I've been a extract brewer up until today where I made my first foray into all grain. A part of my grain bill (2%) was acid malt. I've never used it before and I like to use the spent grain to make dog cookies. I'm already aware of that hops are 100% a no-go for dogs, but is there any reason the inclusion of this malt would be unsafe for my dog?
-
since benzene formation in beverages is from sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid, could it potentially happen with other acids and benzyl derivatives, for example succinic acid and benzyl benzoate in a water solution?
-
would some compounds be affected at a sufficient concentration, ÷ such as esters hydrolyzing in low ph?
thanks and please do forgive my lack of expertise, i am sure it sounds dumb
So tomorrow is brew day. However, I missed the postman and now my acidulated malt is in the local office which is now closed until Monday.
I had a big day planned for tomorrow, friends coming from out of town to brew, big full prime rib BBQ, in short my disappointment was immeasurable and my day was ruined.
Enter this afternoon, where we visited a friendly couple for a baby party. The dad is a post doc chemical engineer who just happens to cultivate sourdough because he likes to make bread. I was telling my tale of the woe to him. Suffice to say, some kitchen chemistry and some enriched rye later, I now have my own grains getting acidized as I type, hopefully ready to brew tomorrow.
When in doubt I guess, always have a chemical engineer friend nearby!
For the longest time, I used acidulated malt exclusively to set my mash pH. It was convenient at the time. Then I had a few batches that had issues that were derived from high mash pH - low efficiency, grainy flavors, astringency. I used to hit 85% every time and never had these off flavors. I figured the acidulated malt must not be as acidic as it used to be, and in the interest of consistency, I switched over to using lactic acid. Since switching, I have noticed that I never hit 85% efficiency anymore. I'm down to 70-75 most of the time. I have tried Bru'n water and Brewer's Friend calculators, and the result is the same. Also, it now takes 90 minutes of mashing to get the starches converted rather than 60. Has anyone else experienced this?
Planning on brewing an IPA/NEIPA later today. While ordering online, I could only purchase in increments of 1lb. So I figured for the acid malt I’d just buy extra and measure about 1-2% of total grist. Yesterday I ordered my grains from my LHBS online, went to pick them up and the grain wasn’t milled upon arrival. So they ask if it was ok if it was all milled together, I said sure and didn’t think more of it until it finally hit me laying in bed last night. So now instead of 1-2%, there is 6%. This is my first time using acidulated malt. Been brewing for about a year and read from various sources these malts help drop ph of mash slightly to help with efficiency and bring out hop flavors etc.
Now my question is this, should I go ahead with the brew day or scratch this batch for now and get new grain? What effects would having 6% acid malt have on flavor/efficiency in a IPA?
I want to brew a clone of Russian River Blind Pig. It calls for acidulated malt, which I have never used and cannot buy from my local shop ( I live overseas). Is it used mainly for lowering pH? What is a good substitute? I can get food grade lactic acid from the local chemistry supply shop. Would that work?
Hello, so I’m using beersmith for a Pilsner I want to brew. The total grist is 11.3 lbs. In order to reach a mash ph of 5.2 beersmith is saying I need to add 1 lbs of acidulated malt. This would account for 8.85% of the grain bill. Does this seem high? And if I do add the pound will the lactic tartness be noticeable in the beer?
Also I’d like to add I’m using distilled water with a balanced light yellow water profile.
I don't want to step on anybody's toes here, but the amount of non-dad jokes here in this subreddit really annoys me. First of all, dad jokes CAN be NSFW, it clearly says so in the sub rules. Secondly, it doesn't automatically make it a dad joke if it's from a conversation between you and your child. Most importantly, the jokes that your CHILDREN tell YOU are not dad jokes. The point of a dad joke is that it's so cheesy only a dad who's trying to be funny would make such a joke. That's it. They are stupid plays on words, lame puns and so on. There has to be a clever pun or wordplay for it to be considered a dad joke.
Again, to all the fellow dads, I apologise if I'm sounding too harsh. But I just needed to get it off my chest.
