Are Brewers "cheating" by just dumping lactic acid in?

Reads 7038 • Replies 84 • Started Monday, May 18, 2015 7:10:24 AM CT

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Message CLevar places 23 º 08:49 Mon 5/18/2015 Originally posted by joeneugs I would say it’s only cheating if they’re trying to charge $20+ a bottle as if they spent 6+ months maturing the beer. I think this is a good point too. It’s one thing if it’s a decently priced beer that doesn’t put on any airs...I think id be a bit peeved if I payed a bunch for a "cheater" sour expecting it to be something it isn’t, regardless of how it tastes. Partly because I feel like my dollars should be supporting the risks and experimentation inherent to traditional sour beer brewing.
Message HaStuMiteZen99 beers 1111 º places 27 º 08:49 Mon 5/18/2015 Acidulated malt isn’t quite the same as just dumping lactic acid into the beer. The Weyermann stuff, at least, is made from some sort of sour-mash-type process at the maltster, which means it carries all the extra compounds which are produced in small amounts from lacto fermentation, and so gives you a bit more fermentation character than straight lactic acid. It might be that other acid malts are produced by just dousing the grain in lactic acid, in which case, that’s pretty much the same.
Message CLevar places 23 º 08:53 Mon 5/18/2015 I’d not heard that about that maltster. Interesting... Edit: reading their faq, I thinknthey are just spraying with lactic acid. http://www.weyermannmalt.com/eng/faq.asp?umenue=yes&idmenue=62&sprache=2

Message JorisPPattyn P admin beers 14310 º places 93 º 08:54 Mon 5/18/2015 1) quite a lot of brewers in Be have been practicing adding lactic acid to sour beers (especially Flemish browns), instead of waiting for the organisms to perform. Frowned upon, but difficult to condemn, notably because of: 2) virtually ALL brewers that I know need to rectify the pH of the mash towards higher acidity. This is nearly always done with lactic acid. Normal brewing practice.
Message CLevar places 23 º 08:57 Mon 5/18/2015 I know there are a few "traditional" lambic producers that acidify down to 4.3-4.4 to avoid the enteric phase of spontaneous fermentation and speed the process up a bit. Typically, mash acidification is a full point higher than that, but as you say, lactic acid addition is a standard brewing practice and therefore hard to condemn.
Message HaStuMiteZen99 beers 1111 º places 27 º 09:00 Mon 5/18/2015 The way they phrase is it a little ambiguous between the two: "Weyermann Acidulated Malt is produced by using lactic acid, which is generated by on grain natural occurring lactic bacteria." I’ve read elsewhere that they sour mash the grains. Could always email them though.
Message HaStuMiteZen99 beers 1111 º places 27 º 09:06 Mon 5/18/2015 I’ve just emailed them to find out. One thing is that spraying the malt with food-grade lactic acid might not be reinheitsgebot, whereas allowing the grains to sour would be.

Message Marko P admin beers 17776 º places 866 º 09:30 Mon 5/18/2015 Originally posted by joeneugs I would say it’s only cheating if they’re trying to charge $20+ a bottle as if they spent 6+ months maturing the beer. This.
Message DietPepsican P beers 1592 º places 63 º 09:30 Mon 5/18/2015 Wouldn’t matter to me at all. In fact, if a brewer could do this and get the same or better results, I’d say he is an idiot for being stubborn.
Message italarican P beers 1548 º places 115 º 09:45 Mon 5/18/2015 Originally posted by CLevar I’d not heard that about that maltster. Interesting... Edit: reading their faq, I thinknthey are just spraying with lactic acid. http://www.weyermannmalt.com/eng/faq.asp?umenue=yes&idmenue=62&sprache=2 That’s been my understanding.