OVHA Chat

I recently bought a PH meter at a bargain price to find that part of the bargain included that it did not ship with any buffer solutions for calibrating it (hmm... ).Well,I shelved it for a while waiting for buffer powders from China which took 2 months to arrive via rickshaw.Meanwhile,I brewed a few beers using 5.2 stablizer in the mash in 2 of them.They were looking OK by the dip sticks;all around high 4- low 5 range.Exept a weizen ale without 5.2 stablizer which was definitly in the low 4 range at finish.When my buffers finally arrived,the latest brew was for bottling and per PH meter was @ 5.2 PH exactly.I'm wondering if this is a coincidence or is the 5.2 stablizer still buffering my brew? Anybody know?

That 5.2 is fairly strong stuff. Beer should normally be around pH 4.5 when it's finished and carbonated -- might be a bit higher without carbonation as the CO2 makes carbonic acid in water.

I've used the 5.2 for years now, much less hassle than a pH meter. Probably get better results with actual pH control via the meter, but not enough better to flog away at it.

Peter