I wish I had taken better notes and had pictures, etc. but we did a mash Ph experiment a while back and I though I would post the, very interesting, results here.
I own and operate a small commercial brewery. We take great care to monitor our mash Ph and I wanted to see if this really made a difference.
I had always heard and read that the optimal range of mash Ph was between 5.2-5.5 and that erring on the low end of the scale, especially with IPAs, was optimal. http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=How_pH_affects_brewing is an article that promotes this theory.
I have a friend with a PicoBrew system that is completely automated. So he brewed two batches of one of our most popular IPAs with varying Ph. One was adjusted via EZ Water Calculator to 5.2 the other aimed for right around 5.5.
The gravitates both starting and finishing were very similar. Surprisingly enough, the one with the higher Ph had a slightly higher OG.
I then gave a triangle test (two samples of beer A, one sample of beer B. They are told, here is sample 1, 2, and 3. Two are indentical one is different. Pick the odd man out. Nothing was said at all about the nature of the experiment) to 15 people over the course of several days. In total 8 of the 15 were able to pick the odd man out. Not overwhelming evidence, but better than the 5 out of 15 that would be expected with random guessing.
Here's the funny thing... Almost everyone who in someway made their living off of alcohol (This included a master distiller, several bar managers and professional brewers) about half of the 15 total, got it right! The other half which were all craft beer drinkers and fans but had jobs outside the industry, almost all got it wrong. This makes sense to a degree but I did not think the results would be that stark.
Here's where it gets really interesting: When asked which they preferred, the results were pretty much evenly split. Those who preferred the lower Ph often described it as: Crisp, bright, and dry and the higher Ph as flabby and too sweet. Those who preferred the Higher Ph described it as fruity and smooth while calling the lower Ph sharp and too bitter.
Where does all this leave us? I mean if it doesn't make a difference in preference then why go to all the fuss? I'm not quite sure what the answer is but I do have one theory that might back prevailing wisdom.
Read through this experiment if you have the time http://brulosophy.com/2016/10/03/water-chemistry-pt-6-sulfate-to-chloride-ratio-exbeeriment-results/ (btw, this is a fantastic website!!)
He did a similar experiment with an IPA but the variable was chloride to sulfate ratio. He also came up with a strikingly similar result. A decent number of people were able to tell the difference between the beers but the preference was pretty much split down the middle. The descriptors his subjects used were also strikingly similar, "the beer with a higher sulfate to chloride ratio was typically perceived as crisp, dry, hoppy, and more bitter while tasters felt the lower ratio beer was smoother."
One thing that he, and I, forgot to include in the survey was, do you like IPAs? My thought is that the people who normally like IPAs are going to like the lower Ph, high sulfate beer whereas the people who are not as nuts about them are going to want a less aggressive version of the style. If that is the case (again, this is still speculation) then it still makes sense, at least on a commercial scale, to brew beers to the prevailing wisdom given that most people ordering a given style are going to be fans of that given style.
Here is yet another experiment was very similar results: http://brulosophy.com/2015/05/18/water-chemistry-pt-2-messing-with-minerals-exbeeriment-results/
Very similar test but with a Dry Irish Stout. Beer A used a normal stout water profile, whereas Beer B used an IPA profile. Again, a good percentage of people were able to tell the difference but the preference was nearly 50/50. Beer A exhibited normal stout characteristics and Beer B was much more sharp and hop forward. Again, I can only wonder if those who selected Beer B were normally IPA drinkers.
Food for thought. I would appreciate any comments or experiences anyone would like to share.
I own and operate a small commercial brewery. We take great care to monitor our mash Ph and I wanted to see if this really made a difference.
I had always heard and read that the optimal range of mash Ph was between 5.2-5.5 and that erring on the low end of the scale, especially with IPAs, was optimal. http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=How_pH_affects_brewing is an article that promotes this theory.
I have a friend with a PicoBrew system that is completely automated. So he brewed two batches of one of our most popular IPAs with varying Ph. One was adjusted via EZ Water Calculator to 5.2 the other aimed for right around 5.5.
The gravitates both starting and finishing were very similar. Surprisingly enough, the one with the higher Ph had a slightly higher OG.
I then gave a triangle test (two samples of beer A, one sample of beer B. They are told, here is sample 1, 2, and 3. Two are indentical one is different. Pick the odd man out. Nothing was said at all about the nature of the experiment) to 15 people over the course of several days. In total 8 of the 15 were able to pick the odd man out. Not overwhelming evidence, but better than the 5 out of 15 that would be expected with random guessing.
Here's the funny thing... Almost everyone who in someway made their living off of alcohol (This included a master distiller, several bar managers and professional brewers) about half of the 15 total, got it right! The other half which were all craft beer drinkers and fans but had jobs outside the industry, almost all got it wrong. This makes sense to a degree but I did not think the results would be that stark.
Here's where it gets really interesting: When asked which they preferred, the results were pretty much evenly split. Those who preferred the lower Ph often described it as: Crisp, bright, and dry and the higher Ph as flabby and too sweet. Those who preferred the Higher Ph described it as fruity and smooth while calling the lower Ph sharp and too bitter.
Where does all this leave us? I mean if it doesn't make a difference in preference then why go to all the fuss? I'm not quite sure what the answer is but I do have one theory that might back prevailing wisdom.
Read through this experiment if you have the time http://brulosophy.com/2016/10/03/water-chemistry-pt-6-sulfate-to-chloride-ratio-exbeeriment-results/ (btw, this is a fantastic website!!)
He did a similar experiment with an IPA but the variable was chloride to sulfate ratio. He also came up with a strikingly similar result. A decent number of people were able to tell the difference between the beers but the preference was pretty much split down the middle. The descriptors his subjects used were also strikingly similar, "the beer with a higher sulfate to chloride ratio was typically perceived as crisp, dry, hoppy, and more bitter while tasters felt the lower ratio beer was smoother."
One thing that he, and I, forgot to include in the survey was, do you like IPAs? My thought is that the people who normally like IPAs are going to like the lower Ph, high sulfate beer whereas the people who are not as nuts about them are going to want a less aggressive version of the style. If that is the case (again, this is still speculation) then it still makes sense, at least on a commercial scale, to brew beers to the prevailing wisdom given that most people ordering a given style are going to be fans of that given style.
Here is yet another experiment was very similar results: http://brulosophy.com/2015/05/18/water-chemistry-pt-2-messing-with-minerals-exbeeriment-results/
Very similar test but with a Dry Irish Stout. Beer A used a normal stout water profile, whereas Beer B used an IPA profile. Again, a good percentage of people were able to tell the difference but the preference was nearly 50/50. Beer A exhibited normal stout characteristics and Beer B was much more sharp and hop forward. Again, I can only wonder if those who selected Beer B were normally IPA drinkers.
Food for thought. I would appreciate any comments or experiences anyone would like to share.