88% Lactic acid
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Lactic acid comes in various concentrations with 88% being the most popular for home brewing (shown in picture).
It is used to acidify the sparge water to a pH of 6 or lower (relative to mash temperature) which helps reduce the chance of extracting mouth-puckering tannins from the grain husks while we sparge slowly.
We also use lactic acid to lower the mash pH when the various water adjustment salts we add do not take the pH low enough (and we do not want to add more salts). If you prefer to brew to Reinheitsgebot (German Beer Purity Law) standards where acid cannot be used, replace a small amount of the base malt with acidulated malt.
For more information see our Water Adjustment guide.
Lactic acid can also be used as an addition to sour certain beers for extra tartness such as Dry Irish Stout or Berliner Weisse.
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