Achieving a higher final PH in respect to mash/kettle/pre-post ferm PH

[Colbizle]

One thing that is often discussed is the importance of a proper mash PH. I understand that and I always try to target my beers to their proper PH respective to the style I am brewing. I often check mash, kettle, pre-fermentation, and post-ferm ph values but only bothering to adjust mash ph when not on target.

Often overlooked are the other ph values that I'm finding out are just as important. But it makes sense that if you hit your proper mash ph, then all other outstanding ph values will also be in line.

This got me thinking... What do these final ph values mean and what do they mean in terms of flavor of the finished beer?

So I did some research and saw the following:

One person on the probrewer forums mentioned:
"From my experience a finished beer with a very low PH (4.2-4.3) tastes more watery thin than a beer that finishes with a higher ph (4.4-4.6)"

Gordon strong had stated:
"I did some research and experimentation with this last summer while working on my book. I think the desired target range is 4.1 to 4.5, with the tradeoff being between flavor and stability. The higher the pH, the better the flavor. The lower the pH, the better the (microbial) stability."

This northernbrewer thread a user checked the PH of all his favorite IPAs and all of them finished with a PH of 4.4-4.6

So as an experiment on my next IPA I'd like to shoot for a little higher of a final PH of 4.4-4.6.

So my question is, what can I do to get my final beer ph to be a little higher if I target a mash ph of 5.4? (I know yeast can have an effect on final ph too.)

Can I adjust the PH in the kettle with acid or lime towards the end of the boil (say last 5-10 minutes)?
In my last brew session (below) I had a pre-ferm ph of 5.15 which ended in a post ferm ph of 5.37, if I adjusted the kettle ph to 5.2-5.3 towards the end of the boil will that have any effect on the final ph? Is that safe to do?

PH notes from my last brew session:
- Mash ph of 5.39 (target 5.4)
- Acidified my sparge water to 5.6 (I batch sparge)
- Missed checking the kettle PH
- Pre-ferm of 5.15
- Post-ferm with dry-hop of 5.37.

 

[SpeedYellow]

In several beers I've checked, I saw no correlation between mash ph and final beer ph. The big variable seems to be exactly how happy those yeast are in that exact combo of circumstances (water, wort, temps, yeast health, etc.) pH into the fermenter may have a better correlation, but I still expect there'd be some real variance until you isolate all the variables affecting yeast happiness and get high consistency.

So this could be a bit of a challenge targeting a certain beer ph.

 

[Colbizle]

In several beers I've checked, I saw no correlation between mash ph and final beer ph. The big variable seems to be exactly how happy those yeast are in that exact combo of circumstances (water, wort, temps, yeast health, etc.) pH into the fermenter may have a better correlation, but I still expect there'd be some real variance until you isolate all the variables affecting yeast happiness and get high consistency.

So this could be a bit of a challenge targeting a certain beer ph.

Agree, but I think ph going into ferm (I think probrewers call this cast out?) is key.

I found this on the probrewer forums:

Narziss/Back show some interesting data on the comparison between mash, wort and combined mash/wort acidification:

No acidification: mash pH = 5.75, cast out wort pH = 5.65, beer pH = 4.61
mash acidification: mash pH = 5.52, cast out wort pH = 5.47, beer pH = 4.55
wort acidification: mash pH = 5.74, cast out wort pH = 5.20, beer pH = 4.36
combined mash/wort acidification: mash pH = 5.52, cast out wort pH = 5.20, beer pH = 4.43

You notice that of the beers with the same cast-out wort pH the one with the higher mash pH results in the one with the lowest beer pH.