I adjusted with phosphoric acid, and was a little to eager about how much I used, my strike water hit about 4.4 as opposed to my usual 5.2. is that too low? what are the projected effects?
Scott.
[quote=“Gr8abe”]I adjusted with phosphoric acid, and was a little to eager about how much I used, my strike water hit about 4.4 as opposed to my usual 5.2. is that too low? what are the projected effects?
Scott.[/quote]
What was the mash pH?
I didn’t measure the actual mash, just the strike water, There wasn’t a lot of dark grain in it, the recipe was…
20 # 2row
3 # rye
1# C60
1# Chocolate wheat
in a 10 gallon batch
[quote=“Gr8abe”]I didn’t measure the actual mash, just the strike water, There wasn’t a lot of dark grain in it, the recipe was…
20 # 2row
3 # rye
1# C60
1# Chocolate wheat
in a 10 gallon batch[/quote]
You should be measuring mash pH. The pH of your strike water is only relevant if it gets your mash into the preferred ~5.2-5.8 pH range.
here’s my process, please lemme know if its way off…
I’ll take my strike water, usually tap cold (about 60 F), treat it to 5.2(ish) heat it to mashing temp range, then dough in. I know the PH rises as the temps rise, and that the ph will also change with the grain bill. Am I shooting myself in the foot but testing ph cold, instead of at mash temps?
[quote=“Gr8abe”]here’s my process, please lemme know if its way off…
I’ll take my strike water, usually tap cold (about 60 F), treat it to 5.2(ish) heat it to mashing temp range, then dough in. I know the PH rises as the temps rise, and that the ph will also change with the grain bill. Am I shooting myself in the foot but testing ph cold, instead of at mash temps?[/quote]
Temp is one thing. Depends on how you measure. most pH meters compensate for higher temperature. Your grain bill will have a significant impact on the mash pH. More so with darker grains.
I plugged that grain bill into Brunwater and it took 6 gals of my 7.1pH water to a net mash acidity of 4.9 with no additional acid. EDIT: that was guestimating choc rye lovibond of 400
The best next steps for you would be to read the Water Knowledge page and download the spreadsheet from here: https://sites.google.com/site/brunwater/
[quote=“dannyboy58”]
You should be measuring mash pH. The pH of your strike water is only relevant if it gets your mash into the preferred ~5.2-5.8 pH range.[/quote]
To be specific, depending on the total quantity and type of ions, the same pH could produce considerably different mash pH, and conversely different water pH could result in the correct mash pH.
Sparge water is different – you don’t need the pH to be at the value needed for mashing (it is already done), you just need to keep the pH from rising as you exhaust the buffering capacity of the grain. That is why you have a water pH target for the sparge water but a mash pH target for the strike water.
My guess is that you are getting too low a mash pH even when you do the acid addition according to your protocol. Even with just base malts there is some acidification potential in the grain, but the only way to know for sure is either to measure the pH in the mash with a meter or get a reliable water report and use a tool like brunwater.
[quote=“Gr8abe”]I didn’t measure the actual mash, just the strike water, There wasn’t a lot of dark grain in it, the recipe was…
20 # 2row
3 # rye
1# C60
1# Chocolate wheat
in a 10 gallon batch[/quote]
The reason you adjust strike water is to hit a preferred mash pH. If you don’t measure the mash, you don’t know if your water treatment is effective.
[quote=“ejeffrey”][quote=“dannyboy58”]
You should be measuring mash pH. The pH of your strike water is only relevant if it gets your mash into the preferred ~5.2-5.8 pH range.[/quote]
To be specific, depending on the total quantity and type of ions, the same pH could produce considerably different mash pH, and conversely different water pH could result in the correct mash pH.
Sparge water is different – you need the pH to be correct for the mash process (it is already done), you just need to keep the pH from rising as you exhaust the buffering capacity of the grain. That is why you have a water pH target for the sparge water but a mash pH target for the strike water.
My guess is that you are getting too low a mash pH even when you do the acid addition according to your protocol. Even with just base malts there is some acidification potential in the grain, but the only way to know for sure is either to measure the pH in the mash with a meter or get a reliable water report and use a tool like brunwater.[/quote]
ALL of this is great advice!
