Sparge pH preferences. IPAs vs stouts

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by atomeyes, Aug 27, 2015.

Tags:
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. atomeyes

    atomeyes Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2011 Canada (ON)

    just wondering if you guys have any preferences.
    A friend of mine likes to sparge with water with a pH of 5.3.
    for stouts, I'd stick close to 6.0, but wonder if there are any benefits with going to 5.6.

    thoughts?
     
  2. psnydez86

    psnydez86 Initiate (0) Jan 4, 2012 Pennsylvania

  3. utahbeerdude

    utahbeerdude Maven (1,374) May 2, 2006 Utah

    Alkalinity of the sparge water is more important than the pH. Sparging with low alkalinity water (which is water with small concentrations of carbonate/bicarbonate) is desirable. If one already has low-carbonate water, pH is largely irrelevant. If one has high-carbonate water, then it is best to reduce the alkalinity by adding acid. If one reduces the pH of high alkalinity water to ~5.4, then the alkalinity will be sufficiently low. Details about this can be found here.

    I personally sparge with RO water.

    All of this is more important when fly sparging (vs batch sparging).

    Cheers!
     
    bushycook likes this.
  4. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    Roasted malt and caramel tend to lower mash ph all by themselves... a little baking soda for buffering and you are usually good to go.
     
  5. jamescain

    jamescain Initiate (0) Jul 14, 2009 Texas

    Your sparge water pH can affect tannin extraction and boil pH. I generally lower mine to 6 since I have alkaline water, but I'm not sure if it would make much of a difference.
     
  6. atomeyes

    atomeyes Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2011 Canada (ON)

    6 is the highest i'd let my sparge pH be due to tannins. that's a no brainer.
     
    Theortiz01 likes this.
  7. atomeyes

    atomeyes Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2011 Canada (ON)

    i read the article and, correct me if i'm wrong, but it is suggesting to keep sparge water pH the same as desired mash pH. so, for an IPA, for example, a sparge water pH between 5.3-5.4 would be ideal. am i wrong?

    you also talk about low alkalinity and high alkalinity. how many ppm you talking about?
     
  8. utahbeerdude

    utahbeerdude Maven (1,374) May 2, 2006 Utah

    The main point of the paper is that if you lower the pH of your sparge water to ~5.4, then you will have reduced the alkalinity sufficiently that you should not observe a substantial rise in the pH of the grain bed during the sparge. For example, if you had water with 300 ppm bicarbonate, then lowering the pH to 5.4 via acid addition will (in most cases) take the alkalinity down to ~30 ppm. I would classify 300 ppm bicarbonate as very high and 30 ppm bicarbonate as reasonably low (and perhaps at the upper end of low).

    I hope this helps. Cheers!
     
  9. Brew_Betty

    Brew_Betty Initiate (0) Jan 5, 2015 Wisconsin

    My mash and sparge pH is 5.4 for all styles.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.