BS email & 5.2 & Latic Acid

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barneey
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BS email & 5.2 & Latic Acid

Post by barneey » Sat Jul 16, 2016 11:39 pm

As I subscribe to the BS email service I recently got an email from them advising the use of 5.2 & lactic acid, is this the way for forward.

This was the info I intend to follow:- quote from email received.
On balance, I prefer to either use lactic acid or 5.2 stabilizer for home brewing as both are readily available in home brew supply stores and easy to use on a small scale.
Thanks for joining me - and happy brewing!
Is there a better way?
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Re: BS email & 5.2 & Latic Acid

Post by Oakey22 » Sun Jul 17, 2016 12:27 am

No way what so ever. The Internet says so :)

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Re: BS email & 5.2 & Latic Acid

Post by orlando » Sun Jul 17, 2016 8:26 am

barneey wrote:As I subscribe to the BS email service I recently got an email from them advising the use of 5.2 & lactic acid, is this the way for forward.

This was the info I intend to follow:- quote from email received.
On balance, I prefer to either use lactic acid or 5.2 stabilizer for home brewing as both are readily available in home brew supply stores and easy to use on a small scale.
Thanks for joining me - and happy brewing!
Is there a better way?
Good job the software is rather good, living in the UK for a while would also help improve his tips. :roll:
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Re: BS email & 5.2 & Latic Acid

Post by Goulders » Sun Jul 17, 2016 9:34 am

I would never go that route. Incidentally, however, Cloudwater use lactic acid according to their blog for their DIPA. And a fellow brewer uses it successfully on hard water around here. But as for ph5.2, no thanks

serum

Re: BS email & 5.2 & Latic Acid

Post by serum » Mon Jul 18, 2016 12:41 pm

I use lactic acid but with soft bottled water so I never need much of it. It will have a taste in high concentrations so think about that if you plan to use it.

One good thing is that it doesn't add sulphates or chlorides to the water.

I've never used 5.2 stabiliser.

Belter

Re: BS email & 5.2 & Latic Acid

Post by Belter » Mon Jul 18, 2016 12:56 pm

Lactic acid good. 5.2 stabiliser bad. Have no problems with getting wort to 5.2 though using acids/salts. Works for so many people who make great beer.
Last edited by Belter on Tue Jul 19, 2016 7:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

Oakey22

Re: BS email & 5.2 & Latic Acid

Post by Oakey22 » Mon Jul 18, 2016 12:58 pm

I can see when lactic acid has its purpose, however making a British ale or something that is clean tasting I would shy away and use sulphuric or hydrochloric :)

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Re: BS email & 5.2 & Latic Acid

Post by MTW » Mon Jul 18, 2016 2:07 pm

I tasted the lactic from acidulated malt very sharply in my hefeweizen. It was only 3% of the grist too. From what I can google, that's the equivalent of around 8ml of 88% lactic in my ~5Kg grist (20L batch). It's an acceptable minor flavour in wheat beers, but I wouldn't want it in a British ale or something, so I agree with Oakey.
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Re: BS email & 5.2 & Latic Acid

Post by Kev888 » Tue Jul 19, 2016 2:35 pm

Presumably the 5.2 stabiliser must either work for the people who recommended it, or else they're trusting enough not to have verified that. But it didn't work for me back in the day, and I don't particularly see 5.2 as the ideal PH to target in any case, so all in all I'd struggle to recommend it from my own experience. Theres since been a suggestion that it may stabilise the mash liquor's PH rather than the mash itself (i.e. with the grist), but even if thats the case I can't see why itt would be useful, since of course its the mash that matters. Most puzzling.

EDIT: Fortunately CRS/AMS works for me and its contribution of sulphate and chloride is not excessive (or ill balanced) with my particular water and any British style of beer (thankfully I rarely need to raise the PH).
Last edited by Kev888 on Tue Jul 19, 2016 2:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: BS email & 5.2 & Latic Acid

Post by MTW » Tue Jul 19, 2016 2:47 pm

I've been reading this topic as "Bull S**t" email..." :D :oops: :D :oops: I wondered why on earth you would subscribe to such a spammy sounding email list! #-o

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Re: BS email & 5.2 & Latic Acid

Post by Aleman » Tue Jul 19, 2016 6:26 pm

Kev, the pH 5.2 stabiliser doesn't produce a solution with a pH of 5.2 in deionised water, let alone the mash.

Anyway as you "should" be targeting a pH of 5.4 to 5.6 why use a buffer product made to hit 5.2?

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Re: BS email & 5.2 & Latic Acid

Post by Kev888 » Tue Jul 19, 2016 7:11 pm

Ah, thanks; its clearly not some clever marketing distinction between mash liquor and mash, then. How curious, and how odd that it should be so recommended when it doesn't work fairly universally. I don't recall mention of it needing very specific water chemistry, in fact that was part of its appeal back in the day.

But yes, 5.2 isn't what I'd choose to shoot for, especially when other simple methods offer a choice. I realise some people believe that to be within their preferred range, but even then why target the product at the very bottom instead of somewhere in the middle or at a value thats more universally accepted; there is common ground to be had.

I guess mileage may vary, it just isn't the product for me!
Kev

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