Ph and Tesco Ashbeck Water

[FlatFenBrew]

I am currently using Tesco Ashbeck water for my brews, (22 to date). My mash ph is coming out at 4.5 according to my meter which I understand to be low.
I am not over concerned as the beer I am making, mainly SMASH pale beers, taste ok.
I have read that the ideal mash ph is 5.4.
What simple steps can I take to raise the mash ph? The reason I say simple is that the whole water chemistry thing is a subject and indeed a skill in itself. One day I will get into the detail but for now if there is something simple I can do I would appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks in advance.

 

[yikkerman]

When I used to keep koi carp I would use bi carbonate of soda ( baking soda )to adjust the ph in my pond
Not sure if this would have a detrimental effect on the finished article though.
Having said that - I wouldnt think you would have to add much to get the increase your looking for.
Someone more informed may shed more light on its suitability.

 

[Ben034]

I am currently using Tesco Ashbeck water for my brews, (22 to date). My mash ph is coming out at 4.5 according to my meter which I understand to be low.
I am not over concerned as the beer I am making, mainly SMASH pale beers, taste ok.
I have read that the ideal mash ph is 5.4.
What simple steps can I take to raise the mash ph? The reason I say simple is that the whole water chemistry thing is a subject and indeed a skill in itself. One day I will get into the detail but for now if there is something simple I can do I would appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks in advance.

What type of beer are you making? If the beer was a very pale beer, I would be suprised if you were to reach a PH of 4.5. Have you recently calibrated your PH meter? I have used ashbeck water with only pilsner malt and have hit around PH 5.2-5.4.

If you had lots of dark grains in your recipe with ashbeck, it could push your PH lower than wanted.

 

[Simonh82]

If you are just making pale ales and using Tesco Ashbeck then I think you may need to check/calibrate your pH meter. It is very soft water with little bicarbonate to buffer against the acids in malted barley. A normal grist of pale malt and maybe a bit of crystal would almost certainly naturally sit somewhere in the ideal mash pH range of 5.2-5.6. If you were using a lot of dark grains then it might go lower but even then I'd be surprised if it was as low as 4.5.

Water chemistry may seem like a dark art but it's fairly straightforward. What you do need is a water report so that you know, with confidence, what you are playing with.

In this instance I'd get some buffer solutions and calibrate your pH meter as I think that will be the issue.

 

[FlatFenBrew]

Thanks guys.
I have been making IPA's with extra pale malt.
I am going to calibrate the meter and see if any different.

 

[foxbat]

I bought one of the cheap yellow meters, calibrated it then tested it on Ashbeck out of the bottle. It read 6.2 as it should. It then went on to confirm the brunwater prediction for the mash ph.

Unfortunately I neglected to store the electrodes in a proper storage solution and now on the same recipes and water it reads way low and is unstable.

Reading around even the £60+ meters with replaceable probes correctly stored need the electrodes replacing every 12-24 months at a cost of £25 a pop.

Bottom line seems to be that the cheap yellow probes are short-life disposable units.

 

[Ben034]

I also had a yellow meter and we didn't get on. I follow the helpful guide on water treatment in the water section of this forum and test alkalinity before making adjustments so pH falls into the correct level.

I use the cheap pH strips (pH5 to ph6) for double checking. Not very accurate but provides reassurance and have found them more reliable than the cheap yellow pH meter after a few months.

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/beginners-guide-to-water-treatment.64822/