How to measure out lactic acid

I'm finally getting some for mash ph adjustments. It looks like i'll need 5ml for my next batch which is .169ozs. Will this even do anything in a 11 gallon batch?

I normally measure out my salts with a jeweler's scale into small dixie cups. I can hardly see myself being able to "pour" out that small of an amount. I assume it's in liquid form, if not, i'm an idiot and please disregard.

Also what's the consensus on using this in conjunction with acid malt? Not necessary?

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I"ve been using lactic acid in my sparge water (not my mash water) and I need 5 ml in 5 gallons. I use a little syringe, like the kind for insulin users. It would be hard to do it any other way! They do have little "baby" medicine spoons that would work- 5 ml is pretty close to 1 teaspoon.

Yooper said:

I"ve been using lactic acid in my sparge water (not my mash water) and I need 5 ml in 5 gallons. I use a little syringe, like the kind for insulin users. It would be hard to do it any other way! They do have little "baby" medicine spoons that would work- 5 ml is pretty close to 1 teaspoon.

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You can use the baby medicine syringes or even one of the measuring cups for liquid medicine. You can buy these at the pharmacy if you don't have kids or do what I did and save a couple from when my kids needed meds

You can find graduated medicine droppers at the pharmacy. They are a typical infant care supply.

This is probably a dumb question, is there a reason that the 88% lactic could not be diluted to 25% or less with distilled water to make volumes needed for additions easier to measure.

No reason at all. You can also weigh it out. Lots of brewers also reload their own ammunition and so have fairly accurate scales available for that reason.

But all of these questions and responses are why I use sauermalz. 0.1 pH ~ 1 % of the grist by weight. Easy to calculate. Easy to measure.

ajdelange said:

No reason at all. You can also weigh it out. Lots of brewers also reload their own ammunition and so have fairly accurate scales available for that reason.

But all of these questions and responses are why I use sauermalz. 0.1 pH ~ 1 % of the grist by weight. Easy to calculate. Easy to measure.

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Does lactic acid promote that "sour twang" that acid malt has? I just don't want to use more than 2-3% in any given recipe.

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Yes, if you use enough of it. Sauermalz at 2-3% definitely does not impart a sour twang but Weyermann's website has a recipe for a "Berliner Weiße" that uses 7 or 8% (I think) which I assume does. And there is no reason to expect that lactic acid from a bottle wouldn't have similar effects though it would not contribute the other flavors associated with sauermalz.

wildwest450 said:

I'm finally getting some for mash ph adjustments. It looks like i'll need 5ml for my next batch which is .169ozs. Will this even do anything in a 11 gallon batch?

I normally measure out my salts with a jeweler's scale into small dixie cups. I can hardly see myself being able to "pour" out that small of an amount. I assume it's in liquid form, if not, i'm an idiot and please disregard.

Also what's the consensus on using this in conjunction with acid malt? Not necessary?

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I keep these around for liquid measurements. They're graduated by ml and oz. They can be found at a local pharmacy. They're also handy for pH samples.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LX35SA/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

wildwest450 said:

I normally measure out my salts with a jeweler's scale into small dixie cups. I can hardly see myself being able to "pour" out that small of an amount. I assume it's in liquid form, if not, i'm an idiot and please disregard.

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That should work just fine for weighing lactic acid. You wouldn't pour the acid but rather put it in the cup using an eyedropper, one drop at a time until you hit the required weight. If you overshoot, just suck the excess back into the eyedropper. You may have to do some math. If you want 0.2 pH drop the rule of thumb sauermalz addition would be 2% of grist. Sauermalz is, on average, about 2% lactic acid by weight so just multiply the required sauermalz weight to get an estimate of the weight of lactic acid required. Most homebrew lactic acid is 88% by weight so you will need to divide the lactic weight by 0.88. That tells you how many grams of the liquid.

Given the use of averages and rules of thumb it is best to add the acid in portions checking mash pH as you go. Diluting the acid you have weighed out with water may make the addition by portions easier.

wildwest450 said:

Also what's the consensus on using this in conjunction with acid malt? Not necessary?

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As the object in both cases is to add lactic acid to the mash it is not necessary to use both. Though there is no reason one couldn't get half the acid from liquid and half from sauermalz I can't imagine why someone would want to do that.

5 ml = 1.01442068 US teaspoons, so just a little over 1 teaspoon.

Good info, thanks.


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wildwest450 said:

I normally measure out my salts with a jeweler's scale into small dixie cups. I can hardly see myself being able to "pour" out that small of an amount. I assume it's in liquid form, if not, i'm an idiot and please disregard.

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There's an answer. And it's called epMotion!

Certainly a pipetter, if not an automated one, is one of the most basic pieces of lab gear but I assume that most homebrewers would not want to invest in one nor pay the cost of the disposable tips. Most use a syringe for that function. Pipetters are very easy to use and pretty accurate too.

gothcopter said:

There's an answer. And it's called epMotion!

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hilarious

If you have a jeweler's scale, it works fine. Just pour the contents into a tared container, measure, then pour into the mash tun, and rinse with the mash water.

M_C

go to walgreens and ask the guys at the pharmacy desk for a dropper. they'll just give you one. if they ask, say its for your kid's ear infection medicine (amoxicillin)

I use a burette, you can get them on ebay for $20-$30. The Walgreens eyedroppers needed 17 drops per mL I found.

ajdelange said:

And there is no reason to expect that lactic acid from a bottle wouldn't have similar effects though it would not contribute the other flavors associated with sauermalz.

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What other flavors are u referring too, AJ? My impression was that sauermalz is just two row that has been sprayed with lactic acid. After running some numbers, it seems that buying lactic acid and adding it separately is more cost effective than buying a specialty two-row malt that is quite a bit pricier per pound.

When I tasted the first beer in which I used sauermalz I knew it was the best lager I had ever brewed and, since my ales aren't that great, the best beer I had ever brewed. The sauermalz was obviously responsible because it was the only thing different but I wasn't sure whether it was simply the better pH control or something else or a combination of pH control and something else. I believe it to be the latter (combination). All the flavors were "brighter" but there were also flavors I had never noted before. Checking the stuff out on Weyermann's site I found reference to "subtle complexities" as one of the benefits of using it. That's a pretty vague phrase but it is as good a one as I can come up with.

Sauermalz is not (AFAIK) made by spraying lactic acid on grain. I don't think the Biersteuergesetz would allow that. It is made by spraying sauergut (wort which is fermented by lactic acid bacteria) on malt or by allowing the lactic acid that is naturally found on the husks to ferment some of the sugars. I think it is from this fermentation that these subtle flavors arise. While lactic acid is prepared commercially by lactic fermentation I imagine the purification process would strip any interesting flavors out in much the same way that white cane sugar has none of the interesting flavors of brown. But I could be wrong in all this. I have never used lactic acid in a brew. Sauermalz may be more expensive but it is easier to measure and calculate and apparently has positive flavor effects. I'm not yet at the point where the cost differential is a factor.

i use lactic acid all the time. never got any "sour twang" comments, including the 3 beers i submitted to the HBT comp.

i measure out with a baby dropper, usually in the 2mL per 5g range. i use TH's sheet to figure out how much to use.

Does lactic acid have a shelf life?

While waiting for my acidulated malt from NB, I realize I have a 4oz container of lactic acid from 6/2009 (about two years old). I'm only planning to use 1ml for a 5 gallon mash (based on my EZ numbers). I figure I'll use one of my used 5ml Hopshot syringes to measure out a single ml.

bobbytuck said:

Does lactic acid have a shelf life?

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It doesn't say anything on the bottle so no? Maybe?


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I use the API water testing kits (GH and KH) which have a couple of vials with a mark for 5 mL. I use one of these to measure out the amount of lactic or phosphoric acid I need. For less than 5 mL I have to guestimate, but it's close enough for government work.