Hi guys, When souring a beer with Lactobalicus, we add the culture and they produce the lactic acid to sour our wort. What is the difference from just tossing some Lactic Acid directly on it?
I've never used lactic acid myself, but what I've read is that souring adds more complexity to the taste compared to adding straight lactic acid.
I was curious, so I did a bit of searching on this. Apparently lactobacillus also produces esthers and other flavors in addition to the lactic acid. I guess the book "Brewing Classic Styles" (which I've never read) makes the following comparison: Adding lactic acid rather than souring a beer is akin to microwaving a steak rather than grilling it.
It's not quite what you are asking about, but here's a post from @OldSock on a beer soured with acid malt. I think it's a technique that could be used to make tasty beer, but it might not be as simple as adding lactic acid to a clean recipe. Edited to add: Any time you read a recipe post on Mad Fermentationist that doesn't include tasting notes, you can generally find a link to the tasting notes by scrolling to the bottom of the page. In this case, here are the tasting notes.
You could just add vodka to wort instead of yeast too. I find pure lactic acid often lends a chemical flavor and harshness not found in natural souring.
Lactic acid works in a pinch. I had to make a sour beer for my son's wedding last year, and I only had about 7 months to make it. The beer soured OK, but was still a few months away from getting the fullness of that nice sour and lactic acid taste, although it had already generated some. I added lactic acid to give it a more finished taste, and it became a hit at the wedding.
