Acid from Lemons speed up or slow down fermentation time?

[john west]

Hi, I'm new to brewing and would like some very basic advice please.

I'm making a traditional Ginger Beer to start off. Just granulated
sugar, grated ginger and Lemon.

My question is: can i use lemon powder (citric acid) instead of Lemon?

Apart from the taste issues does the additional *acid* of lemon and/or
citric acid speed up or slow-down the fermentation time please?

My thinking so far is that if the lemon/citric acid slow the
fermentation process i would simply add them at the end just for flavouring.

Grateful for any advice. Thanks

[Tom Biasi]

Hi,  I'm new to brewing and would like some very basic advice please.
I'm making a traditional Ginger Beer to start off.  Just granulated
sugar, grated ginger and Lemon.
My question is:  can i use lemon powder (citric acid) instead of Lemon?
Apart from the taste issues does the additional *acid* of lemon and/or
citric acid speed up or slow-down the fermentation time please?
My thinking so far is that if the lemon/citric acid slow the
fermentation process i would simply add them at the end just for flavouring.
Grateful for any advice.  Thanks

You need to keep the pH in the recommended range for the yeast.

[baloonon]

Post by Tom Biasi

Hi,  I'm new to brewing and would like some very basic advice

please.

Post by Tom Biasi

I'm making a traditional Ginger Beer to start off.  Just granulated
sugar, grated ginger and Lemon.
My question is:  can i use lemon powder (citric acid) instead of

Lemon?

I'm sure you can if all you want is a bit of tartness. Citric acid has
less flavor than lemon, which is a matter of personal preference.

Post by Tom Biasi

Apart from the taste issues does the additional *acid* of lemon and/or
citric acid speed up or slow-down the fermentation time please?
My thinking so far is that if the lemon/citric acid slow the
fermentation process i would simply add them at the end just for flavouring.
Grateful for any advice.  Thanks

You need to keep the pH in the recommended range for the yeast.

This is true, and this article goes into a lot of detail:

https://byo.com/malt/item/1494-the-principles-of-ph

It gives the typical pH after all of the boiling is done at 5.0 to 5.2,
which is fairly acidic, and after fermentation of 4.6 all the way down
to 3.8. It will vary from yeast to yeast, though.

I think your instinct is not a bad idea to add your lemon at the end,
when the yeast population will be much higher than at the beginning.
Fermentation also often mellows out flavors, so it's possible there will
be more bang for the buck if you wait.

Another option for just the lemon flavor is commercial lemon extract, or
you can make your own by adding well rinsed lemon zest to a small amount
of vodka and letting sit for a couple of weeks to extract the flavor,
then add small amounts to taste.

[Bill O'Meally]

Post by john west
Hi, I'm new to brewing and would like some very basic advice please.
I'm making a traditional Ginger Beer to start off. Just granulated
sugar, grated ginger and Lemon.
My question is: can i use lemon powder (citric acid) instead of Lemon?
Apart from the taste issues does the additional *acid* of lemon and/or
citric acid speed up or slow-down the fermentation time please?
My thinking so far is that if the lemon/citric acid slow the
fermentation process i would simply add them at the end just for flavouring.
Grateful for any advice. Thanks

Citric acid is not lemon powder and will not provide any flavor, per
se. It will provide acidity, which is fine if that is all you are
looking for. I often use citric acid as part of a blend for use in mead
making. If you want actual lemon flavor, you will want to use, well,
actual lemon. The zest (just the yellow part -- avoid the bitter white
pith) has lots of flavorful oils without the tartness of the juice. You
can balance things out by experimenting with proportions of zest and
juice. I would add the zest to the secondary fermentor, either in a
fine mesh hop bag, or just thrown in, and rack off after it settles
out. The juice or acid should not be an issue, but as you said, I would
add after primary fermentation is done, and towards the end of
secondary or even just before bottling. Good luck!

[john west]

Hi,  I'm new to brewing and would like some very basic advice please.
I'm making a traditional Ginger Beer to start off.  Just granulated
sugar, grated ginger and Lemon.
My question is:  can i use lemon powder (citric acid) instead of Lemon?
Apart from the taste issues does the additional *acid* of lemon and/or
citric acid speed up or slow-down the fermentation time please?
My thinking so far is that if the lemon/citric acid slow the
fermentation process i would simply add them at the end just for flavouring.
Grateful for any advice.  Thanks

Citric acid is not lemon powder and will not provide any flavor, per se.
It will provide acidity, which is fine if that is all you are looking
for. I often use citric acid as part of a blend for use in mead making.
If you want actual lemon flavor, you will want to use, well, actual
lemon. The zest (just the yellow part -- avoid the bitter white pith)
has lots of flavorful oils without the tartness of the juice. You can
balance things out by experimenting with proportions of zest and juice.
I would add the zest to the secondary fermentor, either in a fine mesh
hop bag, or just thrown in, and rack off after it settles out. The juice
or acid should not be an issue, but as you said, I would add after
primary fermentation is done, and towards the end of secondary or even
just before bottling. Good luck!

many thanks and to all. i have another beginners question but don't know
if i'm allowed to answer in this thread, so have started another on
called; Flavour from Ginger. Thanks