
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2013
- Messages
- 754
- Reaction score
- 172
For the past couple of years, I never gave a thought about mash pH, or any other water chemistry for that matter. My idea was to learn the basics of what I could control with my limited experience level from batch to batch and improve on the things that didn't go well on the next back and so forth.
So far, I've been happy with nearly every batch I've made using water straight out of the garden hose! OMG, yes I said it, even topped off with the same tap water. lol
So now having a few years of brewing under my belt, I've been giving some thought about what the role mash ph plays in my brewing method. My technique has been to sparge till I get my volume or hit 1.010 SG. Whatever the ph of the runnings that the grains gives me is what I go with.
After a lil reading on this forum, I've decided to purchase me a pocket pH meter. So this morning I chose the Milwaukee pH56 and a buffer kit off of Amazon. From my reading last night, it first seemed this was a great lil meter. But now, after reading further into the threads, it seems maybe my selection was not thought out as careful as it should have been. Either way, it's purchased and is in a UPS van somewhere so no use in fretting over it now.
It didn't take long after reading the stickies above that I remembered that going to the dentist was not that bad of a deal after all. I think I will volunteer for a root canal this week as that seems less painful than learning the water chemistry related to brewing. Three days ago when I first looked at this forum, taking a simple pH reading in the mashtun didn't seem that damn complicated. lol
So I think my plan for now is to do nothing but spend a few months collecting data from my next 6-8 batches and reading the forums. Once I learn the mechanics of calibrating, taking the samples along with the other SG readings during the brew day, I'll start working on what to do if those readings fall out of line with what the recipe or style calls for. Just to be honest, I wished I would have never bothered deciding to worry with it, but if I want to fully understand the effects of my water and how it imparts the flavors of my beer, then I may as well jump into it. I think initially I understood the purpose of taking a pH reading was to make sure the sugar conversions was complete and that was my initial purpose of buying the pH meter. After reading a few hours in this section of the forum, I realized quickly that it was much, much more complicated than taking a sample and calling it done.
So it a nut shell, what I need help with is simply when during my brew day to take these measurements.
Does anyone have a template I could use to do nothing more than record my data for a while till I get a better understanding of what I need to be doing - if anything to my brewing process.
In the meantime, I've asked a co-worker of mine who also happens to also work at the our local water department purifying the very water we use, if he could obtain this years water data so that I can plug those numbers in Brunwater.
Thanks,
Ken
So far, I've been happy with nearly every batch I've made using water straight out of the garden hose! OMG, yes I said it, even topped off with the same tap water. lol
So now having a few years of brewing under my belt, I've been giving some thought about what the role mash ph plays in my brewing method. My technique has been to sparge till I get my volume or hit 1.010 SG. Whatever the ph of the runnings that the grains gives me is what I go with.
After a lil reading on this forum, I've decided to purchase me a pocket pH meter. So this morning I chose the Milwaukee pH56 and a buffer kit off of Amazon. From my reading last night, it first seemed this was a great lil meter. But now, after reading further into the threads, it seems maybe my selection was not thought out as careful as it should have been. Either way, it's purchased and is in a UPS van somewhere so no use in fretting over it now.
It didn't take long after reading the stickies above that I remembered that going to the dentist was not that bad of a deal after all. I think I will volunteer for a root canal this week as that seems less painful than learning the water chemistry related to brewing. Three days ago when I first looked at this forum, taking a simple pH reading in the mashtun didn't seem that damn complicated. lol
So I think my plan for now is to do nothing but spend a few months collecting data from my next 6-8 batches and reading the forums. Once I learn the mechanics of calibrating, taking the samples along with the other SG readings during the brew day, I'll start working on what to do if those readings fall out of line with what the recipe or style calls for. Just to be honest, I wished I would have never bothered deciding to worry with it, but if I want to fully understand the effects of my water and how it imparts the flavors of my beer, then I may as well jump into it. I think initially I understood the purpose of taking a pH reading was to make sure the sugar conversions was complete and that was my initial purpose of buying the pH meter. After reading a few hours in this section of the forum, I realized quickly that it was much, much more complicated than taking a sample and calling it done.
So it a nut shell, what I need help with is simply when during my brew day to take these measurements.
Does anyone have a template I could use to do nothing more than record my data for a while till I get a better understanding of what I need to be doing - if anything to my brewing process.
In the meantime, I've asked a co-worker of mine who also happens to also work at the our local water department purifying the very water we use, if he could obtain this years water data so that I can plug those numbers in Brunwater.
Thanks,
Ken