Acidulated Malt

[SacoDeToro]

Not to change the subject of the thread, but I've never known of a true-to-style Berliner weisse that had any sort of caramel malt in it, let alone 7%.

[bleachcola]

Many things in antebellum Germany changed.

[brewinhard]

I have never checked or even worried about my mash pH simply because I never had any issues relating to it (ie extraction efficiency, astringency, etc.). Last week I brewed a 100% brett C. beer with 10% acidulated malt added at the beginning of the mash and got about 81% efficiency. I have yet to taste the beer as it is still fermenting, but the acid malt grains sure tasted quite tangy and lactic. I will let you know how it comes out when the fermentation subsides. I was actually considering trying a berliner weisse with 30-45% acid malt and a sour mash to boot. I will see how this miniimal contribution of 10% plays out first of course.

[rhino777]

Last time I did acid malt I realized that ice cream didn't have any bones...

[bleachcola]

I was actually considering trying a berliner weisse with 30-45% acid malt and a sour mash to boot.

You sir, are a braver man than I. I patiently await the outcome of this experiment. Definitely living up to the username. Your dentist may advise you to abstain from brushing your teeth before falling asleep after a night of this brew though. Doc Scott will have to confirm though. I don't know enough about brewing and dentistry to say for sure.

[Kaiser]

That seems to contradict the "spraying with acid" concept. Relying on "on grain natural occuring" lactos would seem to me to be a better explanation for the variablility in acid content.

The German purity law does only allow for lacto cultures to be used that occur on the grain. But that doesn't prohibit the culturing and purification of these cultures. To better control the acid content wort is fermented with a lacto culture to produce lactic acid that is then sprayed onto malt (Sauermalz), used in the mash (mash acidfication) or in the boil (wort acidification). I think simply letting green malt sour before kilining it carries the risk that other, undesirable, bugs take over and may be much more difficult to control than spraying it with a lactic acid solution.

I never thought that Sauermalz would add desirable flavors in addition to the mash acidification. Maybe there are reactions between the acid and the malt during kilning that are not the happening to that extend when regular malt is kilned. On the other hand, I have never used any other acid source than Sauermalz.

Kai