Does acidulted malt need to be crushed?

While at my LHBS I forgot to get acidulated malt for my next batch- a light-colored summer ale. I normally use acidulated malt to dial in my mash pH and for this batch I will need ~2oz. I happen to have a small amount uncrushed that I could use and was wondering if I needed to crush it first, or, since I am just using it for mash pH, can I throw it in whole. I don't own a mill, and I have not had great experiences in the past trying to crush grain without one....though for only 2 oz I could probably just pulverize it with a hammer and not worry about anything.

Interested to hear the answer, in my limited experiences using it I have always crushed it.

Any calculator is going to assume a malt has been crushed - whether calculating OG or calculating mash pH...

Cheers!

Since acidulated malt is essentially pilsner malt that has been sprayed with lactic it should be mashed to convert its starches as part of the grist bill. But for such a small amount I think you could use it whole. You won't get full use of the starch but the acid should go into solution without a problem.

Just crush it yourself with a rolling pin or heavy object while the grain is in a bag.


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It's just 2 oz man, moisten it a bit with a spray bottle and pulse it in a food processor.

to get its full benefit, yes crush it.

Yup...crush it