Adjusting pH

I would appreciate any advice on adjusting pH UPWARD. I use test strips that consistently register on the lowest end of the spectrum. I've sent my water out for testing and it came back with a recommendation to add gypsum and pH stabilizer. St. Thomas, St. Croix, s'ain't happenin'! I really don't want to spend the money on a test kit.

So, your local water is acidic?  Could you cut it with distilled/spring/RO from the store to reduce acidity?

A small amount of calcium bicarbonate or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) will do the trick.

The starting pH of water isn't going to make a lot of difference, it's the buffering capability measured as Residual Alkalinity that determines wort pH.

One question I have is how you're measuring the mash pH? Are you taking a sample and cooling to room temperature before taking the reading? Dipping a strip directly into the mash or measuring hot will always show a lower pH. The mash readings need to be at room temperature and about 10 minutes into the mash.

I found my 2012 Ward Labs H2O report. Said my pH was 8.1. I think I'm going to have them run another test from a sample I get from hose water run through a carbon filter. When I first started brewing, I was using exclusively RO. That's when I discovered why my hop additions were ineffective. There were no minerals in the water to cling to. I can still brew better beer than you can buy at a store, but there's always a question whether it can be even better. I don't mean that to sound like I'm bragging in any way. Brewing your own beer is simply a hobby that has already provided fantastic results which I know can be improved. Know what I mean?

Don't rely solely on Wards for your pH.  I had a question for Ray a while back about the diff between my meter and his results.  He said O2 exposure will skew his results, whether its in the headspace of the sample when you ship it or from your sample sitting open at the lab.  He says trust your meter on brewday.

Well, the money can probably be better spent on a meter instead ... plus a few more dollars. I should also get Palmer's book on water. If, for example, I did start with a pH of 8.1, does the mash process lower the pH, raise it, or stay the same? I should know that.

depends on your grist + mineral additions.    If you use one of the spreadsheets to calculate your mash pH you will see how much you need to adjust after these are factored in.  I been doing that lately with acidulated malt, count, in general, depending of course, on about a .1 pH drop for each 1% of you grain bill.  I only use my base water pH to sparge adjust with phosphoric.

I have to tout my new meter...Hach Pocket Pro +.  stable readings, very quickly.  Shows you an icon onscreen when calibration needed.  Lots of other neat features.  Retired: pH56 and half a dozen replacement probes.

KernelCrush said:

He says trust your meter on brewday.

Click to expand...

I'd agree with that.  In Charlotte, they doctor the water with "pipe saver" to raise the pH/reduce acidity going thru the pipes.  I've have had pH of 8.3 to 9.0, and it varies by season quite a bit.  But that pH additive is easily wiped out by a drop of phosphoric acid b/c  it's not got much buffering ability itself. 

The Ward report is better for the mineral content, which should not change much. 

Again, the starting pH of the water has nothing to do with buffering the mash. Water will have a standing pH of 8.8 to 6.4, but that just represents a balance of what's in it. Distilled water that's exposed to oxygen will fall to pH 5.5, but the mash pH it creates won't be any different before or after that exposure.

If the spreadsheet being discussed is Bru'n Water, the starting water pH is not a factor in the mash pH number it gives.

I track strike and source water pH in my brewing simply as a way to monitor my filtration for chlorine.

I should have started my post with the words "It will lower it, but how much it will lower it depends on your grist + mineral additions.