 Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 5/22/2012(UTC)
Posts: 66
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"Now that winter is upon us and I had some success with a couple of batches, I've been doing some research (reading) to see what I can do to improve my product. I've come up with a couple of areas of interest that need assistance.
1) Is ph really that important? I don't think the 'old timers' were that concerned about it back in the day. I know there are some nasty stuff in stream water too. Some of the really technical things I've read really stress a ph level of 4.5 or so and one needs to adjust for other unwanted stuff in the water.
2) When making a corn mash and it's time to ferment, does one need to strain off the grain and have only liquid when adding the yeast or leave all the grain in the ferment and strain the grain off when it's done fermenting?
Just wonder what you all think about these."
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 1/17/2013(UTC)
Posts: 67
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As far as ph goes I always use a little it of lemon to lower the ph. I also done it without. I can't really tel a difference but I'm sure there is one. I leave my corn in tr bucket when fermenting. I've seen people who strain and smoosh out the corn I to the fermenting vessel too..but I figure if you're addin corn for flavor why not leave it?
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 Rank: Senior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 1/27/2012(UTC)
Posts: 526
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Optimum PH is 4.5-5 for an AG mash. As for the grain you can do it either way as long as it's taken out of your mash before cooking it.
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Rank: Senior Member Groups: Registered
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" Quote:Is ph really that important? This short answer is yes. But adjusting it may be unnecessary. Depending on your water source, grain bill and other ""normal"" additives, everything may be just fine. pH comes into play with enzyme efficiency as well as yeast happiness. If you're happy with your mash efficiency, then I wouldn't sweat it. But if you're into ""fine tuning"" there are two things you should do: [LIST=1] Get a jar of pH test strips. Get the good ones from your LHBS. Some of the ""great deals"" you find online are junk. I've been using strips from Precision Labs -- they work very nice. Then just measure your pH the next few times you mash to see where you are. Measure it after your entire grain bill is mixed in. I used to use a pH meter but it broke. I started using the test strips and haven't looked back. They're not as accurate, but they're plenty close enough. And some (many??) meters won't do you any good at mashing temps ... they become cheap paperweights once the bulb cracks.
If you have city or township water, call public works and get a copy of the water report. If you have well water things can get more expensive. I had my water tested this past fall and I believe it was around $300 (this included all of the tox screening as well since most of my area is/was farmland and orchards).
[/LIST]
In any case, once you can measure the pH and you know what's in your source water you'll have everything you need to start experimenting with the chemistry.
BTW: If you have an RO system, you can build your water from the ground up.
Regards,
--JB"
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Rank: Junior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 5/22/2012(UTC)
Posts: 66
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"I'll have to wait till it warms up before I can do anymore 'cooking' so I've got a few months to check ph levels which come from a city source.
the batch of grain i did last fall, I left the corn in the fermenter and it turned out pretty well using a whiskey yeast with AG."
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Rank: Senior Member Groups: Registered
Joined: 1/12/2012(UTC)
Posts: 804
Was thanked: 5 time(s) in 5 post(s)
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Along with the pH, try to determine your calcium, magnesium and alkalinity. Those four metrics will give most of what you need when/if you decide to make water adjustments.
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