The pH of your brewing water plays a critical role in shaping the taste, clarity, and quality of your beer. From the initial water composition to the mash process, monitoring and adjusting pH levels can be the difference between a good brew and a great one. In this article, we’ll explore the impact of pH on the brewing process and how you can fine-tune it for the perfect batch.
The role of pH in brewing
In brewing, pH plays a significant role at various stages of the process. It affects the water before brewing and the mash itself. Mash pH, in particular, influences fermentability, color, clarity, and the taste of the wort and beer.
The brewing water pH has minor impact on the final beer. But it can affect the mash pH when you factor in Total Alkalinity, Bicarbonates, and Calcium. Alkalinity and the grain composition are the two biggest factors in making sure your mash pH falls in the target levels for your water profile.
Your mash pH will need to be slightly acidic, and most brewers will have to try to actively lower their pH.
pH levels in your brewing water and mash
For brewing water, the ideal pH range is typically between 6.5 and 8.5, assuming alkalinity and other minerals are within their target ranges. Alkalinity should generally fall between 30 and 120 ppm, depending on the style of beer you’re brewing. Alkalinity measures water’s ability to resist pH changes, so if it’s too high, your grains won’t be able to effectively lower the pH.
Tap water will be between a pH of 6.5 and 8.5, while a lot of filtered or bottled water will be closer to 7, which is neutral water meaning it’s not acidic or basic. When testing your brewing water’s pH, the important thing is that it’s not overly acidic or basic from whatever source you are using.
You can also measure your water’s pH during the mash which will have a larger impact on the final beer. When it comes to Mash pH, the target will always 5.2-5.4. This is regardless of what style of beer you are brewing.
Targeting the same end result of pH may sound odd if you’ve read some of our other resources. Because Alkalinity, Bicarbonate, and Calcium all affect pH, and we are adjusting those based on the style of beer. But not pH.
The reason is that different style of beer will use different grain composition and affect the pH in different ways. So, we must adjust these other factors to end up at the same mash pH.
How to Measure your pH
There are two ways to measure pH, the Craft Pro Test Strips and the Craft Pro In-Lab Test Kit.
DIY Test Strips
The Craft Pro DIY Test Strips will give you an easy, affordable way to measure pH with each batch. These will measure pH along with Hardness, Calcium, Alkalinity, and several other key factors for your brew.
The test strips will give you results in a range, meaning you will know if your pH is 5-6,6-7,7-8 etc.
Craft Pro In-Lab
The In-Lab Craft Pro Test Kit will allow you to send a water sample to our EPA-Certified lab and get exact pH levels for any brewing liquid.
Our test strips are primarily designed for water or lower ABV liquids. If you want to test at other phases, the In-Lab kit will be a better option. While you can use test strips to spot check each batch.
How to adjust your pH for brewing
Water Profile Adjustments
Calcium in your water can lower mash pH. For paler beers, it should stay below the 50-ppm range, while for darker beers, it can be increased to around 150 ppm to help control pH.
Magnesium also lowers mash pH, but to a lesser extent than calcium. Since magnesium’s ideal range is narrower than calcium’s, it has only a minor effect on mash pH.
You may need to lower bicarbonate levels to adjust mash pH. High bicarbonate raises alkalinity, making the water more resistant to pH changes, which can prevent the mash from reaching the target pH range.
Acids
To lower your Mash pH, most brewers will use either Phosphoric or Lactic acids. There are others but those are two of the most common. How much these will affect your beer is affected highly by the Alkalinity (remember, the ability to resist change in pH). This may involve some trial and error based on your specific water and grain combination.
An important note is that this acid will need to be added to the brewing water prior to mashing in most cases. This is why you can not just slowly adjust as you go but will need to experiment to get your levels correct if using acids.
Conclusion:
Getting a proper pH in your Mash can have a major impact on your beer, affecting fermentability, color, clarity, and taste. It can be impacted by not only your water profile but your grain composition as well. Getting it right is critical to making great beer.
