So this morning I have a nice Krausen like I used to! But not sure if it’s because of the bottled water I used or because of the lower pitching temp... Also this time I did not use the stone for aeration with my dry yeast. So from what I saw the bottled water had a higher ph and resulted in a better krausen, but I now know that I need a lower ph for mash so I’m confused.
Robert, how do you measure ph? With paper? When do you measure mash ph, at the beginning or at the end? I’d like to look further into my water chemistry to make the appropriate adjustments. Any recommendations on the first steps to follow? Thanks again for all the help!
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To be really accurate, you use a pH meter, but they are expensive and you may want to stick with papers for now. Whenever you see references to mash pH, we're talking about a sample cooled to room temperature: the pH of mash actually behaves differently at different temperatures. Also, wait until about 15 minutes into the mash to take out a sample and cool it: it takes some time for the mash pH to settle in.
And I'm glad to hear your beer is chugging along normally this time!
I highly recommend you check out the Bru'n Water website. The Water Knowledge page will tell you most everything you need to know about water chemistry and pH, and there is a spreadsheet that can help you adjust your Water to not only hit the right pH, but also adjust for flavor in different styles of beer.