The mash is the most critical step of wort production. Without a good mash, brewers run the risk of inefficient extraction, loss of yield, off-flavors, and general low quality beer. In this session, Derek Zuniga of Real Ale Brewing Company discusses adjusting mash pH and why it matters. One of the biggest improvements a brewer can make to influence their beer is controlling mash pH to facilitate proper extraction, saccharification, and efficient separation of wort. This presentation covers the ways to reduce mash pH to the acceptable range, the reasons why mash pH is so important, and calculations a brewer can do to estimate the mash pH before mashing-in.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the importance of mash pH and what it affects in the process
• Understand what factors affect the mash pH value
• Go over different ways to adjust mash pH
• Look at an example of adjusting mash pH at Real Ale Brewing Company