Acid blend

[Grreg2]

here's a question for the experts. I have not seen on this forum anyone mentioning acid blend in a recipe. In other reading material, I have read that adding acid blend can eliminate the "hotness" of the alcohol flavor. What are your thoughts on acid blend, what is a proper dose, and when is the best time to add? Thanks.

 

[eogaard]

I'm not exactly an expert, but I did find myself searching for answers on acid blends recently. Not really sure about eliminating alcohol hotness, I think that mostly will only come with aging. What I did find is that with the right amount, acid blend can take a flat-tasting mead and add a little bit of complexity. I currently have a 3-month old pear melomel in the works, but it tasted a little flat and overly sweet for my taste. After adding 2 teaspoons of acid blend (for 1 gallon batch), it perked it up and added a slight "bite" to the sweetness. It's also very easy to overdo it, so I would suggest taking a few small samples of the mead and testing out different amounts of acid blend in each sample, then taking the one you prefer and scaling up to match the amount you need for the rest of the batch. Just make sure you do the math right, if you add too much it can get very sour very quickly! I read that it's recommended to add the acid shortly before bottling, and I've also read that you can add it during bulk aging... but the consensus seemed to be that you definitely want to wait until fermentation is finished. After using it on this mead, I'm definitely looking forward to using it on future batches that might need that little extra touch of complexity. Hopefully that helps a little bit, maybe someone else can chime in.

Cheers!

 

[bernardsmith]

I too have not received any "expert" badges but acid blend (AB) is a way that wine makers often add that kick to a wine that does not "zing". I agree with eogaard that the only way to know how much AB to add is by taste. You definitely do not want to increase the acidity of honey before the fermentation has finished and so you may want to check the acid level (by taste) just before you bottle. I keep on emphasizing "by taste" because what you are referring to is NOT the pH of the mead but the TA (the pH (the strength of the acids) needs to be around 3.5 but the TA is far more subjective and is measured differently - your taste buds are best at measuring the TA (IMO). TA is a measure of the amount of acid in the wine. pH is a measure of the strength of the acids present: you can have something with very little of a very strong acid and something with a great deal of a very weak acid (or something with a great deal of a very strong acid or .. something with very little of a very weak acid). Acid blends contain weak acids ( tartaric, malic and citric - acids associated with grapes, apples and citrus fruits)

The other thing that gives a wine (or mead) zing are tannins. They are the chemicals in fruits that kind of make your mouth pucker and feel dry. They add bitterness to the acids sourness. You can add tannins with specially prepared additives or by adding black tea or oak chips. What tannins and acids do is give the mead a sharper edge.