German Sauer Malt vs Partial sour mash

The rule of thumb is 1% sour malt drops the pH .1 points. Around 10% is said to give some tartness.

 

I've never used the acid malt to actually add any sourness to a beer. You could probably just dose it with some food grade/brewing grade lactic acid if you want to do it easier. Especially if it's not going to be the primary flavor, but a supporting role.

I wouldn't make a berliner or a sour, from just adding lactic acid, as it would be one sided and bland. But if I wanted some tartness to a beer, that would be on my list of options.

 

I feel like I read that the drop in pH is not linear and you will get lower returns as the percentage of acid malt is raised. Cant think of the source for that though.

 

That rule is from Weyermanns. Nothing is said about water alkalinity, or buffering of the mash. As I said, a rule of thumb. I trust my pH meter.

 

Good: Rule of Thumb
Better: Model
Best: pH Meter

 

In a pale/lower ABV beer, you'll notice the sauer malt at around 5%, and at 10% it gets noticeably tart. Be careful with hoppy stuff though, the combo of alpha acids and high acid malt can get weird, almost tannic and unpleasant, but YMMV.

 

Makes me want to brew up my "White Wine Saison" from last year, but add more acid malt to get some tartness like one would find in a white wine...

Now to find a brett yeast to help me with the 3711.

 

Orval dregs. Or if you want a lot of sour, HF Arthur or Grassroots Arctic Saison dregs. I fermented with the Arctic Saison dregs recently and find it hard to believe there's no lacto in there.

 

Orval I can get. The other two, I'd have to do some serious trading to get.

Thanks for the leads. I want a tart, almost sour saison, but short of... berliner sour.

 

Not gonna part with the few bottles I can get but I could send you a little slurry for your own starter. Caveat Emptor for sure; my basement is overrun with dogs, cats and the occasional pony wandering in in the summer, not to mention the piles of wood that we heat with, and I'm certainly no microbiologist. Definitely a farmhouse ale culture...

 

http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2012/01/souring-beer-with-acid-malt-ithaca.html

The Mad Fermentationist has a post about souring with acidulated malt.