@Bonsai & Brew was reading some on water profiles and PH today. Looked into getting a ph meter but was not sold on the reviews on most of the portables concerning their accuracy and reliability . I've only used a benchtop model and those get pricey, even the replaceable probes were pricey, at least for the lab model we used.
However I did order a lb of 5.2 stabilizer today. How well it works, I'll have to see. Course I'll need to find an affordable meter to measure its effectiveness. 1 tablespoon added to your mash water is supposed to correct it's ph to 5.2. Larger batches, like 6gal, some say require up to 3tbs.
I've been getting by with pH paper but need to look into that 5.2 stabilizer. For my 2 gallon batches, a lb. of that would last a lifetime. Let us know what you think of it.
Lol, will do. Ordered this morning and Amazon delivering Sunday. Faaast service, my fermenter won't be available for another couple weeks!
I googled the ph of spring water sold in stores, including Wal-Mart @D Kristof! They're mostly in 7.5 ph range. So it would appear that some adjustment would be required for brewing.
The pH of water, and the pH of the mash, aren't the same. The grain and the water result in the pH lowering because the grains are acidic. The only question is whether the pH lowers into the acceptable range for mashing, and whether the water makeup is complementary or not to the style of the beer.
For most homebrewers, they can brew with good tasting water and not really know what they are missing (or not adding, pun intended). For those that pay attention to water details, proper water can tremendously help with a beer style. That's why certain parts of the world have certain beer styles that stand out.
A caution though - many do research and say "oh, here's the water they use in _____, so I will adjust my water to match that". In truth, the brewers in that part of the world may be adjusting their water also, and no one realizes it. So you have to do a good deal of research to come up with the proper way to match water for a certain style elsewhere. Getting your pH to the proper range for brewing is much easier.
Thanks Rick! I had assumed that the mash would have an influence on the water in some manner. I'd sort of skimmed over water profiles in my readings thus far and concentrating more on the other aspects of brewing.
Now that ph is on my radar, I'll be interested in testing my spring water before mashing, and during to see what I've got.
Lol, I haven't been displeased with using spring water with no adjustments, but if it could be better, then I really need to know that!
Does anyone here (Rick?) know what substituting Safale US-04 for 05 will do the the Surley Dog recipe? With my limited knowledge, I really don't know if I should try it. But I have no more 05 left. I did find this, so maybe I answered my own question:
"English yeast (US-04) will attenuate less, leaving a higher final gravity for a more malt-focused beer and the American yeast (US-05) will attenuate more, resulting in a lower final gravity for a dryer beer. " Briarcliff Brewing Does he know what he's talking about?
Actually I think we're probably fine with extract and extract pm recipes. It's the all grain recipes that may need slight water adjustments.
Okay Eddie Haskell you've opened an interesting door here and the timing seems right for me to pay attention to see if my spring water is basically fine as it is or if I'd benefit from some adjustment to ph in the mash or minerals to the water.
So, now in addition to the ph stabilizer, I've got some ph strips coming and a small jar each of gypsum, calcium chloride, and phosphoric acid.
Time for a new column in my spreadsheet for each batch. Will likely take months to evaluate. Good news, more beer needs to be brewed!
This is what I use to get an idea of my mash PH. It is very accurate with the measurements that I have taken with my PH meter. I don't even bother to double check any longer. It does require that you know the mineral makeup of your water. Some municipal water sources will give you this information if you call them. Some frankly don't test for all of those items. You also could take a sample of your water and send it to get it tested.
Ward labs is the most recommended lab for this. https://www.wardlab.com/BrewersKitOrder.php They will test your sample and return the results to you via an email.