Acid Malt. Anybody know how to use it?

[jubby]

I will be brewing a pilsner urquell shortly, but I can't get my water to the target liquor using Grahams calculator without boiling. The reason for this is that CRS pushes the sulphate and chloride levels up too high. (I have the same problem with burtonizing and stout profiles) So, I thought I could use Acid Malt (German Sauer) which contains Lactic Acid. I have two questions:

1. Will the Lactic Acid in this malt reduce the alkalinity, which is currently 234mg/l CaCo3

2. If yes to the above, how much Acid Malt should I use to get my alkalinity down to 15mg/l

If it helps, these are my water stats:
Sodium, 11.
Chloride, 22
Sulphate, 29
Calcium, 113
Magnesium, 4
All the above are mg/l (or ppm)
Alkalinity 234mg/l CaCo3

If it can't be done, I will have to boil.

Any help is appreciated.

[SiHoltye]

Dunno the answer there but for this brew have you considered bottled water? Might be a good starting point just for the odd brew in this style. I'm lazy

[jubby]

Dunno the answer there but for this brew have you considered bottled water? Might be a good starting point just for the odd brew in this style. I'm lazy

I hadn't thought of that, but it's certainly worth considering, ta.

Chris, that's a blummin comprehensive answer and I appreciate that.

I think I will go with the Asda water (once i have determined the mineral levels) as you both suggested. Although I will get some lactic acid and experiment with it to see how much is needed for future brews.

[lancsSteve]

oooh - interesting and just the thread I was looking for...

I've got water so soft it might as well be Asda bottled water - not had a problem with mash pH and have adjusted it with a little gypsum and cal chloride... If I did want to make a rod for my own back, (maybe call it the reiheinsgestick?) and use acid malt would it be a small amount - i'ce got some because I thought it'd be useful.

Lagers are my plan as the water here is so so so soft (like... I've never descaled the kettle in 3 years of use and it has no deposits, 25mg/l CaCO3!) and I have a cellar with temps starting to drop to the stable 10-12 over winter that makes lager perfect for me to brew but stouts a tad more difficult.

Quite Frankly, everything is so small that you can simply ignore it all and treat everything as zero. With the numbers jiggled to ionically balance the water, it gives:
Calcium = 5.7
Magnesium = 0.8
Sodium = 8
Carbonate = 4.6
Sulphate = 9.4
Chloride = 12.3

As you can see, there is nothing in it to speak of ...

You are certainly going to need to increase your calcium levels by the addition of calcium sulphate, and a bit of magnesium wouldn't hurt either.

For 15 litres my target additions for lager are 1g calcium sulphate, 1.8g calcium chloride, 0.2g mag sulphate and 0.3g chalk - so not exactly a lot!

Now I've *read* that using gypsum can give harsh tastes in very clean lagers (though 1g in 15 litres I can't imagine doing nowt) and in that situation acid malt is sometimes recommended - usually by the sort of brewer (typically American's) who like to do things complicated (e.g. decocotion mashing) and conforming to rules that are old and debatable for their relevance (like the reiheinsgebot)...

So... I wondered if essentially a handful of acid malt might be effective in my super-soft water situation so that it doesn't sit unused... Is it the sort of thing you can test the mash pH and then chuck a handful in? Or needs to be more precise a la Chris's impressive calcs above...? Or utterly irrelevant for my situation and I should just start to brew lager NOW.