Mash PH and corrections

[Battleaxe]

Ive been reading again!

I find after every run say 4/5 batches i want to change things and this time i've been reading up on mash PH from what i've found i should aim for a ph of 5.2 and test with wort cooled to 20c...

Are we talking a few drops of wort? i can see it taking a while to cool if not?

When should i correct?

And has anyone had any experience of this: http://www.brewuk.co.uk/5star5-2.html

any other advise is appreciated as always!

 

[Simonh82]

A few drops is fine for testing.

To make water adjustments you need to have at least a basic understanding of your water composition. You can get this from a local water report from your water company to get a rough idea, or a personalised water report which is available from Brewuk.co.uk.

You can then adjust the mash pH with acid and mineral additions calculated with a water calculator like Bru N Water, Brewers Friend, or Beer Smith.

Don't use 5.2! It is potentially really bad for your beer and can add large quantities of unnecessary minerals in an attempt to lock the mash pH at 5.2. A one size fits all approach doesn't work.

 

[Battleaxe]

A few drops is fine for testing.

To make water adjustments you need to have at least a basic understanding of your water composition. You can get this from a local water report from your water company to get a rough idea, or a personalised water report which is available from Brewuk.co.uk.

You can then adjust the mash pH with acid and mineral additions calculated with a water calculator like Bru N Water, Brewers Friend, or Beer Smith.

Don't use 5.2! It is potentially really bad for your beer and can add large quantities of unnecessary minerals in an attempt to lock the mash pH at 5.2. A one size fits all approach doesn't work.

Woah! just looked through the brewers friend calculator and it looks very involved...

do these work even if your just trying to correct your waters ph?

 

[Simonh82]

Your water pH is not that relevant. You are trying to achieve a mash pH of 5.2 to 5.5 not a water pH. This is influenced mostly by the alkalinity of the water (how much carbonate is present) which will resist the acidifying affects of darker malts and minerals like calcium sulphate. Alkalinity is normally give as a figure of ppm CaCO3.

If you have very hard water with high alkalinity you need more acid to shift the pH into the desired range. The acid can either come in the form of dark malts like crystal or roasted malts or acids like lactic or phosphoric acids or CRS which is a commercial mixture of sulphuric and hydrochloric acids. Mineral additions can also affect the mash pH one way or another.

Before these techniques were understood, using roasted grains was the only way of adjusting the pH. Although they didn't know that was what they were doing. This is why beers brewed in areas with hard water tended to be darker (London Porter or Dublin Stout). They just knew that dark beers tasted better with their water.

A basic question is whether you have hard or soft water? Soft water is easier to work with as it has low mineral content and you can add minerals to get to where you want. Hard water may need acid to get your mash pH in the right zone particular if you are brewing pale beers.

The 5.2 stabiliser works by adding minerals that buffer the water at 5.2 but you may need to use lots and the minerals aren't necessarily ones which benefit the flavour of beer. I've not used it myself but I understand it can leave a salty taste.

 

[Battleaxe]

I have hard water where I am overall hardeness on my water report says calcium is 110 mg/l

This explains why I had good extraction with my dark ruby ale and why I've had 68 - 72% efficiency with lighter ales