General Category > All Grain Brewing

where do you take mash pH?

(1/4) > >>

redzim:
Just suddenly wondering where you guys get the mash sample that you are taking the pH of....  do you scoop off the top, or run some cloudy liquid out of the drain of your mash tun, or what?  And does it make a difference? 

FWIW I take a cloudy sample out of the mash drain about 10 minutes into the mash, and I have lately been getting within +/- .2 pH pts of what Martin's and Kai's worksheets predict....  but of course I always like to second-guess my SOP.

-red

davidgzach:
I take my sample right after I vorlauf and let it come down to room temp.

Dave

mmitchem:
I take mine around 15 or 20 minutes into the mash. I actually catch wort as it is recirculating in one of those stainless steel quart scoops used for decoction mashing. I run cold water over the outside of the scoop to bring the sample down to room temp (works pretty fast with the stainless steel). I dip my meter into that and presto!

mabrungard:
Funny you should ask about this.  One of my professional clients called me about their practices yesterday.  They run a 20 bbl system and the tun doesn't have rakes.  They have a vorlauf pump, but had not been using it until the end of the mash.  I recommended that they perform more recirculation during the mashing to improve the overall mixing of wort within the mash. 

You can either move the media or move the liquid.  Most homebrewers can mix their mash.  But when you get into the 20 to 200 bbl range, its tough to mix the mash unless there is a built-in raking system.  However, we RIMS brewers know that mixing is not necessary since we are moving the liquid. 

In my opinion, you should sample for pH after you have mixed the mash well and vorlaufed any foundation water from the bottom of your tun.  Remember, that water is part of the overall chemistry of the mash system.  Your sampling should make sure that is well incorporated in the overall wort.

redzim:
So better than taking a sample out of the drain, would be to dip into the main mash?

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page