Mash pH low...

[Blackmuse]

So, i used my calibrated pH meter last night during my mash - after adding my acid addition and epsom salt per my water calc here on brewer's friend - and my Mash was 4.8 not 5.4 as expected... pH was read at room temp - not mash temp (I cooled it down). Why do you suppose this is? My water pH at the house starts at 6.4.

I'll link the recipe here.

I'm sure the beer will be fine - I brewed it the same as I did before and the sample I had of that first batch was great. The first time I brewed this recipe I added the same additions but I didn't bother reading pH as my meter wasn't calibrated yet.

Thanks all.

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[BOB357]

It appears that the water calculator assumes a pH of 8.0 unless you enter another figure. Also, if you measured your source water at 6.4 pH, I wonder about your pH meter. Is the target water in your recipe your source water?

 

[Blackmuse]

It appears that the water calculator assumes a pH of 8.0 unless you enter another figure. Also, if you measured your source water at 6.4 pH, I wonder about your pH meter. Is the target water in your recipe your source water?

So, I used my water in the calculator as the water I am starting with. I had a water report for brewing done on my water and it came out as 6.4. My pH meter read my water as 6.4 as well. So I am not worried about my meter's accuracy.

 

[Blackmuse]

The target water is my source water. Not sure why I did that but the other options were not what I was going for. I only wanted to adjust my acid and add a little magnesium. Later versions will have added Calcium and . Chloride.

 

[BOB357]

OK, that's some great water to build from. Almost like RO. With that pH there aren't going to be many styles that you need to add much, if any acid. All of the magnesium you need is almost always furnished by the grain. What your really needed to add is some Calcium. About 50ppm minimum to aid in enzymatic action and clarity among other things.

Did you add the acid based on your source water alone or the water and the grist?

 

[Blackmuse]

OK, that's some great water to build from. Almost like RO. With that pH there aren't going to be many styles that you need to add much, if any acid. All of the magnesium you need is almost always furnished by the grain. What your really needed to add is some Calcium. About 50ppm minimum to aid in enzymatic action and clarity among other things.

Did you add the acid based on your source water alone or the water and the grist?

I agree it is great water. I plan on making Pilsner soon ... To answer your question... I'm not sure. I really think they need to make a video on how to use Brewers friend especially the water calculator... So, I can say that with the grist only my pH was 5.8 I believe (will double check after) I then checked the box for acid addition based in desired pH and then set my desired to pH to 5.4. This automatically checked the box mash only (not sure why) and then told me I needed 4 grams if citric acid (switching to lactic acid soon) to reach 5.4.

The odd thing is (and I've mentioned it before in another post) is that if I want to adjust my Sparge water as well the system recommends less than half of what I'd need for the mash.....

As a note- I didn't adjust Sparge water.

 

[BOB357]

Basically, sparge water has a much different pH requirement. Sparge water is acidified to keep the final running pH below about 6.0. Higher pH can extract tannins and cause astringency. This generally only applies if you're fly sparging.

I don't use Brewersfriend recipe builder, but have looked it over pretty well and can give you some guidance. When you initially set up your equipment in your profile there's a tab for your water profile. Clicking on it will take you to a page where you can enter your source water data. This and all of the other data in the profile is important and accurate entries allow the program to work with your parameters and have some degree of accuracy.

Once you have saved your profile you can begin to build recipes with confidence. If you follow the order of the steps in the recipe builder you'll find that you will have entered all of the basic ingredients before you come to the water chemistry area. There you select a profile that fits the type of beer you're brewing. Once you have finished building the recipe and saving it you'll be linked to the water tool.

The water tool is pretty self explanatory. You can go into it through the menu at the top of the under tools and play around just to get the hang of it.

 

[Blackmuse]

Basically, sparge water has a much different pH requirement. Sparge water is acidified to keep the final running pH below about 6.0. Higher pH can extract tannins and cause astringency. This generally only applies if you're fly sparging.

I don't use Brewersfriend recipe builder, but have looked it over pretty well and can give you some guidance. When you initially set up your equipment in your profile there's a tab for your water profile. Clicking on it will take you to a page where you can enter your source water data. This and all of the other data in the profile is important and accurate entries allow the program to work with your parameters and have some degree of accuracy.

Once you have saved your profile you can begin to build recipes with confidence. If you follow the order of the steps in the recipe builder you'll find that you will have entered all of the basic ingredients before you come to the water chemistry area. There you select a profile that fits the type of beer you're brewing. Once you have finished building the recipe and saving it you'll be linked to the water tool.

The water tool is pretty self explanatory. You can go into it through the menu at the top of the under tools and play around just to get the hang of it.

 

[Blackmuse]

Hate to break it to you but I did exactly that except I did not pick a specific type of water to base the recipe on as all I really wanted to do was adjust for pH.

I'm not sure why it wanted 4 grams if citric acid but I went with it. There is a slight tartness in the first beer but nothing detrimental. I guess for the next beer I'll just adjust pH after adding the grains and only using my meter.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I add my salts to the dry grain before I add water and I don't add any phosphoric acid until it reaches it's target temperature, I then trust brewers friend for the correct measurement but test just in case after recirculating for a while, the whole ph adjustment can take up to 15 minutes, it takes a while to fully mix

 

[BOB357]

I add my salts to the dry grain before I add water and I don't add any phosphoric acid until the reaches it's target temperature, I then trust brewers friend for the correct measurement but test just in case after recirculating for a while, the whole ph adjustment can take up to 15 minutes, it takes a while to fully mix

I started adding the salts to the milled grain a few batches ago. If I have an acid addition I add it to the strike water. Seems to be working well.

 

[Hawkbox]

That's not a bad idea, never thought about it.

 

[Blackmuse]

I add my salts to the dry grain before I add water and I don't add any phosphoric acid until the reaches it's target temperature, I then trust brewers friend for the correct measurement but test just in case after recirculating for a while, the whole ph adjustment can take up to 15 minutes, it takes a while to fully mix

Okay, this could be why... I did pull a sample pretty early and didn't bother pulling one after the first. I'll play around a bit and see what happens next time.