Final Beer PH 3.8! Sour! Add Lime/Baking Soda?

[klamz]

Hello!!

After not brewing for a while my tap water PH dropped drastically to the point where my dark beers are coming out sour. I measured the uncarbonated stout I made and it came in about 3.8~ . I was wondering if adding some pickling lime or baking soda to a finished beer will correct this or should I just leave it alone. Thanks!!

 

[mabrungard]

Yes, you can add either mineral to bring the beer pH up to a more reasonable value of around 4.2 or a little higher. However, I must ask...how are you measuring pH? If you are using anything other than a fully calibrated pH meter, you may be wasting your time. Of course, if the beer tastes sour or tart, then that could easily be a confirmation of any measurement.

I suggest that you try dosing measured amounts of the mineral into a glass of beer and taste the result. Keep adding until you feel the taste is acceptable. I would then go back to the previous lower dosage and use that to figure out the amount to add to the keg or bottling bucket. Remember, it will be hard to fix it if you add too much of those alkaline minerals.

Good luck, you have little to lose if the existing beer is undrinkable or unpleasant.

 

[Wynne-R]

What if it really is sour, as in Lactobacillus, Brettanomyces, Pediococcus, other wild yeast or bacteria? That’s the only way I see the pH getting knocked down that low.

If that’s the case, buy new plastic, and dedicate the old stuff to brewing sours.

 

[youreanimpulse]

Acid content (tannins) in lots of dark grains could knock it pretty low, especially with relatively acidic water to begin with. I would probably just fix it on the next batch with water chemistry (like Bru'n Water or the Brewer's Friend calculator that includes ph). The tiny amount of lime/baking soda you'd have to add to a single beer may be hard to measure.

 

[StrangeBrew78]

Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[klamz]

Turns out that acrid sourness has diminished with just a few weeks of aging. Once again I'm jumping to conclusions. Have to wait and see and learn to not freak out so soon. My PH meter is off slightly so after calibrating I should see about 3.9~ 4.0~ Which I guess is OK.