Cranberry acid

[sremick]

Hello. I have a carboy of cranberry I made from juice a couple years ago. Testing the pH I'm finding it a bit low-acid (pH 4.0) and probably should be tweaked.

1) What's a good target pH for cranberry wine?
2) Should I use acid blend or tartaric acid?

 

[Hazelemere]

acid blend is fine add 1/4 tsp at a time stir it in and taste it until you like it

 

[BigDaveK]

Generally I believe the pH should be less than 3.6.

And I find I like citric acid with many berry wines.

 

[winemaker81]

I agree with @Hazelemere to go cautious on acid additions, as it's easy to over-do it. If you think you're getting close, OR if you realize you're experiencing tasting fatigue, stop and put the wine aside for a week to let it meld.

Which acid? Acid blend, tartaric, citric, and malic all do the job. However, I'd recommend going with whatever acid is dominant in the fruit as it will be the most compatible. I believe Dave is right that citric is common in berry fruits. After that, I'd choose acid blend, although every vendor has their own formula for acid blend, so they are not all alike. Malic is the acid in apples, so I'd not use that for cranberries, as it may produce too much tartness.

 

[sremick]

put the wine aside for a week to let it meld.

Heh... well, for understandable reasons I don't have a week. I'd like to pull a bottle or two for tomorrow.

Which acid? Acid blend, tartaric, citric, and malic all do the job. However, I'd recommend going with whatever acid is dominant in the fruit as it will be the most compatible. I believe Dave is right that citric is common in berry fruits.

Frustratingly I cannot find a consensus on this. Some authoritative websites say tartaric is dominant in cranberry. Others say citric. Others say there's significant malic. I don't understand how there can't be a definitive scientific answer in this modern age.

Heck, there's even this and it's all over the place, with "so'n'so got this result, but so'n'so got this entirely different result, while so'n'so got this 3rd different result..." and so on:

https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1904&context=dissertations_1

 

[winemaker81]

Frustratingly I cannot find a consensus on this. Some authoritative websites say tartaric is dominant in cranberry. Others say citric. Others say there's significant malic. I don't understand how there can't be a definitive scientific answer in this modern age.

What acids do you have on hand? Any will work, and what you have is fine.

It occurred to me that most fruit are like apples -- there are dozens (probably hundreds around the world) varieties of apples, which can have very different characteristics while all being apples. The varying results you found could be due to different varieties of cranberries being tested.

Since you're under a time crunch, go with what you have.

 

[sremick]

What acids do you have on hand? Any will work, and what you have is fine.

Well, I have each individually as well as an "acid blend" which I got before understanding that it was probably better to have each individually. So I guess I can do anything now.

 

[sremick]

FYI, the "acid blend" I have is from LD Carlson. 50% Citric acid, 25% Malic acid and 25% Tartaric

 

[TurkeyHollow]

 

[Raptor99]

The acids in cranberry juice are also listed in this study: The Concentration of Organic Acids in Cranberry Juice Modulates the Gut Microbiota in Mice In this case, the relevant numbers are:
Citric 11.59 g/L
Quinic 10.35 g/L
Malic 6.03 g/L

If you have citric acid, I would go with that.

If you use 100% pure cranberry juice or fresh cranberries, you won't need to add any acid because the juice will already be very acidic.

 

[hounddawg]

100 wine crafters,
108 ways to make wine,
you're getting there,,, lol
Dawg

 

[gogojuice]

Very curious about citric acid concentration from citrus zest finely grated on a cheese grater - as I have plenty available - compared to acid blend or citric acid. Any recommendations concerning zest vs packaged acids?

 

[BigDaveK]

Very curious about citric acid concentration from citrus zest finely grated on a cheese grater - as I have plenty available - compared to acid blend or citric acid. Any recommendations concerning zest vs packaged acids?

Not sure how much acid is in zest. I think it's mostly a flavor element from the oils.
I often use citric acid rather than acid blend in some berry wines. It tastes better to me,

 

[gogojuice]

"Flavor element from the oils"

Yes the citrus from my back yard is loaded with acid and oils - unlike most store-bought citrus which is typically de-zested and sometimes sealed with wax - so maybe the recipes I followed assumed store-bought and led me to use too much. Grapefruit flavor I prefer as a juce during summer but as a flavor for wine kind of yuck IMHO.