Beer Forum

Would the alpha/beta acids in hops have any effect on mash pH? I wanted to try some experiments but don't want to waste my time.

Any? Yes. Appreciable? Probably not. These acids are fairly strong - i.e. their pK's are less than typical wort pH which means that they would participate in acidification and buffering of kettle, fermenter and, ultimately, beer pH. It' just that there isn't that much of them in solution - a few hundred mg/L which sounds like a lot but compared to the other stuff in wort is pretty minimal. A simple experiment would be to sacrifice some wort for science. Take a quart or 2 just before adding hops to the kettle and and boil it separately. Then check pH of each at the end of the boil.

hmmm, I was more interested in their effect on mash pH. I'm making a home grown hop IPA on labor day which is getting a large dose of hops in the mash and that got me thinking about it since I'm also trying a different acid (phosphoric, 10%) in the mash on this batch as well. I've been using lactic (88%). AJ, any idea on the difference in the amount of acid I should expect to need, lactic vs. phosphoric? I experimented with my tap water and it took 3-3.5 times as much phosphoric to drop the ph the same amount as the lactic.
Thanks,
Nate