Any idea how man g/l of LD Carlson acid blend it takes to lower pH .1?

I know the LD Carlson acid blend is 50% Malic Acid, 40% Citric Acid and 10% Tartaric Acid.

I'm pretty sure you need to know the starting pH to calculate that.

Although this site (https://winemakermag.com/547-phiguring-out-ph) says:

"Tartaric acid crystals are used at the rate of approximately 1 g/L (0.13 ounce/gallon) of wine to reduce the pH by 0.1 unit. For example, to reduce the pH of a 19-liter (5-gallon) batch of wine from 3.6 to 3.4, you need to add 38 g (1.3 ounce) of tartaric acid crystals."

And:

"...since they contain malic and maybe citric acid, the blend will be less acidic than a purely tartaric acid blend. You would then have to slightly increase the rate of addition to achieve similar results."

This is actually going to be for cider.

The SG for the juice I get is usually 1.054, but I plan on diluting 4.5 gallons of that with 1 gallon of water to get me closer to 1.044.

I plan on taking a pH reading in the beginning, but I'm shooting for a pH of 3.5 before fermentation.

But I can't seem to find g/l number that gives me at least a starting point.

If you can test your TA then this calculator should help...going just by PH isn't going to be very accurate....

http://www.fermsoft.com/acid.html

Honda88 said:

If you can test your TA then this calculator should help...going just by PH isn't going to be very accurate....

http://www.fermsoft.com/acid.html

Click to expand...

I've never done a TA test. I'm for the most part a beer brewer so I deal mostly in pH.

However, I've recently had some success with cider, but I don't like how high the ABV is when I ferment it out from such a high OG. That is why I'm trying to figure out how to dilute it and keep the acid/pH where it needs to be.

I could easily figure it out and do the TA test, but I've been digging around some of my cider books, and I've come across a similar thought a few times...and that is if you get the pH right, you will (probably with some degree of accuracy) get the TA right. Understand these books are written for hobbyist and not professionals, so I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible and start with the pH. And on the next batch I can add testing the TA.

But know I'm starting to wonder if I should be using acid blend, tartaric acid or just malic acid?

Malic is found in apples and is the most apple-y. Tartaric is found in grapes, citric in citrus fruits. There are definitely some subtle differences in how these are perceived by the taste buds. But I don't think it's going to ruin your cider or anything... I've used the blend in fruit wines and ciders successfully.

After giving it some thought, I think I'm going to use the malic acid for my adjustment since I am going to be diluting the apple juice. I want to try to put as much of the natural apple character back in to it before I start fermentation.

With that said, is good old tap water acceptable for dilution? We have fairly soft water in San Francisco with a pH > 9. Or should I be using distilled or RO water?