pH readings of sugar wash

tracker0945 · Post by **tracker0945** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:51 am

Just got myself a pH meter and have been doing some testing.
All of my washes are part way fermented and I was wondering if the pH reading changes at all during fermentation or if what I am reading now would have been similar to the starting reading.
If it makes a difference, all of my washes are plain old sugar.
Cheers

boxcar · Post by **boxcar** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:58 am

by wash, I imagine you are doing sugar washes, not malt.

for mashes using corn, rye, malt etc. ph is important to extract maximum sugar out of the mash.

for sugar washes, I think adjustment prior to fermentation is necessary, but once it starts going, dont fool with it

tracker0945 · Post by **tracker0945** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:06 pm

Wasn't planning on making any changes, just curious as to if the reading I get now would have been the same at the starting point.

Froggy · Post by **Froggy** » Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:10 pm

What should the pH level be on a plain sugar wash?

Froggy · Post by **Froggy** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:05 am

Froggy wrote:What should the pH level be on a plain sugar wash?

Between 4 and 4.5 I have just read on the parent site.

Post by **HookLine** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:52 am

Hey Froggy, looks like your little brother/nephew has joined up too.

Check his interests.

Froggy · Post by **Froggy** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:11 am

HookLine wrote:Hey Froggy, looks like your little brother/nephew has joined up too.

Check his interests.

That's my cheeky girlfriend who thinks she can learn more about stilling than me. Good I say, I can just sit back and drink the stuff

Post by **HookLine** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 4:06 am

Ahh, a 'Froglette', (not a little brother/nephew, sorry.

)

Hello Froglet. Welcome to the wonderful world of distilling. Got any other 'lette friends you could convince to come and join us? We are seriously short of female distillers.

mikeac · Post by **mikeac** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:26 am

While I do all the research, My aussie girlfriend is as into the actual distilling...and sampling....as I am.

Post by **HookLine** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:34 am

Sounds like a match made in heaven, or a bar.

punkin · Post by **punkin** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:56 am

Or a bar in heaven

froglet · Post by **froglet** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:28 pm

Hello everyone

Yes i'm the female frog and I guess really it was a case of 'If you can't beat them, join them'...

and then beat them!

So primarily I am hoping I can get myself promoted from Still Cleaner to maybe Still Operator or even Still Co-Builder

and then eventually I can get Froggy to do the cleaning while I do all the clever stuff ha ha

I've been doing lots and lots of reading (together with the tasting of course

) and I'm starting to get quite excited about it all.

I'm not sure it's a very feminine hobby (I would say it's a bit too technical and er... not legal?) but if I hear of any other girls getting into it I definitely know which direction to point them in

When I get the courage up I might have a couple of questions to ask. Lots more reading to do first though. So until next time!

Old_Blue · Post by **Old_Blue** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:53 pm

froglet, Them yeast don't care who threw them in there with all that tasty sugar. They just happy to be there.

newts · Post by **newts** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 4:44 pm

i find my sugar washes chage from the 5.5 to 6 % that works best for me and my water, to 3to 4 % as the wash progressess.I also no longer use a standard tall fermenter, instead I use a lightley covered shallow 44ltr rectangular toy box as suggested by birdwatcher. My sugar washes now finish in 3 or 4 days using bakers yeast .
Newts

Post by **Dnderhead** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 6:41 am

Some yest like top or bottom large shallow container gives them
more room

stoker · Post by **stoker** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:26 am

froglet wrote:(...)

KatoFong wrote:But other than those two, it's a giant sausage fest. I mean, the fest is giant. Not necessarily the sausages.

you must be number 3, hi there

she's just in, and already begins to decorate the place, .. in indigo!

I think you'll have to announce yourself in the topic, and say you already have a male frog

CanadianWhiskey · Post by **CanadianWhiskey** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:43 am

just wondering hot i should up my PH. I brought to the lab at work and it tests came back as 3.37. any sugestions on getting it to 4- 4.5

Post by **Dnderhead** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:13 am

calcium sulphate or calcium carbonate

CanadianWhiskey · Post by **CanadianWhiskey** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:03 am

and how much ? im no chemist here at work and i hevent told them exactly what they tested...lol

Post by **Dnderhead** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:33 am

you can git litmus paper to check your own pH used in swimming pools
and such how much to add not shour just add a little at time until
where you want (mite be chart somewhere) they also have "PH stabilizer" that automatically adjust ph
if you have brew store near

CanadianWhiskey · Post by **CanadianWhiskey** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 10:38 am

well if youll belive it the local brew shops dont carry anything on PH readins and testing, there about 20 here in ottawa..i havent called them all but i also found that pretty funny...but ya i got some lab grade high quality from the hot chicks that work in the MEDIA lab here, except they thinkits wine and they want to sample it when its done.lol...they willbe in for a big surprise...

Post by **Dnderhead** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 11:37 am

Brewhaus has PH stabilizer makes right ph automatically ? no need to test on other buy bottle of "good " stuff at store put in own bottle
and give it to them

partonken · Post by **partonken** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 1:39 pm

i do alot of sugar washes , and i find by using back-set the ferment is quicker and more active. The only problem is the ph gets down to about 3 to 3.9 when your re-using backset every time.

I use potassium Bi-carbonate, which is used in the wine industry. By adding 3 tbsps it usually brings the ph up by 1 point in a 23 litre wash.
A 3.1 ph wash will rise to 4.3 with 3 tbsps.

I re-use all my yeast with 1 tsp of new distillers yeast in a yeast starter.
good luck!

CanadianWhiskey · Post by **CanadianWhiskey** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 7:14 pm

what do you guys mean by back-set i read that alot and not sure what the term is

partonken · Post by **partonken** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 6:22 am

hey Canadian Whiskey! backset is the liquid left over after you finish stripping your mash. In a 23 litre run you might have 15 litres of sterilized liquid , approx.

Where are you in Canada, im up in the Georgian Bay area.

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pH readings of sugar wash

pH readings of sugar wash

ph leves

sugar wash

backset