Can I acidify already brewed beer?

I have some pale ale that is done fermenting ( still in the tank ) that has a bit of astringent overtone. Can I remedy this by adding lactic acid prior to packaging? Thanks

I'm not sure what it would do to correct for astringency but you can add it before or during packaging. I thought astringency was associated with acidic solutions. I have made Wits that I added a few drops of lactic acid to each bottle right before filling them. You could also put a few tablespoons in the bottom of your bottling bucket with your sugar solution if you use one. I think the cause of the astringency and whether or not you will be able to drink the beer is the larger concern.

I believe the astringency is from high alkalinity in the sparge water, it's not horrible or undrinkable but I have 10 gal & would like to "touch it up". I added a pinch of ascorbic acid to a sample & I believe it improved it quite a bit. I think I'm going to try it.

the reason to keep the pH below ~6 during the sparge is to avoid extracting tannins and phenols from the grain. once it happens, theres no reversing it.

thats not to say that adding lactic acid wont improve the taste of your beer. but just adding lactic acid now will not make up for (or remove) previously extracted tannins and phenols durring the brew process.

audger said:

the reason to keep the pH below ~6 during the sparge is to avoid extracting tannins and phenols from the grain. once it happens, theres no reversing it.

thats not to say that adding lactic acid wont improve the taste of your beer. but just adding lactic acid now will not make up for (or remove) previously extracted tannins and phenols durring the brew process.

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OK Thanks, like I said it's not horrible ( I used acid malt in the mash ) but I believe it could be better. Maybe I'll skip it this time & start paying more attention to my sparge water.