Sour-ish Helles

I used acidulated malt for the first time, to adjust mash ph for a Munich Helles. I'm ready to begin lagering, but I can definitely taste tartness which I assume is from the acidulated malt. 3% of the grain bill didn't seem unreasonable at the time but obviously I'm rethinking that now. Is there any hope that the tartness will fade with time or am I out of luck? It doesn't taste terrible, but certainly doesn't fit the style.


8 lbs 8.0 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) 82.4 %
1 lbs 4.0 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) 12.1 %
5.0 oz Acidulated (Weyermann) (1.8 SRM) 3.0 %
4.0 oz Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM) 2.4 %

 

I used to have the same odd tartness problem and was convinced it was the acidulated malt even though I was using very small amounts around ~3%. After a LOT of chasing it turned out what I was tasting was actually herbstoffe or malt bitterness from HSA. Possibly this is what your perceiving as well.

 

I hadn't considered that. What was ultimately causing your HSA?

 

i cured my HSA problem after stumbling into one of the first lodo threads on another brewing forum. I was intrigued by what the early adopters had to say about the deleterious effects of oxygen during the mash and gave their recommendations a try. The odd flavors I had trying to track down for years went away. Lodo brewing is definitely a controversial topic however it's worth a look.

 

jsallen - Did you happen to take any pH readings or do you have the means to take a pH of the finished beer? Interested to see if the pH is as low as you say it tastes.

 

I don't have a pH meter, but would strips be accurate enough?