Mash pH and sparge H20 pH

I'm not an expert on water, but I'm pretty sure your beer will turn out perfectly fine. I wouldn't worry for one second.

 

Probably no need to add anything to sparge water...I do, simply because I mix up 5 gal of strike water and then don't use it all...what's left over gets dumped into the sparge water.

 

My preferred water tool is MpH. This tool does indeed provide details on how to treat both the mash and sparge water to achieve a target wort pH.

Maybe @utahbeerdude can provide some more input here.

Cheers!

P.S. It is my understanding that BrewCipher incorporates the MpH water tool.

 

You don't have to match the pH of the sparge water to the pH of the mash, but it's not a bad idea. The important thing is to not let the pH of the wort get above 5.8 or maybe 6.0 during the sparge. If fly sparging, the risk is toward the end of the sparge. If batch sparging, the pH of the wort will be the consistent throughout each running (individually).

In your case, I wouldn't expect any problems at all from your final wort landing at 5.23. People often target a 5.2-ish mash pH.

 

I think you will not have an issue, nevertheless I would recommend you to be more careful using lactic acid due any risk of flavor flaw in the finished beer. It is more advisable to use phosphoric acid IMHO.

 

It is generally a good idea to use low alkalinity water for sparging. This can be achieved by using (i) distilled, (ii) RO, or (iii) tap water that has been acidified to somewhere in the ball park of the mash pH. Acidifying tap water to a pH slightly lower than mash pH is fine.

 

I see this mentioned from time to time.....I've used up to 8 ml of lactic acid before with no discernible problems in a 5 gallon batch(or maybe I just can't taste it?) What would I be looking(tasting) for?

I do use Citric acid in small amounts in some styles(hefes).

 

A bit acrid in the finish of the taste.

 

Tartness. But you really have to overdo it for that to happen.

 

https://www.dudadiesel.com/choose_item.php?id=FGphos
I use about a tablespoon per 10gal for very light colored beer, 2 tsp for pale to amber and 1 tsp for amber to brown...my alkalinity is up around 280ppm.

 

Spargewater pH can be an issue if flysparging with an alkaline water source. As the sparge water replaces the mash water and any natural buffer systems with mash, the pH the rises. As the pH rises, you risk tannin extraction. Less of a risk with batch sparging because there is no continuous replacement of low pH madhwster with high pH sparge

 

Indeed, this is the key. For anyone interested, a detailed discussion of the acidification of sparge water can be found here. Cheers!

 

I acidify my sparge water as per your MpH tool.

I fly sparge.

Cheers!