Ph and Mashing???

Ok,  I have contacted my local water company and my Ph is 7.2 with an alkalinity of 99.  So what affects will this have on my mash if any?

You must down pH to 5.2-5.6 dependence a sort of beer. Minimum must be for wheat beers

Keep in mind that adding grain to your water will lower the Ph of the water - so what becomes most important is your mash Ph.

You can buy test strips from your local homebrew store if you want to test the water during brewing.

Cheers!
Brad

After reading several positive reviews, I ordered and brewed this past weekend using Five Star's newer product called 5.2 pH stabilizer.  It comes in packaging similar to pbw and is simplicity itself. I added 1 Tbs to my grain at mash in and didn't worry about a thing.  At the end of the sparge I checked the pH with my colorphast strips and it looked like it was right at 5.3.  There are other more detailed reviews using pH meters and controls if you google it.  

At this point, I'm happy with the product and for $13 a package which will be good for about 50 5 gallon batches, I think its worth it.

I have heard a lot of good things about the "5.2 PH stabilizer"  too - though I have not tried it myself yet.

Has anyone out there given it a try?

Cheers!
Brad

The stuff is wonderful.  I don't possess the test equipment  I want (or need) yet...only test strips.  
Of the last 5 batches, the pH was no greater than 5.5.  

Yes, it varied a little with the different styles, but there is a degree of consistancy.

I am skeptical on new stuff, so I checked it three times with two different (brand name) strips.  5.5 average!!

The local supplier says they are getting good reviews.  The reason I bought the stuff to begin with is that a "respectable" brewer I know uses it...and he wins a lot of competitions.  If it's good enough for John, it is good enough for me!    ;D

So do you need to first lower the ph to an acceptable level then add the stabilizer? OR Does the stabilizer actually lower the ph and keep it at acceptable levels?

Thanks for the input guys. I just found this site and I think it's great.

Mitch,

If your using a PH stabilizer as mentioned above, no you don't need to adjust the water before hand.  If not then yes yo may need to.  The PH scale goes from 0-14 with 7 being nuetral.  The steps are exponential meaning that 6.0 is ten times more acidic than 7.0 and 5.0 is 100 times more acidic than 7.0.  I read somewhere than anything below 7.5 is acceptable for brewing with no PH adjustment.  The PH of my local water supply is said to be 7.1, I've never tested the actual PH or the mash PH but I've never had an issue with my beer so I don't worry about it.

I have heard a lot of good things about the "5.2 PH stabilizer"  too - though I have not tried it myself yet.

Has anyone out there given it a try?

Cheers!
Brad

Click to expand...

Have tried it seems to lower the Ph, but there is something I find with the taste that I not been able to discripe. I can tell which brews I used it in and which brews I have not. I prefer not to use it if I don't have to.

I'm not sure what is best. Every mash I've done ends up at 5 to 5.2 naturaly. I just use strips from the LHBS. I used to test seveal times, now I take a quick check at the end of the Sparge. There isn't much you can do earlier in the mash if the ph is off, is there??

My understanding of 5.2 Stabilizer is that it is a mixture of chemicals that have a lot of buffering capacity, which I think means it can "absorb" the change in pH that comes from the various inputs (water, minerals, grist).  By design, a single product cannot predict every possible mash, so whether it would work for you may depend on your water, and the style beers you typically brew.  But if your mash gets to ~5.2 pH, the stabilizer will help keep it there. 

The desired pH range given for a mash is typically from 5.2 to 5.7 (or 5.5).  The low end favors the alpha amylase and the high end favors the beta amylase, so one could use the pH to help reach the style desired.  At the very least, one could try to make the pH NOT counter act the goal.  If the goal is a big wee heavy or RIS, and the mash temp is 156F to favor the amylase and make more dextrins, then the mash pH goal should be 5.5 or 5.6, and not 5.2 or lower which favors beta. 

The other consideration with mash chemicals is whether your local water supplies the calcium the yeast needs, and the relative balance of the other minerals to suit the styles you wish to brew.  My local water has only 10 ppm calcium, so I always add some to reach >50 ppm, the recommended minimum for yeast performance.  Since I've started using Palmer's water sheet, I've hit 5.25 to 5.35 mash pH every time. 

You can do a bunch earlier in the mash.  First off you can project what the mash pH will be using something like Palmer's Residual Alkalinity spreadsheet.  That would allow you to anticipate what water adjustments need to be made to get the pH of the mash in the right range.  You could also adjust the mash pH using acids.

Some other things that have come up in this thread...

The pH of your brewing water is nearly inconsequential.  It's just not enough information to go off of.

Generally you want your mash pH to come in around 5.2-5.6 no matter what type of beer you're brewing.  I'm sure there are exceptions, but generally this is where you want it to be.

Adjusting your water using something like Palmer's spreadsheet also allows you to adjust the chloride to sulfate ratio.  This allows you to accentuate malt or hops depending on what beer you're brewing.

Pirate Point Brewer said:

I'm not sure what is best. Every mash I've done ends up at 5 to 5.2 naturaly. I just use strips from the LHBS. I used to test seveal times, now I take a quick check at the end of the Sparge. There isn't much you can do earlier in the mash if the ph is off, is there??

Click to expand...