Where should my Water PH Be

[jzuidema]

My water has a PH of around 8.8.

I have some Phosphoric acid that I want to add and would like to know what I should bring the water down to.

The local brew shop told me to bring it down to around 5.4.

Any suggestions would be great.

JimZ

 

[jdoiv]

The water pH itself doesn't matter as much as the residual alkalinity (RA). I suggest getting a copy of your water utilities water quality report and then going over to www.howtobrew.com. There is a nice section on water quality and RA with nomographs that will help you decide what styles work best with your water and what treatments you can do to improve your water for a specific style.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I just use Five star 5.2 pH stabilizer and brew.

 

[jzuidema]

My water report has the Alkalinity at 40. Reason I ask is because last batch had a mash PH at 6.0. I was making a Pilsen.

 

[jdoiv]

A pilsen uses very lightly malted grain and isn't very acidic to drop the pH very easily without some help. Pilsen water (from the river Pilsen) was very soft (read low alkalinity) and could be changed easily by letting the mash undergo a lengthy acid rest (121*F). This acidified the mash such that the pH was in the range of 4.8-5.2.

Your water is harder than Pilsen water and would need some help in getting it to drop to within the desired range. You can do this one of two ways.

One, change the water chemistry by mineral additions/subtractions or use the 5.2pH buffer Gila mentions. Two, use some acidulated malt in your grist.

I recommend reading this chapter in how to brew.

Note there is a difference between alkalinity and residual alkalinity. It is the latter that is most important.

 

[bearymore]

Is there a situation where you'd want to use both the 5.2pH buffer and some minerals or is it just pH that matters? Could you, for example, add calcium but use the pH buffer to assure your pH stays in the right range?

 

[WBC]

There are 2 things you need.

1.) PH strips: Get them at your LHBS. You check the mash liquid only 5 minutes after you dough in. If it's over 6 then add the Star chemicals 5.2 stabilizer and stir well.

2.) 5 Star Chemicals 5.2 PH stabilizer. Available at your LHBS.


PH Ref: http://www.indigo.com/test-strips/gph-test-strips/ph-paper-5-9.html
http://www.h2okits.com/site/1286521/product/PurTest FP-2

Sources Ref: www.morebeer.com www.midwestsupplies.com www.austinhomebrew.com www.williamsbrewing.com www.northernbrewer.com

 

[jdoiv]

Is there a situation where you'd want to use both the 5.2pH buffer and some minerals or is it just pH that matters? Could you, for example, add calcium but use the pH buffer to assure your pH stays in the right range?

That depends on your water. If you were wanting to add gypsum to increase hop bitterness, ala Burton-on-Trent, and your water was moderately hard; yes, you could use both Gypsum and 5.2pH.

But it would be for adding Ca as a flavor ion, not for adjusting the mash. The 5.2pH buffer takes care of the mash. Again, the only times pH matters is in the Mash, the sparge runnings (if fly sparging) or the kettle (style dependent).

Really, what you need to worry about when treating water for the mash is RA. You can pay attention to flavor ions as well, but that won't really affect the mash as much as the RA.

Even the brewers of old learned that treating there water to compensate for the grist was the real trick. That all revolves around the RA, not the pH or the flavor ions (though they play a small role in the flavor of the beer, not the mash efficiency).

 

[WBC]

The water pH itself doesn't matter as much as the residual alkalinity (RA). I suggest getting a copy of your water utilities water quality report and then going over to www.howtobrew.com. There is a nice section on water quality and RA with nomographs that will help you decide what styles work best with your water and what treatments you can do to improve your water for a specific style.

I know little about treating water but need to learn about it to be more on top of my brewing. I notice you seem to know quite a bit about this subject so I need to know where I can read about treating the water for different styles of beer in detail. You must be in the knowledge of water chemistry. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[jdoiv]

Water chemistry is tricky and something I am always trying to learn about. Most of my info I've picked up from various sources. One of my club members wrote this article on water chemistry that explains a lot of things. I however, do not consider myself an expert. In fact some of the calculations tend to make my head hurt.

 

[Got Trub?]

Ray Daniels book also has usefull information about water including some of the formulas for calculating your mash pH based on your water profile. I use this to confirm I'll be in range for a given style. When brewing light lagers I use the 5.2 buffer but I only need about 1/4 of the recommended amount. Another strategy is to dilute your water with distilled or RO water. I'm planning on doing this with a Czech Pils in the near future.

GT