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'''Titratable Acidity''' (abbreviated as '''TA''') is an approximation of the ''Total Acidity'' of a solution, and has long been used in the production of wine. It is usually expressed in units of grams per liter (g/L), although other formats are also used <ref>[http://www.accuvin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Monitoring%20Acids%20and%20pH%20in%20Winemaking-Acids-and-pH-in-Winemaking.pdf Wine From the Outside - Easy Wine Chemistry For the Casual Chemist. Monitoring Acids and pH in Winemaking. Mike Miller.]</ref>. ''Titratable Acidity'' is often mistakenly confused with ''Total Acidity'', but they are not the same thing (see reference). While ''Total Acidity'' is a more accurate measurement of the total acid content of a solution, ''Titratable Acidity'' is usually used because it is easier to measure <ref>[http://wineserver.ucdavis.edu/pdf/attachment/220%20relationship%20between%20total%20acidity,%20TA,%20and%20pH%20.pdf The relationship between total acidity, titratable acidity and pH in wine. Roger Boulton. American Journa l of Enology and Viticulture. 31(1): 76-80. 1980.]</ref>. ''TA'' has also proved to be is generally considered a useful better way to measure perceivable acidity in sour beer and wine than pH <ref>[http://blog.ocbeerblog.com/2015/04/13/how-sour-is-your-sour-beer/ How Sour is Your Sour Beer?. OCBeerBlog on Firestone Walker's demonstration of the uses of TA measurements. April 13, 2015.]</ref>.

Any acid not dissociated (in other words, an acid still holding onto its H+) does not affect pH. On the other hand, humans will perceive an increased "sourness" based upon the amount of acid in a beer, dissociated or not. The best way to test for total acidity, regardless of dissociation, is using a test called ''Titratable Acidity''. Because different acids have different characteristic flavors and some acids might taste more smooth or aggressive than others (think lactic acid verses acetic acid), samples with the same titratable acidity may have either different perceived acidity or acidity that seems more or less pleasant than other samples. However overall titratable acidity does show a stronger correlation to perceived acidity than measures such as pH.

Kara Taylor at White Labs has done a reasonable amount of professional sensory panels showing the correlation between ''TA'' and perceived sour taste, as well as showing a more poor correlation between pH and sour taste. Her full presentation, where most of this information was sourced, is available to any attendee of the 2015 Craft Brewer's Conference.

* It may be best to compare the ratio of ''Titratable Acidity'' to ''Final Gravity'' as sweetness counter-acts acidity in sensory experiments <ref>Kara Taylor, White Labs - CBC 2015 Presentation "Sour Beer is More than pH"</ref>.