During the process of completing my business plan (more on that to come in future posts, I promise!), I started carefully planning out the barrel program for Third Leap. I am fascinated by wild ales, and want them to be of significant emphasis when the brewery opens up.
Wild ales are one of my favorite styles of beer. And as a fan and homebrewer, I try to learn what are the qualities of beers I enjoy, so I can enjoy similar beers, and so I can take those qualities and insert them into my own recipes and brewing processes.
Throughout my research, it is evident that commercial information on wild ales is limited. American Sour Beers and Wild Brews are the two saving graces, but even then, there is more information to be had. While many traditional breweries openly share OG, IBU, and ABV, very few wild ale breweries share one key metric; pH.
If you want a detailed overview of pH, check out BrauKaiser’s write up. For the Layman (like me), it’s easier to think of pH as a measure of acidity in a beer, with 0 being most acidic and 14 being least acidic (called basic). Water is usually right square in the middle at 7, which is considered neutral.
pH is important with regard to sour beers because it is an objective measure of acidity. Unfortunately, many commercial brewers do not (openly) share these pH measurements of their sours beers.
Embrace the Funk (and others, I am sure) has been cataloging pH readings of commercial beers for several years and I would like to help that cause, especially since recently purchasing a Milwaukee MW102 PH and Temperature Meter!
With that being said, I’ve created a new page called “BEER PH” which you can find at the top navigation. Here I will catalog as many beers (especially sours) as I can to help share my findings with wild ale fans and homebrewers alike. Feel free to check it out and request beers if you are interested in learning more!