water, pH and lactic acid

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by Chrisfarleywine, Sep 21, 2016.

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  1. Chrisfarleywine

    Chrisfarleywine Initiate (0) Mar 27, 2012 Iowa

    If this is redundant to a previous thread, apologies in advance. Apologies in advance for what is probably extreme ignorance. I've spent a couple hours looking for an answer on pH calcs and it seems that one needs a complete water profile to determine pH calcs.

    I did a brew yesterday and added 5 mL to 1.2 gallons of strike water for mashing in. I'm thinking this was a bit excessive despite our tap water (Quad Cities area) running in the 8.4 + range with significant mineral content. I'm curious if the beer will be safe to drink? I couldn't get a good reading on the mash. Somewhere in the 3 - 5 range based on the cheap-o strips I'm using. I tried a one gallon batch of a NE IPA about a month ago and the beer turned out subpar for a number of reasons, part of which I think was being off on the water chemistry. I'm trying to correct for a high pH in the tap to avoid having to buy water and build from scratch.

    Anyone have a Quad Cities water profile (it's a long shot). My guess is when it comes to water chemistry and getting it right there are no half measures and I'm going to need to invest some $ in a test and possibly a better pH meter.

    Thanks.
     
    #1 Chrisfarleywine, Sep 21, 2016
  2. runbirddrinkbeer

    runbirddrinkbeer Pooh-Bah (1,722) Oct 24, 2009 Florida
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    5 ccs of lactic acid by itself is not excessive, I've used more. It will indeed be safe to drink.
    Invest in the water testing(Ward's Lab for example), it will be worth it. You obviously are interested in improving your beer, so this will be a good investment.
     
    #2 runbirddrinkbeer, Sep 21, 2016
  3. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    The pH of your tap water isn't particularly relevant to the mash pH. The alkalinity of your tap water is relevant, as are its calcium and magnesium ion concentrations. Also, the grain bill has a large impact.

    I recommend you read the water knowledge pages at Bru'nWater. With that under your belt, read @utahbeerdude's white papers at http://homebrewingphysics.blogspot.com/ if you want a more in depth knowledge of what's happening.

    Even if you don't read the white papers, download Utah's mPH calculator, or download BrewCipher, which uses his pH models is an integrated brewing spreadsheet.

    And definitely get yourself a water report for your tap water. You won't be able to hit the mash pH you're looking for without that data to put into the pH models.
     
    #3 VikeMan, Sep 21, 2016
    corbmoster, utahbeerdude, runbirddrinkbeer and 1 other person like this.
  4. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    I would recommend that you purchase ColorpHast pH Strips - 4.0 - 7.0. Just apply a 0.3 correction factor; for example if the strip indicates a pH of 5.0 a more appropriate value would be 5.3.

    https://www.morebeer.com/products/colorphast-ph-strips-40-70.html

    Cheers!
     
    #4 JackHorzempa, Sep 21, 2016
    Chrisfarleywine likes this.
  5. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    Instead of relying on your local water govt, or hole in the ground to provide quality brewing water, why not just build your own water from an RO source? Enough water to brew a 5 gal. batch is not cost prohibitive when compared to the other essential ingredients for beer, imho.
     
    #5 GreenKrusty101, Sep 22, 2016
    corbmoster, utahbeerdude and runbirddrinkbeer like this.
  6. corbmoster

    corbmoster Pundit (848) Dec 15, 2014 Texas
    Trader

    This seems to be the consensus I've gotten from a lot of home brewers. I see the advantage of using tap; no having to buy / haul water around, or purchase a RO system. But it seems like a lot of peoples water changes ( I know mine does) and building from RO / distilled is the only way you can be sure of what you have.
     
    #6 corbmoster, Sep 25, 2016
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