Sour too “acidic”?

Did you by any chance measure the pH of your beer (e.g., with a pH meter)?

The statement of too acidic means that the beer was lower on the pH scale (i.e., more acidic) then the judges deemed proper for the Flanders beer style. Do you recall the pH scale from science classes in school?

“The pH scale runs from 0 to 14, with the range of 0-7 being acidic, and 8-14 being more alkaline.”

Sour beers could have pH values like 3.3.

Now, I highly doubt that the beer judges measured the actual pH of your beer but based their sensory perception (e.g., how sour did the beer taste) they assessed your beer to be too acidic.

The challenge I see here is that level of sourness is dependent on the individual’s palate (sour is one of the five basic tastes) and an interpretation of what is appropriate to style:

· Maybe your tastes buds are notably different from the two judges taste buds as regards the taste of sour?

· When is the beer too sour (e.g., the pH too low) for the Flanders beer style?

Cheers!

Yes, less acidic would equate to being less sour. As to whether you would not like a less sour beer, that is your choice. As a homebrewer you can brew beers any way you please. If you want to win medals, well that is a different 'kettle of fish'.

Cheers!

 

Which sub-style? Did that sub-style's description include the beer being intensely sour?

Cheers!

 

From BJCP for 28b (with emphasis in bold by me):

“Flavor: Variable by base style. Look for an agreeable balance between the base beer and the fermentation character. A range of results is possible from fairly high acidity/funk to a subtle, pleasant, harmonious beer. The best examples are pleasurable to drink with the esters and phenols complementing the malt and/or hops. The wild character can be prominent, but does not need to be dominating in a style with an otherwise strong malt/hop profile. Acidity should be firm yet enjoyable, but should not be biting or vinegary; prominent or objectionable/offensive acetic acid is a fault. Bitterness tends to be low, especially as sourness increases.”

Needless to say I have not tasted your beer but if I was judging your beer and the above bolded descriptors was applicable then….

Cheers!

 

No need to unless you want to win a medal in category 28b.

Cheers!

 

Acidic or Acetic?

Too much oxygen exposure and Brett will turn glucose into acetic acid. In very low quantities it can add complexity but it can be incredibly acidic and unpleasant in elevated quantities.

Do you know what acetic acid tastes like?

pH is important. Titratable Acidity is a better indicator of the true acidity of your beer. You can buy the kits at most homebrew stores that sell wine making supplies.

A pH meter is however a rather important tool and a worthy purchase.

 

As in the judges didn’t mention it? Or you don’t pick it up?

 

Not a sour or competition expert, but "vinegar" is acetic acid which is not what I would expect in an American Wild

 

As I posted above from the description for 28b:

"Acidity should be firm yet enjoyable, but should not be biting or vinegary; prominent or objectionable/offensive acetic acid is a fault."

Yup, Wild American Ale should not be vinegary.

Cheers!

P.S. Maybe your beer would have fared better in a differing category?

 

My question would be how much residual sugar and maltiness was there in the beer? Acidity in a beer with some malt to it doesn't seem nearly as acidic as it does in a very dry beer. What was the final gravity?

 

As wspscott said, vinegar is acetic acid. My understanding is that you will not get acetic acid unless there is oxygen in the fermenter (this is why wine can age for years in the bottle but will turn to vinegar pretty quickly once the bottle is opened). So if you want to cut back on the acetic acid character of the beer, one way to do it is to reduce the oxygen exposure of the beer while it's aging. (This is unrelated to the oxygen that you may add at the beginning of fermentation—the yeast should consume all of that oxygen before the Acetobacter bugs have a chance to produce acetic acid.) Basically, make sure not to let your airlock run dry, don't open the fermenter very often during aging, etc.

 

I'll emphasize what others have pointed out, which is that what matters is what you want out of the beer. If you want to win competitions, you have to play the game. If you just want to enjoy the beer, then you can decide for yourself how much acetic character is right for the beer. By the way, a little acetic kick is part of the style for Flanders red ale, although it is supposed to be fairly subtle. In other words if it was too sour/acetic for American wild ale, it's almost certainly too sour/acetic for Flanders red ale. But it's not as though acetic acid is necessarily a flaw, it just (arguably) takes the beer out of style for competitive purposes.

 

Leaving your beer for longer won’t make anything less acetic. The opposite is true. Although once it’s acetic it will generally only get worse. Keeping your beer from excess oxygen exposure will.

Are these beers filled to the top of the carboy. If they have an airloc on them is the airloc full and never gone dry?

 

If you’re going to make sour or mixed fermentation beer and haven’t listened to every episode of the Sour Hour, you’re doing yourself a serious disservice