bignath
"Grains don't grow up to be chips, son"
- Joined
- 3/11/08
- Messages
- 2,611
- Reaction score
- 40
Hi all,
have been reading up on water chemistry of late and trying to get my head around it..
a question about water pH. I understand it's the mash pH that is the most important thing, but does anyone know or have an opinion on what a suitable pH for your household water should be before you even start using it for brewing? I brew mostly ales, i live in mt gambier in south australia where we have "hard water" (every house here has a water softener). Unfortunately, I don't know the other stats about my water chemistry though.
Not sure how i go about finding that info out....
I have measured my pH of the household water supply using a spa/pool testing kit, and it comes in at 7.8-8.2, so i'll guess it pretty much 8.0 out of the cold tap.
I have been trying to get into all grain, and for the most part think i have a good/decent handle on the whole process, but as smoothly as my first two or three attempts have gone (i've pretty much hit most of my targets), i have been underwhelmed by the quality of the beer produced. Probably important to mention that up to this point, i haven't been able to test the pH of my mash, so no idea what it actually is once grains are in there..
Could it be the pH of my water? I am assuming (rightly or wrongly) that the further away in both directions your pH is to start with, that when it gets used for mashing or sparging your beer gets worse??
have been looking at the 5.2 stabilizer you can add to the mash and wondering if it's a good idea for my situation.
hope someone can tell me if i'm on the right track..
have been reading up on water chemistry of late and trying to get my head around it..
a question about water pH. I understand it's the mash pH that is the most important thing, but does anyone know or have an opinion on what a suitable pH for your household water should be before you even start using it for brewing? I brew mostly ales, i live in mt gambier in south australia where we have "hard water" (every house here has a water softener). Unfortunately, I don't know the other stats about my water chemistry though.
Not sure how i go about finding that info out....
I have measured my pH of the household water supply using a spa/pool testing kit, and it comes in at 7.8-8.2, so i'll guess it pretty much 8.0 out of the cold tap.
I have been trying to get into all grain, and for the most part think i have a good/decent handle on the whole process, but as smoothly as my first two or three attempts have gone (i've pretty much hit most of my targets), i have been underwhelmed by the quality of the beer produced. Probably important to mention that up to this point, i haven't been able to test the pH of my mash, so no idea what it actually is once grains are in there..
Could it be the pH of my water? I am assuming (rightly or wrongly) that the further away in both directions your pH is to start with, that when it gets used for mashing or sparging your beer gets worse??
have been looking at the 5.2 stabilizer you can add to the mash and wondering if it's a good idea for my situation.
hope someone can tell me if i'm on the right track..