Using pH strips to test beer

Thursday, February 25, 2021

Best pH strips for testing beer


Testing strips.

They are perhaps one of the oldest tricks of the trade that chemists have.

While you're testing for the number of hydrogen ions in a solution with a strip, you can actually pretty much test them for anything.

Salvia, soap, urine, wine, and beer to name a few things. Swimming pools, fish aquariums, hot tubs, and the ever popular kombucha are a few more!

But we want to focus on how you can use pH strips with your brewing.

Let's assume for the moment, you don't have access to a really good battery powered pH meter or you don't want to outlay the cash to buy one. The good news is that pH strips are really cheap as chips to buy.

ph scale for strip reference

So why do you want to use a pH strip for testing beer?


The pH level of your beer (both mash and wort) affects the way your beer turns out in several ways. Enzyme function is affected by an out of whack pH level, the efficiency of your hops can be manipulated and it affects how well your yeast ferments your brew.

So quite important then eh?

So the short version of using strip is the result you are looking for is a measurement of between pH 5.2 and 5.5. This is a general, ballpark, 'rule of thumb' number.

How then does one use a pH strip to test beer?


Fill a beaker or glass with the sample of wort or mash that you are testing. Your vessel must be very clean and free of any contaminants that may affect the test result.

Take a strip from the pack and add it to the solution. It will then change color.

You should then immediately compare this colour change to the colour chart that came with your strips. This chart will indicate the pH of your solution.

Your strips may have a recommended length of time to leave the strip in your solution, we suggest you follow that recommendation!

Are pH strips just litmus paper?


It's a fair question to ask. 

The difference lies in the intent of what one is trying to achieve by using either. 

By using litmus paper one is conducting a 'pass or fail' test that determines if a substance is acidic or basic. 

When one uses a pH strip, one is determining the actual pH value.

pH strips are thus more sensitive than litmus paper as they give you a more quantitative result - that said, it is still only indicative. If you need a precise measurement, then a quality pH meter will serve your needs.

Extra for Experts


If you are fairly petty Scrouge McDuck like kind of character, you can double the number of strips you have by carefully cutting them in half (down the length!) and then use as normal. Or, you can just stock up on Amazon, as they are really quite affordable. 

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Powered by Blogger.

Tags

absorption caps abv acetaldehyde acid adjuncts advice about beer brewing aeration aeration kit aging air lock alcohol alcohol poisoning ale ale beer kits alkaline alkaline brewery wash all grain american amylase apera apples attenuation autolysis automatic temperature compensation bacteria baker's yeast baking yeast ball lock ball valve bar keepers friend barley batch prime beer brewing beer capper beer dispenser beer filtration kit system beer gushers beer kit beer kit review beer kits beer lines beer salt beer taps beerstone best brewing equipment biotin bittering BKF black rock bleach blichmann blow off tubing bluelab bohemian pilsner boil in a bag boil over boneface bottle cap bottle caps bottle conditioning bottling bottling beer bottling spigot bourbon brettanomyces brew and review brew day brewing beer guide brewing salts brewing spoon brewing sugar brewing thermostat brewzilla british thermal unit brix brix scale BTU budvar buffer buffer solution burton snatch buyer's guide calcium chloride calcium sulphate calibration calibration probe calibration solution campden tablets capping carbon dioxide carbonation carbonation drops carboy cascade caustic soda cherry wine chinook chlorine christmas chronicle cider clarity cleaning your equipment clear beer clone recipe cloudy beer cold crashing coldbreak conditioning tablets conductivity conical fermenter contamination coopers copper tun corn sugar cornelius corny keg craft beer creamy beer crown cryo hops cubes danstar nottingham demijohn dextrose distilation DIY DME dopplebock draught dry hopping dry malt extract edelmetall brĂ¼ burner eisbock ekuanot electrode enhancer enzyme equipment ester ethanol experiments in beer making faucet fermcap-s fermentables fermentation fermenter fermentis fermentor final gravity finings five star flat beer floccing foam inhibitor force carbonation french fresh wort pack fridge fruit fusel alchohol garage project gas burners gelatin gift and present ideas gin ginger beer glucose golden ale golden syrup goldings gose grain grain mill green bullet grist guinness gypsum hach hacks hallertauer heat mat heat pad heat wrap home brew honey hop schedule hops hops spider how not to brew beer how to brew that first beer how to brew with a beer kit how to grow hops how to make a hop tea how to wash yeast hydrated layer hydrogen sulfide hydrometer IBU ideas idophor infection inkbird instruments isoamyl acetate jelly beans jockey box john palmer juniper keezer keg cooler keg regulators kegco kegerator kegging kegs kettle kombucha krausen lactic acid lager lagering lauter lion brown liquid malt extract litmus LME lupulin lupulin powder lupuLN2 making beer malic acid malt malt mill maltodextrin mangrove jack's maple syrup mash mash paddle mash tun mccashins mead methanol micro brewing milling milwaukee MW102 mistakes mixing instructions moa mouth feel muntons must nano brewing New Zealand Brewer's Series no rinse nut brown ale oak oak wood chips off flavors original gravity oxygen pacific gem palaeo water pale ale panhead parsnip PBW pear pectine pectolase perlick ph levels ph meter ph pen pH strips ph tester pico brewing pilsner pitching yeast plastic drum poppet valve pot powdered brewing wash ppm precipitated chalk pressure relief valve priming prison hooch probe problem solving propane and propane accessories pruno pump system purity law radler re-using yeast recipe record keeping reddit refractometer reinheitsgebot removing beer labels from bottles review rice hulls riwaka rotten eggs saaz saccharomyces cerevisiae salt sanitization secondary regulator sediment seltzer session beer silicon simple tricks for brewing siphon site glass skunked beer small batch brewing soda soda ash soda stream sodium carbonate sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate sodium hydroxide sodium metasilicate sodium percarbonate sour beer sparge spigot spirals spirits spoon spraymalt star san starch STC-1000 steinlager steralisation sterilisation sterilization sterliization still stoke storage solution stout sucrose sugar supercharger tannins temperature temperature controller therminator thermometer tips for beginners tri-sodium phopsphate tricks and tips trub tubing tui turkey vodka infused gin vorlauf water water testing wet cardboard taste wet hopping weta whirlfloc tablets white claw williamswarn wine winter brewing wood wort wort chiller yeast yeast energizer yeast nutrient yeast rafts yeast starter yeast traps zinc
Back to Top