StillSmart

chill wrote:I would not say well. I sprinkled it on top and gave it a couple of stirs with a small spoon. A couple hours laters it was fizzing again.

I was wondering if you had inadvertently given it a good beating. That well know cure for stuck ferments. Maybe not

Well, isn't that interesting. Made up a fresh lentil wash tonight with fresh pH buffer (e.g. I am sure I followed the correct formula). I checked the pH before pitching the yeast. It was a bit over 7. So something has changed in my water or sugar (I checked before adding the lentils) and the pH buffer is not bringing it to 5 like it used to. My tap water is about 6.5 or a bit higher.

So it was not rising pH but the pH not falling as the yeast was not very active after the initial spurt. I added some extra citric acid to bring it to 5 (4 tsp so far) and will monitor it. Time to recalculate the buffer formula.

Chuck

Chuck,have you read my bonkers post in the S.L.O.W. lentils thread?
You are saying that your water or sugar has changed,I'm starting to think that different sugar refineries produce sugar of different qualities,at the level that matters to yeast,could even be the packaging...
I could just be bonkers...
But if a refinery uses local water to dissolve/extract sugar from cane or beet,and then dries the resulting syrup,maybe a more acidic local water source would result in a more acidic refined sugar?
Maybe adding acid in the process strips out more sugar?
Is there an industry Standard for sugar Ph?
Next wash I will test various sugars for Ph,and see what results.

Robert.

If my case it is not the refiner, there is only one aside from speciality sugars. You have a choice between Rogers, Rogers, and for a change of pace, Rogers. Though they may have multiple refineries.

With the correct pH, this wash has really taken off. Now I am wondering if this is the cause of many odd ferments that I have had over the year or so.

I have to report that having just dissolved 5kg of Lidl's Belbake refined sugar in 23 litres of water and 5Kg of Aldi's Pantry brand refined in another 23,there is still a colour difference,but negligible Ph difference,a consistent point 1,ie,6.3 and 6.4.
Nothing to write home about,So the colour difference,and any ferment difference is not due to Ph.
What a waste of a good theory...
I intend to feed them the same amount of goodies and look for ferment differences.
If it's not Ph or heat then it must be............?

Robert