Dry Hopping and IBU's

[The Baron]

Just been reading that Dry hopping will increase the PH of beer and can increase the bitterness perception.
The question for you more scientific brewers is if I add some more Lactic Acid when dry hopping will this counter act the PH increase and therefore reduce the perceived bitterness perception?

 

[matt76]

Based on what I've read and listened to, basically yes.

Based on Scott Janish's book I agree that, yes, hops are alkaline so dry hopping will increase pH a bit (I think he gives a rough figure how much but I don't recall it).

However, IIRC he also says something like he preferred stronger beers one way in terms of pH, and session beers the other...

So, going along with some other stuff I've heard on podcasts, you need to go more by what your taste buds tell you and less than your pH meter (though that's still useful and not to be totally ignored).

Maybe a helpful way to think of it is these are very small adjustments of seasoning, e.g. a little bit more/less salt & pepper or lemon juice or vinegar in a recipe.

Also bear in mind lactic acid in particular has a taste threshold - I believe Strange Steve said 0.3ml/L. So he mindful of that - if you're already using a lot of acid or might be worth considering CRS or phosphoric acid instead.

 

[dmtaylor]

I agree with @matt76. If you were going to try to counterbalance the allalinity of dry hop additions, the amount should be tiny and should not perceptible in the finished beer. Personally I would skip this as it is too easy to screw up, and not at all easy to get it “right”, if “right” is even a thing that matters in real life.