pH & finished beer

[El Podo]

I'm looking for info on how pH affects finished beer flavor. How low is too low? Below 4.5 is a general rule of thumb for eliminating most harmful microbial activity, but how does manipulating the pH in finished beer affect the flavor?

[GarySped]

There are a number of good reviews out there on this topic. I can try and dig them out for you if you cannot locate them elsewhere. Charlie Bamforth had a good one a couple years ago in Journal American Society of brewing Chemists and Gary Luther presented a lengthy treatise at the Craft Brewing Conference in 2001 (maybe still available from treefarmtapes.com). [Drop me an E-mail (gspedding@alcbevtesting.com) and I'll see if I can dig out these items for you with further details.