Whey expulsion from cheese curd is influenced by temperature, pH, cut size and cooking. Our objective was to determine the extent to which pH drop before draining influences curd syneresis, curd moisture before draining and final cheese moisture when using concentrated milk. Recombined milk (7.5 kg) was prepared by mixing micellar casein concentrate (~9% casein), cream and skim milk to 4% casein and casein-to-fat ratio of 0.68. Four levels (0.5×, 1×, 2× and 4×) of a pH-controlled bulk starter culture were used to obtain different rates of pH change. Cheesemaking involved a typical cheddar make procedure with setting at 31°C, cutting after 30 min, cooking to 38°C with 95-min set-to-drain time followed by cheddaring with 85-min drain-to-mill time. Prior to cutting, the curd was overlaid with 2 kg of ultrafiltered milk permeate to minimize curd breakage upon stirring. Initially there was rapid moisture loss from curd after cutting, followed by a linear pattern (R² > 0.95) until whey drainage. A faster drop in pH increased whey expulsion from the curd (P = 0.0002). With initial curd moisture levels at 5 min of 83.7 and 83.3% using 0.5× and 4× culture, respectively, curd moisture level of 75.0 and 72.8%, respectively, were obtained at 50 min (during cooking), and 65.5 and 58.5%, respectively, at 95 min (at draining). As cheese make times were fixed, curd pH at draining was lower with faster acidification, the values being 6.5, 6.4, 6.1, and 5.8 for culture additions of 0.5×, 1×, 2× and 4×, respectively. Cheese pH after 14 d of refrigerated storage was likewise affected with pH of 5.4, 5.3, 5.2 and 5.1, respectively. Mean cheese moisture contents were 37.8, 37.1, 37.2, and 35.2%, respectively. Cheese moisture and pH were correlated with drain pH (R² = 0.48 and 0.71, respectively). To account for the increased buffering capacity of concentrated milk containing 4% casein, a drain pH of 5.9 to 6.0 would be required to obtain a cheese with d 14 pH of ~5.1. To conclude, the pH drop that occurs during cheesemaking increases rate and extent of whey expulsion and will produce cheese with lower moisture.