Changes

The buffering capacity of the mash is higher than wort due to the grain material. This has a positive affect on the growth of lactic acid bacteria. Peyer et al. (2017) found a slight increase in cell growth of ''Lactobacillus'' when incubated in a soured mash versus when souring in wort. However, due to a much higher concentration of sugar content and buffering capacity of the sour mash versus plain wort, less lactic acid was actually produced . This study also found that sour mash beers have almost four times as much acetaldehyde as the co-fermented and kettle soured versions <ref name="peyer_2017">[http://www.asbcnet.org/publications/journal/vol/2017/Pages/ASBCJ-2017-3861-01.aspx Sour Brewing: Impact of Lactobacillus amylovorus FST2.11 on Technological and Quality Attributes of Acid Beers. Lorenzo C. Peyer, Martin Zarnkow, Fritz Jacob, David P. Schutter, Elke K. Arendt. 2017.]</ref>.