11 replies to this topic

[Big Nake]

Feel free to agree with these assumptions or poke holes in them if something here doesn't make sense or has been over simplified. Now that I am comfortable with my pH meter, I do these things on every batch. It takes a little extra time but I feel these "fine-tuning" steps (which some of you might consider critical and some might not) are making better beer.Mash pH: My water, grains and additions usually get me very close on pH. I use the meter on a small sample of the mash and try to get it into the 5.2-5.3 range. I might get it in the 5.2 range on lighter beers and I might allow it to be at 5.3 or 5.4 on darker beers because I remember hearing that pale beers are better at the lower end of the range. Lactic acid is standing by to lower mash pH if necessary. I might take the pH of the mash 2 or 3 times to make sure it's good. It seems like it takes a while for everything to come together and give you a good reading.Batch Sparge: If I'm understanding this, allowing a batch sparge to go over a pH of 6.0 can lead to tannin extraction. My sparge is not sitting around for very long... I add the sparge water, I mix, I get a sample to check pH and if it's good, I recirc and go. But if the pH is approaching 6.0, I might add some acid to keep it from climbing that high.Preboil wort: If my mash pH is 5.2 and my sparge pH is under 6.0, I can assume the preboil wort pH is going to be in the mid 5s which is good. Kai's site mentions what can happen if the pH of the wort as it heads to the burner is too high (harsh flavors, cloudiness, a darkening of the wort, etc) and with all of his contributions to brewing, I'm following that.Is this process common among you guys? I know some people wing it and some love to take measurements. I don't like to take measurements necessarily but I do like great beer. Does anyone see anything in here that is pure folly and something to just ignore or not wring your hands about? What I'm seeing on some of these latest beers is a pronounced, brilliant clarity (which always interests me) and a nice balanced flavor that I have described as an "acid snap" in the past. It seems like paying attention to these things prevents a "flabby" beer.

[denny]

Ken, if ANY kind of sparge gets up to 6.0 there can be problems.  With batch sparging it's less likely that pH will rise, but it's not impossible.

 

I do as you do to the mash.  I've checked the sparge often enough in the past that I seldom bother any more unless I just want something to do.  I also seldom check kettle pH for the same reason....I've done it enough that I know what to expect.  I will check both sparge and kettle pH if something seems amiss, though.

[SchwanzBrewer]

Not to hijack the thread, but when you are fly sparging, where should you be checking the PH to make sure it isn't getting to high? The sparge water or the runnings?

[denny]

Not to hijack the thread, but when you are fly sparging, where should you be checking the PH to make sure it isn't getting to high? The sparge water or the runnings?

 

The runnings.  The water doesn't matter.  A lot of people check the gravity and stop the sparge at 1.010.  That's just an indicator that the pH may be getting too high and the buffering power of the grain can't keep up.

[Big Nake]

Ken, if ANY kind of sparge gets up to 6.0 there can be problems.  With batch sparging it's less likely that pH will rise, but it's not impossible.

I remember hearing about this when I was a new AG brewer but quickly put it out of my head because I have only batch sparged. I did have a beer awhile back where the pH of the sparge was around 6.0 (I can't remember all the details but I was surprised) and I knocked it down with acid.

[neddles]

Sounds like a good process for great beer to me. Very similar to what I do except I don't have any of the sparge stuff to mess with because I BIAB. There was a time where I did no monitoring of the mash. Didn't know what I didn't know. I've said it before but the difference this made was stark and so much so I still think that without pH monitoring you might as well be brewing with extract. That way you at least had someone else perform the mash correctly for you.

[3rd party JKor]

pHBT? 

 

 

I fly sparge.  I used to check the gravity and pH of the final runnings of virtually every batch.  I've never been close to 1.010 nor 6.0 on any batch.  I still do it occasionally if I'm bored, but I think it's a pretty unlikely occurrence.

Edited by JKor, 08 February 2014 - 03:33 PM.

[Big Nake]

Sounds like a good process for great beer to me. Very similar to what I do except I don't have any of the sparge stuff to mess with because I BIAB. There was a time where I did no monitoring of the mash. Didn't know what I didn't know. I've said it before but the difference this made was stark and so much so I still think that without pH monitoring you might as well be brewing with extract. That way you at least had someone else perform the mash correctly for you.

I have often thought this way too. When we all jump from extract to all-grain, we don't really know what we don't know and that's probably a good thing because if we saw all of the things we need to be concerned with on the jump to AG, we might not jump. The diagram I have on my site is so simple and so lacking in information. The simplicity is what made me jump. But I realize now that there was so much more to all-grain brewing. It's all good... I absorbed information slowly and applied what I learned and the pH thing seems to be a big fine-tuning step with real positives.

[Genesee Ted]

I really gotta try your beer Ken!  I love how detail oriented you get and your passion for making it the best you can!

 

+1

[MolBasser]

Not to hijack the thread, but when you are fly sparging, where should you be checking the PH to make sure it isn't getting to high? The sparge water or the runnings?

We check the last runnings.  If it is over 5.9 the alarm bells start ringing.

 

You can acidify your sparge water, or you can calcify it to similar effect.

 

MolBasser

[Dave McG]

I really gotta try your beer Ken!  I love how detail oriented you get and your passion for making it the best you can!

 

+1

PARTY AT KENS!!!! Just kidding. I've made MLPA a few times and really enjoyed it. One of these years I'll make the Brewers/Cubs game and try the real deal.

[Big Nake]

PARTY AT KENS!!!! Just kidding. I've made MLPA a few times and really enjoyed it. One of these years I'll make the Brewers/Cubs game and try the real deal.

There you go. I brought a keg of MLPA to the Brewers-Cubs game last year and it was one of my better efforts.