Has anyone played with acidifying NEIPAs post fermentation?

[Kenmoron]

I've been reading a bit more about post-fermentation pH and the potential contributions it has to the finished product. There is a consensus that dry-hopping in particular will bump the final beer pH up a bit. With the massive amounts of dry-hopping that occur with NEIPAs I would assume that this would really drive that final pH up. So has anyone attempted to bring the pH back down to the typical 4.5 range, maybe using some lactic? What are your perceptions and experiences? One thought that I had was that this could potentially help with oxidation issues (Apparently higher pH can lead to quicker oxidation reactions). Although, it would seem as though the lower pH may make hop acids seem harsher.

 

[mabrungard]

I find that fruit beers definitely benefit from a properly low pH and the good NEIPAs I’ve tasted are fruity. So I could imagine that acidification could help.

While I do like lactic acid, I believe that citric could be a great compliment in NEIPA.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Try it and see if you can blindly taste a difference. It's a very easy experiment.

I'm curious what you're reading. First article I found in pH vs staling shows the opposite effect.

 

[Kenmoron]

Try it and see if you can blindly taste a difference. It's a very easy experiment.

I'm curious what you're reading. First article I found in pH vs staling shows the opposite effect.

Thanks for the article! I hadn't seen this yet and it gives pretty convincing evidence that lower pH would result in increased oxidation.

The information that I had initially found related moreso to mash pH, but it had claimed that acidification improves redox potential which results in a lower susceptibility to oxygen.
http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php/How_pH_affects_brewing

I'm curious if this isn't necessarily a linear relationship and more of a balance sort of thing. Perhaps there is a specific pH that would result in the least amount of oxidation? The study you listed uses a base pH of 4.3 and drops it to as low as 3.8. It seems as though a lot of IPAs can finish in the 4.5-4.8 range due to dry hopping. Guess there's only one way to find out lol.

 

[RPh_Guy]

The information that I had initially found related moreso to mash pH, but it had claimed that acidification improves redox potential which results in a lower susceptibility to oxygen.
http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php/How_pH_affects_brewing

I haven't read Kunze's textbook, but I've seen it cited elsewhere with regard to this particular matter.

My understanding is this:
Acidification using sauergut in a step mash reduces oxidation because it has live yeast. The yeast uptake dissolved oxygen (DO), specifically helping prevent oxidation due to DO introduced during dough in. Combined with other oxygen-reducing steps it prevents oxidation of the malt in the hot side.

I think that's all I'm allowed to say outside the safe zone
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/forums/lodo-discussion-and-techniques.282/