pH
of Beer
General Considerations
• Beers with a high pH are prone to infection by
micro-organisms.
• Variation in beer pH can reflect inconsistency in fermentation.
• Problems may be encountered when beers of pH outside the normal
range are fined.
• Problems may be encountered with flavour if the pH is outside
the normal range.
Range of Values
• The acceptable range of pH for cask conditioned
beers is 3·7 - 4·1 units (see also Topics 3 and 11).
• For a given brand the pH should not vary by more than ± 0·15 units
Operational Protocols
• The pH value of every beer should be taken at
rack.
• Beers of very low (acid) pH should be checked for acidity produced
by contaminating micro-organisms.
Measurement Protocols
• Beer should be degassed prior to measurement
of pH.
• pH measurement to ± 0·1 units requires daily calibration of the
pH meter and either a fixed temperature for measurement or automatic
temperature compensation.
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