How do you measure mash pH?

My method is similar to yours. I measure @ 8 minutes, but only because I can't seem to find an absolute answer on when is best to measure - I mostly see 5-15 minutes cited. I'll remove a small sample and place it in a 50ml beaker. Swirl in an ice bath and measure temp until it's approx. 25*C. What type of meter are you using?

I don't bother with targeting mash pH. I stick to a target room temp pH of 5.3-5.4 for pale beers for the first reading. I aim for 5.2 @ knockout. If I make an acid addition, I do it immediately after the first reading, but never more than enough to swing the pH by .1.

 

Do not adjust, room temp measurement is what is specified.

 

That's the idea.

 

Gotcha. Definitely better than pH strips. I just purchased a new Hach pH meter - great product.

If possible, I would encourage you to get a pH meter with an accuracy of ± 0.02 pH. The Pocket Pro measures to ± 0.1 pH, which isn't bad, but can prevent you from really dialing-in your water chemistry.

Are you using buffer solutions and a storage solution?

 

I measure after like 7-8 minutes, direct in the hot wort, and add 0.2. So if I want 5.3, I aim for 5.1 as measured by the meter. Others may poo-poo the idea of measuring in hot wort, but even if the thing fails after a couple years, I don't care, it was only like $15. pH meters are CHEAP on Amazon. No need to buy a fancy one, the cheap ones work every bit as well.

For many years, I used the paper strips. Those cool off in a matter of seconds, so for those, I'd dunk the paper in, wait about 15 seconds, then read the colors on the side. It's not as accurate as a meter but if done right you can know at least if you're in the ballpark, or way too high, or way too low. It's useful just to know if you got into the right ballpark.

In every case, I would NOT fret about 0.01 accuracy. There's no need for that accuracy, and in a homebrew setting we are almost certainly incapable of measuring that accurately anyway.

 

I don't

 

That is correct.

 

Except for accuracy, precision, and reliability.

 

Right?

 

This is terrible advice for someone who hopes to make great beer.

 

Obviously you need to calibrate the thing properly with buffer solutions every time you use it. But I challenge anyone to defend why accuracy to 0.01 matters, when anything between 5.2 to 5.5 is perfectly fine, and even stretching that to 5.1 to 5.6 wouldn't be the worst thing in the world either.

 

Those are accepted ranges, not a target pH for a specific style of beer. You shouldn't target a range - the difference between a beer at 5.2 vs. 5.5 should be discernible. Here are few more reasons for targeting 5.2:

• Improved enzyme activity during the mash, leading to better conversion of starches to sugars
• Lower pH in the finished wort which improves yeast health during fermentation, and also inhibits bacteria growth
• Improved hop extraction rates in the boil
• Better protein and polyphenol precipitation both during the cold break and post fermentation
• Improved clarity in the finished beer with reduced chill haze
• Improved flavor and clarity stability as the beer ages

I would ask, why not try to be as accurate as possible? Stop burning through your meters and invest in a good one... and take care of it.

 

Will it damage the pH meter if I take my measurement straight from the mash tun and is there a certain way you need to do it to separate the sample wort from the grains to prevent grains/husks from interfering with the reading or damaging the pH meter? Does this matter? I would be interested in hearing about others' process for taking pH measurements. Do you immerse the meter directly in the mash tun, pull a sample (using a glass or measuring cup) and separate the liquid from the grains somehow, or pull a sample and immerse the pH meter directly in the sample (with grains and wort)? Also, do you suggest bringing the sample to room temperature before taking the reading, or just doing it at mash temps? Also, if you take the reading at mash temps, do you need to add or remove a couple pH points (or tenths of points) from the pH level displayed on the meter to account for the temp differences? Sorry for all the noob questions. Just bought a pH meter and want to make sure I'm using it properly and not doing something that will damage the meter or shorten its life. Thanks!

 

And I would ask again why it matters... whether my pH is 5.25 or is rounded up to 5.3, and if the 5.3 is actually 5.2 or 5.4, what the heck difference in final beer flavor does that even make in real life? This is rhetorical, you don't need to answer because I've no doubt that a blind triangle test Brulosophy-style would tell us the answer is "can't reliably tell any difference".

 

The problem is that the amount it varies with temperature varies with the grain bill. And it a guess. Not even really that educated of a guess...