Water pH level

[davidgrace]

I have read that most malts work best at a water pH level of 5.2. The water in my area is between 6.5 and 9.5. What is a good and simple way to reduce to 5.2 and is it worth bothering?

 

[Sadfield]

It's actually the mash pH that needs adjusting if it isn't near 5.2 pH. It's important that this is the case for numerous reasons. There is a number of ways to approach this.

Water treatment is one and this thread is a great place to start.

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/beginners-guide-to-water-treatment.64822/

Another option is, adding food grade acid, acidulated malt or calcium directly to the mash to lower the pH, if required.

The other, less practical method to the homebrewer, is to brew beers that suit your water, by the selective use of darker malts. Obviously this restricts the styles of beers you can brew.

 

[steve denholm]

the malts them selves will reduce the PH of your water depending on you carbonate levels in you water, theres a very good post on the water yeast hops forum explaining ways to get the desired mash ph

 

[Argentum]

Actually what you must have heard is that wort pH allows for the best compromise of conditions conducive to healthy Alpha and Beta Amylase enzyme activity when a cooled wort sample reads between 5.2 and 5.6 pH. That is truly a far cry from water pH. Since water has little to no buffering capacity (wherein buffering is defined as the ability to resist change in pH) it's initial pH is all but irrelevant when it is faced with the (by comparison) massive buffering that the wort inherits from malts/grains (unless perhaps you have untreated source water that is oddly in the 9's or above with regard to its pH).

In far and away most cases whatever the initial pH of the untreated water is, as soon as the grist is doughed into it, it the developing wort takes on the pH inherent within the grist.

 

[davidgrace]

Thanks for this. So would you say that I don't really need to fuss about the water itself?

 

[steve denholm]

My beers improved when I started using AMS acid to reduce the hardeness of my water
Strange Steve's post is well worth a read though:

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/beginners-guide-to-water-treatment.64822/

 

[Argentum]

Thanks for this. So would you say that I don't really need to fuss about the water itself?

Not unless it brings with it some unwanted mineralization level or a bunch of alkalinity (a term which is not very closely related to pH).

For an example of how weakly pH and alkalinity are associated (if they are at all), my well water has 436 ppm of alkalinity (as CaCO3) but its pH consistently measures 7.2.

But some grists are basic with respect to a midrange mash pH target of 5.4, and some are neutral, and some acidic by the same measure. And the combination of water and grist must be guided to 5.2-5.6 pH during the mash.

 

[davidgrace]

Thanks again.