How do you measure mash pH?

So... are you all recommending standard Hach PH over Pocket Pro and that 0.1 resolution is not sufficient?

 

No, I'm not recommending spending any more than $20 on a pH meter. If/when it breaks a few years down the road, buy a new one. Just can't beat the price, and they're reliable and accurate enough. Mine is 2 years old now and still works just fine. However I should mention, I do put a mL of vinegar in the cap and store standing up in an attempt to preserve the probe for as long as possible. Not sure how long it would last if not properly stored in low-pH solution.

 

I recommend something like the Milwaukee MW10. Since this is a zombie thread, I'll combo-quote/paraphrase: Cheap meters are fine, as long as you don't need accuracy, precision, and reliability.

0.1 resolution would probably be good enough for most brewing tasks, but I can't say I've seen a quality meter with only 0.1 resolution.

 

While this thread is kicking around, I might as well ask... what do people find to be good/economical calibrating solutions? I've heard that the calibrating solution does not last long after it's opened, but I was never able to find good guidance on when to discard it.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-MW...qid=1524526170&sr=1-1&keywords=Milwaukee+MW10

$65 on Amazon right now. Seems reasonable, is this the one you use?

 

Sorry, apparently I had a typo in my reply. I use a Milwaukee MW101 pH meter. The link is to something else.

 

Well no, I suspect he meant something like:

https://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-MW101-PH-Meter/dp/B0009YH06Y/

or:

https://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-MW102-PH-Temperature-Meter/dp/B001DTNDME/

 

Buy a nice meter

Calibrate it all the time. You can buy bulk calibration solutions on eBay for cheap. I check it every time, takes minutes. Make sure to store it in storage solution.

Even if you use RO your PH can be out of whack

Don’t measure hot liquid. I bought a few 50ml beakers on eBay for nothing. It only takes a few ml of wort. A few ml of wort in a cold water bath cools very fast.

Don’t just measure your mash PH. Measure it all throughout the process to get a better understanding of what’s happening and how it affects the final beer. And write it all down.

Buy the Water book. Your brain will probably smoke the first time you read it, mine did. But keep going back to it and reading it again. Amazed how many times I’ve read it and each time I pick up on something I hadn’t realized before. The more you brew and try different things the more it’ll all make sense.

 

Will do. Thanks for the feedback. Is that the Palmer book?

 

Since most of the mash conversion is typically completed by the 20 minute mark, that is the earliest juncture at which the mash pH should be measured.

If you measure too early and acids or bases present within the deepest reaches of the broken kernels of the aggregate grist mix have not yet been fully saturated and thereby released into the mash water, then any pH measurement taken too soon is inherently going to be incorrect. For an overall acidic grist early pH measurement will be potentially higher than actual, and for an overall basic grist early pH measurement will be potentially lower than actual.

 

FWIW, there's no such thing as an overall basic grist. AFAIK, according to the literature, every brewing malt/grain that's ever been measured has a distilled water pH that's lower than 7. (And I've measured a bunch of them myself.)

 

I've heard 6.0 is about as high as it gets with distilled. I don't know about water with high alkalinity though, don't know where that would end up.

 

There are a few that I've measured above 6.0. Mostly flaked grains.

I imagine if the water was crazy enough (and probably mostly unrealistic/rare for something coming out of a tap), you could end up with a mash pH over 7.0. (But then that wouldn't fit the description of either of the phenomena postulated in the post I was originally responding to.)

 

In the world of beer brewing anything that mashes at above 5.4 pH is nominally considered basic, and if it mashes below that it is nominally considered acidic. That is why acid would typically be added to a grist that mashes at above pH 5.4 and base would be added to a grist that mashes at below pH 5.4. With respect to grist and how it mashes there is little of practical brewing relevance to the conventional 7.0 pH neutral point.

Low Lovibond barley base malts should be seen as nominally basic, as would base wheat malts. As to DI mash pH the former can occasionally approach pH 6 (some very light colored Weyermann Pilsner malts for example), and the latter can reach pH 6 rather routinely.

 

By whom? Sorry, but I've been measuring mash pH, DI grain pH, and variations thereof for many years and have never heard of a mash pH above 5.4 being considered "basic." If I've been missing something, I'd like to know.

 

Some would say the "best" mash pH is 5.4 or 5.5, which is not basic by any stretch of the imagination.

 

What is “best”? What determines best? Optimal for enzymes? Optimum to hit numbers? Many would argue much lower than 5.4 would be more beneficial.

 

I learned to think this way by following the guidance of A.J. DeLange. For specifically beer brewing he says it is highly convenient to think of pH 5.4 (or whatever target pH is your personal mash preference) as the neutral point.

 

Lazy or practical? We try to learn what matters, and spend our efforts accordingly. Remember this is a hobby for most of us, not a career path. Many of us will never try to make the same beer twice, and those who do probably are not doing it often enough that they have dialed in the absolute best pH for that particular recipe. For a highthrouput commercial brewery interested in delivering a consistent product, certain details that shouldn’t matter to a homebrewer may become important. Rdwhahb

 

A.J. DeLange certainly knows more about mash pH (and pH in general) than most people. And I've read a lot of stuff (in papers and in forums) from A.J. DeLange, but not this. Can you provide a link to where he talks about thinking about pH 5.4 as neutral and, better yet, where "the world of brewing" has adopted this? Thanks.