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pH readings of sugar wash

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:51 am
by tracker0945
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

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:58 am
by boxcar
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

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:06 pm
by tracker0945
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.

Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:10 pm
by Froggy
What should the pH level be on a plain sugar wash?

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:05 am
by Froggy
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.

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:52 am
by HookLine
Hey Froggy, looks like your little brother/nephew has joined up too.

Check his interests. :lol:

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:11 am
by Froggy
HookLine wrote:Hey Froggy, looks like your little brother/nephew has joined up too.

Check his interests. :lol:
:lol: :lol: 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 :wink:

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 4:06 am
by HookLine
:lol: :lol: :lol:

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

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. :wink:

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:26 am
by mikeac
While I do all the research, My aussie girlfriend is as into the actual distilling...and sampling....as I am.

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:34 am
by HookLine
Sounds like a match made in heaven, or a bar.

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:56 am
by punkin
Or a bar in heaven 8)

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:28 pm
by froglet
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 :D 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 :wink: ) 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 :wink:

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!

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:53 pm
by Old_Blue
froglet, Them yeast don't care who threw them in there with all that tasty sugar. They just happy to be there.

ph leves

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 4:44 pm
by newts
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

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 6:41 am
by Dnderhead
Some yest like top or bottom large shallow container gives them
more room

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:26 am
by stoker
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 :P

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 :D

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:43 am
by CanadianWhiskey
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

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:13 am
by Dnderhead
calcium sulphate or calcium carbonate

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:03 am
by CanadianWhiskey
and how much ? im no chemist here at work and i hevent told them exactly what they tested...lol

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:33 am
by Dnderhead
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

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 10:38 am
by CanadianWhiskey
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...

Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 11:37 am
by Dnderhead
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 :twisted:

sugar wash

Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 1:39 pm
by partonken
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!

Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 7:14 pm
by CanadianWhiskey
what do you guys mean by back-set i read that alot and not sure what the term is

backset

Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2008 6:22 am
by partonken
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.