DaveSeattle
Well-Known Member
I have a crazy idea: would it be possible to add a base such as calcium hydroxide (slaked lime) to a sour beer to restore it to a neutral-tasting pH? I see three uses for this: 1) Get the funky properties of lambic-type bacteria without the sourness. 2) Fix an accidentally infected beer or reduce the level of sourness in a sour beer that went too far. 3) Do something that hasn't been done before.
What say ye? Has this been done? Will it work? Will the resulting calcium ruin the beer?
A quick calculation: 20 L of beer with 1% extra acid (beyond the level we want) has about 200g of acid. Because Ca(OH)2 has two ions, we would need 100g of it. Seems like a lot of calcium to add to the beer, might wind up tasting like mineral water? But maybe that math is wrong, especially the assumption of 1% acid.
I would just try it in a pint glass but I don't have any slaked lime on hand or know where to get it locally.
What say ye? Has this been done? Will it work? Will the resulting calcium ruin the beer?
A quick calculation: 20 L of beer with 1% extra acid (beyond the level we want) has about 200g of acid. Because Ca(OH)2 has two ions, we would need 100g of it. Seems like a lot of calcium to add to the beer, might wind up tasting like mineral water? But maybe that math is wrong, especially the assumption of 1% acid.
I would just try it in a pint glass but I don't have any slaked lime on hand or know where to get it locally.