Doing a Belgian pale ale with 8 lbs of grain and 1.5 lbs of sugar.
I checked the ph of my mash and it seems to be 5.0. I used test strips that I'm sure aren't the most accurate in the world but every time I've ever used them they have matched up with a 5.4 ph. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that the grains I'm using were crushed a few months ago, so I think that might be the problem. My temps are okay.
If I am in fact mashing with a ph that is too low is there any fix necessary? I assume this will thin the beer out and I could add some maltodextrine. I can also add some DME if necessary but I done have a refractometer, so I'm not sure how much to add. I also don't have iodine, so I'm just assuming that conversion is occurring.
RDWHAB?
I checked the ph of my mash and it seems to be 5.0. I used test strips that I'm sure aren't the most accurate in the world but every time I've ever used them they have matched up with a 5.4 ph. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that the grains I'm using were crushed a few months ago, so I think that might be the problem. My temps are okay.
If I am in fact mashing with a ph that is too low is there any fix necessary? I assume this will thin the beer out and I could add some maltodextrine. I can also add some DME if necessary but I done have a refractometer, so I'm not sure how much to add. I also don't have iodine, so I'm just assuming that conversion is occurring.
RDWHAB?