I’m in the process of brewing a pale ale today, right as the mash had hit the hour mark I got a work call and ended up tied up for a ½ hour or so meaning I mashed for ~90minutes. Also, my pH came in low at 5.1 (although I’ve lost some confidence in my meter a bit since I got a different result on a hot tub sample than the lab at the local pool shop) - do you think I’ll experience any negative effects from the long mash/low pH?
It will be fine. The beer might end up drier than you intended, but probably not. Plus, most beers could stand to be drier anyway!
It’s going to be great. No worries.
+1 to the above posts. No worries on the extra 30 minutes. Your palate will tell you if the pH was an issue or not - hopefully/probably not. Let us know how it comes out !
Awesome, thanks for the input everyone.
I have found if my Mash PH is to low and my yeast does not buffer the drop in PH well the finial beer will be a bit dull and less bitter especially for an APA and IPA (4.0 to 4.2 = dull in my eyes, 4.5 to 4.6 seems money in my opinion for APAs and IPAs) . Would be interesting to see what your finial beer PH will be and your thoughts on the perceived bitterness.
I calibrate my pH meter for each brew session. It does tend to stray if you don’t. Also, remember that temps (even the ATC meters) needs to be accounted for. Lastly, do an iodine test to get an idea of your conversion (I usually do this around 20 minutes into the mash). Overall, I wouldn’t worry about it. There’s always a “next” time.
Everything but the bold. It’s simply not necessary and too many false positive readings. Unless you are using undermodified malt you will get conversion if your pH and temp is in the correct zone.
I think the beer will be fine, but you took a work call while brewing? Are you the president? A brain surgeon on call?