Acidulated Malt

[Stuster]

As suggested by neonmeate, to avoid taking the Witbier thread off topic, I've started this thread. I have some acidulated malt which I bought primarily to adjust mash pH. However, I'm also interested in using it to make some sour beers (probably witbiers and Berliner weisse). I've included the last couple of posts on this topic from the other thread. From neonmeate's experiences, it seems it won't work too well, but I wanted to know if others had used acidulated malt for either of these uses and what your experiences were?

Well, a little digging has resulted in a quote from Wes Smith, here, to the effect that the sourness from acidulated malt definitely will not carry over into the finished beer. However, weyermann themselves say that this malt is perfect for achieving the sour character of beers like Berliner Weisse, here. Anybody care to comment on that? Wes? Seth? Anybody?

this should probably be hashed out in its own thread as it is an interesting one that i've pondered as well. wes seems to be saying that it is purely designed for using in small quantities for buffering high-pH mashes, whereas weyermann say that in excess it will lower the wort pH as well. the question is how much you need to add to get past the buffering effect and leave actual sourness in the beer.

my personal experience with it - i did try using about 9-10% acid malt in a beer i made once that i intended to be kind of a sourmash tripel. it didn't make it sour but it left a weird rotten sort of flavour that was quite overpowering. i have also used too much when pH adjusting in pilseners and it left the same yukky flavour. maybe a better way to add sourness might be to sour the beer itself by throwing in a few grains of acid malt and keeping it warm for a week or two? (you could control it by souring only a couple of litres then pasteurising and adding back in)?

 

[Kai]

Add enough and it would have noticeable effect on sourness, I'm sure.

I use it occasionally in lighter coloured beers, usually 3-5%. However, I do so out of habit more than any real impression of it having an effect.

 

[Weizguy]

Stu,

I've used it in a Czech pils, and in the Berlinisch weisse recipe (see link), and in a weizen recently.

I don't think that it contributed a lot, and would prefer to perform a sour mash to get some "real" lacto in there, as the recipe requires. As you can read in the Berliner recipe, I needed to add extra lactic acid, as the sourness was too light.

If anyone wants to contrive an experiment, I'll see what I can do in my brewery to make it happen. maybe a series of the same experiment across the country?

Testify!

Seth out

 

[newguy]

I have used it in the past to adjust mash pH, but don't anymore. I use liquid lactic acid for pH adjustments instead.

The most I ever used was about 5%, primarily in weizens. Not enough to taste sourness in the finished product, but if you used more than that (20%+ for a wild guess), I'm sure you'd be able to taste some sourness in the finished beer.