# citric vs lactic acid equivalence for mashwater pH adjustment



## Goose

Most water calculators out there only seem to facilitate the use of liquid acids for pH adjustment but I only have access to solid citric so looking for confirmation that my conversion is accurate.

I have had a play with Brun water which i find a bit user unfriendly and if I am right it would suggest that 1 g of solid citric is equivalent to 0.716 ml of 88% liquid lactic acid in terms of its effect on lowering pH.

Can anybody confirm this conversion ?


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## timmi9191

Depends on thr concentration of tge citric in solid form and dilution. So you need to post more info. Remembering acids arent acids


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## Jack of all biers

I'm guessing your citric is 100% or thereabouts. Go to Brewers friend calculators to find how much you need to add. Once there you can choose which acid, at what percentage to add to mash or sparge and it will spit out a measure for you.

EDIT - grammar


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## Goose

timmi9191 said:


> Depends on thr concentration of tge citric in solid form and dilution. So you need to post more info. Remembering acids arent acids


That's a new one for me on solid acid, I assumed the crystals were 100%. If not, what is the inert compound in there ?I could only guess whether there is any water contained in the crystalline structure, ie anhydrous or pure.

So, assuming its pure, do you know the answer ?

Thanks in advance.


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## peteru

Are we talking about this? http://www.mckenziesfoods.com.au/product/mckenzies-citric-acid/


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## MHB

I would avoid Citric, Lactic and Phosphoric are the main acids used in commercial brewing and no, that isn't a cost choice its an outcome based decision. Truth is I cant find one example of a professional operation using Citric acid.
Have done a bit of research on the role of Citric acid. it is very important as a part of the Citric Acid Cycle (*Krebs cycle*), but that happens inside the yeast cell. Citric acid along with Malic Acid are produced as a byproduct of fermentation and cause the reduction in the beer pH during fermentation.

Adding Citric Acid to the mash could be a lot more problematic. Citric Acid is a very powerful chelating agent, it binds metal ions, including Calcium that we spend a lot of time on here talking about, removing Calcium not only takes calcium out of play it reduces the effect of Ca on wort pH and reduces the overall buffering capacity of the mash.
There are also a few flavour warnings about what too much will do in the beer, but you would need to be pretty heavy handed for most people to taste the citric acid, tho some people are very sensitive to citric acid flavour.

For what it costs to get some Lactic acid delivered from any one of many on line suppliers, I think it would be a worthwhile investment.
Mark


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## manticle

I think Goose is based outside AU which might make it less available.

Otherwise I'd second ease of use and economics of hbs available phos or lactic.


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## mabrungard

Citric acid is far from ideal for brewing use, but it can have a place in brewing. The big problem with citric is that its flavor threshold is much lower than that of many other acids. Citric acid can be used in brewing if the water supply has low alkalinity. 

I'm not sure how the OP determined that 0.71 ml of 88% lactic is equal to 1 g of citric. Equivalence is defined as the amount of neutralizing power the acid addition provides. That is shown as an allegory in the form of its 'negative' bicarbonate concentration. I find that 1 gram of citric solid is equal to about 0.862 ml of 88% lactic.


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## Goose

> I'm not sure how the OP determined that 0.71 ml of 88% lactic is equal to 1 g of citric. Equivalence is defined as the amount of neutralizing power the acid addition provides. That is shown as an allegory in the form of its 'negative' bicarbonate concentration. I find that 1 gram of citric solid is equal to about 0.862 ml of 88% lactic.


Hey Martin good to hear from you on the forum.

To calculate the equivalence between lactic 88% and solid citric, I used your “Sparge Acidification” tab.

For my water with a starting pH (7.0) and alkalinity (19 ppm as CaCO3), targeting a pH of 4.3 the output tells me I need .045 ml of lactic acid per litre of water *OR* 62.71 mg per litre of citric acid (solid) if I select that option in the drop down box in the inputs section.

Therefore 1g of citric acid equates to .045/62.71*1000 =0.718 ml of 88% lactic (I said 0.716 earlier, rounding).

The reason I used the “Sparge Acidification” tab is because I notice that you do not include a citric or solid acid option in your “Water Adjustment” tab ?


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## MHB

Goose said:


> Snip
> The reason I used the “Sparge Acidification” tab is because I notice that you do not include a citric or solid acid option in your “Water Adjustment” tab ?


Have you thought there might be a good reason why citric is left off the list of "recommended/used" water adjustment acids?
Mark


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## Gelding

MHB said:


> Have you thought there might be a good reason why citric is left off the list of "recommended/used" water adjustment acids?


I believe the OP is asking why citric is included in the sparge acidification tab, which is also water adjustment.... ?


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## MHB

Well you would have to ask the guy who wrote the website, the same guy who is suggesting Citric is less than ideal for the job.
Hydrochloric and Sulphuric, will also work, but Lactic and Phosphoric are generally regarded as the best choices.
Mark


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## Gelding

MHB said:


> Well you would have to ask the guy who wrote the website, the same guy who is suggesting Citric is less than ideal for the job.


I believe he did, and nobody is doubting that citric is less than ideal.


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## rude

Maybe Goose is loose & just likes to play around with maths


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## manticle

rude said:


> Maybe Goose is loose & just likes to play around with maths


https://vimeo.com/13497928


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## Zorco

That is the funniest thing I've watched this year!


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## Goose

Gents, many thanks for the feedback.

MHB, yes I am aware that Citric is not the best but as Manticle correctly points out I don’t have immediate access to liquid lactic, the only two homebrew shops that exist in this country do not stock it while citric is available in supermarkets. I am trying to get some shipped in…

In the meantime I figure that given my alkalinity is very low, using citric to lower my pH is better than none, hence my trials and tribulations with the bru’n water spreadsheet.

And yes I have asked above why it is included as an option for sparge water pH adjustment but not in the mash... :unsure:

While we are on the subject, what I could forward order is acidulated malt though there seems to be mixed opinions on whether it is necessary or has its place if lactic acid is an available alternative. I was informed recently by a microbrewer owner that he uses both, and the reason why is that the acid malt is slow releasing throughout the mash and therefore does a better job of pH stability. I am not sure about the logic of this one, views welcome ?


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## Matplat

The other option likely available to you is hydrochloric, you can get it at hardware stores, or swimming pools stores.

Also, why are you targeting a ph of 4.3?? the finished beer will end up around there, but you certainly don't want the ph of your mash or sparge water anywhere near that low.


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## MHB

Just out of curiosity - which country?
If your Carbonate is low then using Acid Malt (Sauermalz) would be a great choice, up to 5% of grist without any problems, 10% if needed, tho I don't agree with the slow release.
You could even make your own Bioacidified malt, just by soaking some malt in water at 45oC for a day or two, you would need to do a bit of reading up on the process and have a good way to measure your pH, but if its an ongoing issue you can make a stock solution then pasteurise it and use it at need.

Weyermann Acid malt will lower the pH 0.1pH/1% of grist and as Matplat said your mash pH wants to be higher than 4.3 more like 5.3 give or take.
This is a really good read http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Mash_pH_control

Good brewing
Mark


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## mabrungard

Goose said:


> The reason I used the “Sparge Acidification” tab is because I notice that you do not include a citric or solid acid option in your “Water Adjustment” tab ?


What? Its included in both places. What version are you using?


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## Markbeer

Hi,

I have used citric before, but have soft water so all I need is 5 grams. I could not notice the difference between that and equivalent lactic. Batch size 50 litres.

Mark


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## Goose

mabrungard said:


> What? Its included in both places. What version are you using?


What indeed Sir Martin.

I was using 1.16 which does not have the option for solid acid adjustment (refer screenshot). However I just downloaded your latest version 1.18a where indeed, it is. So thankyou for that clarification and I guess I shall have to check for updates more regularly.


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## Lyrebird_Cycles

Regarding the flavour thing: in wine citric is regarded as the most flavour active of the organic acids that are allowed as additions (eg those that occur naturally in grape juice and wine)* and for that reason is often added in small quantities to whites just before bottling to freshen them up. For this purpose an addition of 0.1 to 0.25 g /l is typical. Lactic is considered to be much softer and better integrated but is rarely added to wine.

This won't necessarily translate directly to beer but it provides an indication: I can think of a long list of beers that citric wouldn't suit but it might work in something where a bit of zing was desired.


*Well technically ascorbic is on this list and is even more flavour active but it's not usually added for its acid activity.


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