Ph

[therook]

pH testing has been getting a mention again lately....

I have only ever tested a couple of times using the strips and found them to hard to read....i have done approx 40 AG brews

Who does testing on a regular bases?
What stages of the brewing are you doing the testing?
What are you using to do the testing?

Rook

 

[fraser_john]

Who does testing on a regular bases?
Me

What stages of the brewing are you doing the testing?
I test my water after filling HLT & mash tun and record it, regardless of temperature.
I test each again when:
Mash is at 60c, adjust with citric acid to get 5.2-5.4
HLT is at 70c, adjust with citric acid to get anywhere below 6.0

What are you using to do the testing?
ph meter from Jaycar, I calibrate monthly.

 

[chappo1970]

Who does testing on a regular bases?
Me

What stages of the brewing are you doing the testing?
I test my water after filling HLT & mash tun and record it, regardless of temperature.
I test each again when:
Mash is at 60c, adjust with citric acid to get 5.2-5.4
HLT is at 70c, adjust with citric acid to get anywhere below 6.0

What are you using to do the testing?
ph meter from Jaycar, I calibrate monthly.

+1 Me too!

Chap Chap

 

[Jez]

I usually test the mash pH but have never had to adjust it. It alway seems to miraculously be 5.2 B)

Jez

 

[Scruffy]

What happens when you dunk the paper in and the reading is grey? i.e. not on the colour scale. (papers are 6.8-5.2)...

 

[haysie]

What happens when you dunk the paper in and the reading is grey? i.e. not on the colour scale. (papers are 6.8-5.2)...

Guessing you are under 5.2
Under is better than over though.

Only testing the mash, Garden/Bunnings type I didnt find very reliable and have switched to strips.

 

[drsmurto]

What happens when you dunk the paper in and the reading is grey? i.e. not on the colour scale. (papers are 6.8-5.2)...

Depends on your pH paper Scruffy.

I have a special set which has 3 separate rolls for pH 4-7...... :icon_cheers:

 

[Scruffy]

These are special products for determination of pH in coloured solutions. The special feature of these papers is that the indicator fields and the colour scale are joined on one strip. The strip has to be fully immersed in the sample. If the solution is coloured, the colour shift works the same way on the indicator as on the scale, thus compensating for it.

So, very slightly less grey/brown than the 5.2 reading... i'll go with 5.less than 2 - i threw a 5g shot of citric acid in the mash and my old paper read 5.3... the beer is currently in the fermenter at 1018, the yeast is still chugging away, - I actually ran out of the paper I brought over from Blighty and have switched to strips, but not convinced... I'll leave it for now - i'll just go on taste...!

Cheers for the slight (though relevant) hijack :icon_cheers:

 

[Kai]

pH testing has been getting a mention again lately....

I have only ever tested a couple of times using the strips and found them to hard to read....i have done approx 40 AG brews

Who does testing on a regular bases?
What stages of the brewing are you doing the testing?
What are you using to do the testing?

Rook

I don't test my pH at all, I don't see the point unless you find you are having specific problems that relate back to it.

 

[tdh]

I test my pH once in a blue moon. Can hardly remember when I last checked!

I'm with that Kai fella.

tdh

 

[buttersd70]

I used to when I first started AG. I did it (as well as iodine test) on every batch, till I had all the wrinkles sorted out with my methods and equipment....the only time I've done it since is when doing something outside the box, just to be sure.

 

[davewaldo]

So for those that are testing.... why are you testing?

Is it just for Mash PH so you can ensure good conversion and efficiency?

 

[HoppingMad]

According to good ol' John Palmer mash ph is the one to test, not your water. He reckons it's like "putting the cart before the horse."

Read Water section at base

That said heard from a commercial brewer recently who is fanatical about getting ph in the water right first, saying it can really affect your final outcome and how your flavours come out. So different strokes for different folks!

Hopper.

 

[katzke]

I test because I do water adjustments. I test just after adding the grain and getting it stirred in. I then test again after a few minutes just to make sure.

I test because I had a problem I think was pH related. Not willing to redo the bad batch without adjustments.

I test early in the mash because most of the conversion happens in the beginning of the mash so I want to have the pH correct at that time.

I use the test strips with the little patch of paper on the end of a plastic strip. Close enough for my needs.

 

[matti]

I test the mash around midway.
Then I test the sparge water to ensure its pH is around 6.5 max.
I hardly test ever test during fermentation or after unless i am really bored or curious.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

I throw some 5.2 in the mash, usually half the recommended dose ... mainly because I have a tub of it. I test every now and again for giggles - pocket pH meter, tested when mash temp stabilises.

Usually around 5.6 at room temp - which makes it near as damn to 5.2 at mash temps... one of these days I might leave the 5.2 out just to see what happens.

I will soon be changing from no sparge to continuous sparge .. I will probably acidify my sparge water then and the pH meter will be worth the money I paid for it.

IMHO - pH is over emphasized. Sure, its important at every stage of brewing - but its got to be a long way out of whack to do much more than cost you a few points of efficiency. So unless you are noticing problems, or you are on a quest to hone your brewing process to an ultra fine point... its a bit of a waste of time. I reckon its worth the effort to toss in a spoon of 5.2, but not a lot more than that - and when I run out of 5.2, it probably wont be getting replaced.

 

[newguy]

I used to live in a different city where the tapwater had a pH of 8.9. Once I figured out that pH was an issue, I tested the mash pH with strips (usually only once per brew) religiously. I then bought a small pH meter and I used it a lot. I then moved to a different city where the water's pH was 7.0 and my testing stopped. I only tested pH when I moved yet again, but only until I 'dialed in' my system.