Water chemistry: How much lactic is too much

[Jtvann]

Doing full volume brews and trying to get a handle on pH. Beersmith and Bru'n water have both been off in calculating pH. I used 9 mL of lactic acid in my water prep last night and still came in at 5.5 pH.

Wondering if I can keep repeating this same recipe and dial up the lactic acid until I'm closer to 5.2 pH. I've heard there's an upper threshold for how much is too much lactic acid.

I could use phosphoric, but never needed to when I was sticking to 1.5 quarts/lb

 

[Jtvann]

Never mind ... google is your friend.

Feel free to respond with any updated information, but it appears that 1.5 mL per gallon is detectable by most tasters, while 1 mL is not.

I might try out 1.25 mL as my next experimental upper limit before going to phosphoric if needed.

Looks like I could have safely used 20mL in my 16 gallon strike water.

 

[PrrCabin]

Good info

 

[Jag75]

I use anywhere from .6ml to 2.5 ml and I've found Bru N Water to be pretty dang accurate. However I consider hitting 5.37 when projected 5.35 accurate. Most of the beers I use about 1-1.3 ml