weird sour beer idea...

bhatchable · 08-30-2009, 11:24 PM

So I found this recipe below... I like the idea

Sourdough Beer

Classification: sourdough, extract
Source: John Carl Brown, (brown@cbnewsh.cb.att.com), rec.crafts.brewing, 5/21/92

Very cloudy beer, aroma has a tinge of sour. I'm not really sure how it tastes, kind of like beer kind of like sourdough bread but really like neither. Loads of body. The sourness is not as clean as I would like, but definitely comes through in the finish.
Ingredients:

2--3/4 pounds, hopped light extract
1/2 pound, pale malt
2 ounces, crystal malt (40 L.)
2 ounces, wheat malt
1/2 ounce, Hallertauer hops
ale yeast
1--1/2 cups, sourdough starter (wheat flour, water, yeast)
Procedure:

Dissolved extract in hot water, cooled and added starter. Let rest covered for 24 hours. Crushed and mashed grains. Poured liquid off sourdough sediment and strained into wort. Boiled 1 hour and added hops at 40 minute mark. (Foul smelling boil!). Cooled and added ale yeast. Ferment as usual.

I kind of want to try this, I don't think this recipe is to a five gallon scale, so I think that resizing/revision is in order. I wouldn't mind trying this out, possible adding maybe some belgian biscuit... what do you think/would you do it/what would you change?

**Revvy** · 08-30-2009, 11:28 PM

I think there is a couple threads around here of people trying somethig nlike this, if not this very recipe....I vaguely remember sourdough beer....you might want to do a seacrh and see what you can find...it wasn't recently, more like in the winter.

I would consider maybe brewing only a gallon of this, maybe no more that 2.5...but for something this "odd" I might consider getting a gallon wine jug and fermenting a small batch of this...maybe doing to, 1 as is, and one with biscuit malt...I love biscuit malt, so I say yes to adding biscuit to anything.

bhatchable · 08-30-2009, 11:31 PM

I actually have a gallon wine jug, I use it to make yeast starters.. not a bad plan. thanks for the quick reply. any idea how any of those attempts came out, I searched, but couldn't really find much.

**BigKahuna** · 08-30-2009, 11:58 PM

my sour peach beer came out ok....nothing to brag about. I'd skip the sourdough starter in trade for about 6 oz of 2 row grain. It's got the lactobacillus bacteria on it, and if you throw it in your wort about 24 hours before you boil, it'll be plenty sour...and not have all that flour floating around to deal with.

bhatchable · 08-31-2009, 12:29 AM

I kind of want the sourdough flavor though. I've played around with the idea some more and here is what I have for a test batch (1 gallon wine jug-thanks revvy)

1 lb two row mashed, cooled, add 1/2 cup of sourdough starter from a bakery around the corner, loosely cover, maybe with a wet towel, for 24 hours. Mash another 1 lb of two row with 1 lb of biscuit malt and an ounce or two of something else for color (I'm leaning towards possibly 2oz of crystal 60). once mash is done, strain the pot with sourdough starter through a fine sieve into the boil. Then .25-.5 oz of low alpha hallertau at about 40 minutes. Probably add some irish moss or whirfloc to attempt to clarify it (expecting it to be cloudy though) and some defoamer. funnel into 1 gallon wine jug, a bit of neutral dry yeast, stopper and airlock, then just wait and see... I think that I am going to start this one next weekend, any feedback?

Ryan_PA · 08-31-2009, 05:40 AM

Look into the Kvass style. It is also known as Russian Bread Beer.

There is a PA brewery that puts out a fine example, the yeast is sourdough.

bhatchable · 08-31-2009, 06:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan_PA

Look into the Kvass style. It is also known as Russian Bread Beer.

There is a PA brewery that puts out a fine example, the yeast is sourdough.

Good find man. I just read the wikipedia article and a couple of others... Interesting. Most of what I can find classifies that as a soft drink, very low alcohol, but did find out about more beer-y examples that include malt or malt extract. perhaps I should get a bit of rye malt in this too. Thanks alot, see edited recipe above.

bhatchable · 08-31-2009, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhatchable

I kind of want the sourdough flavor though. I've played around with the idea some more and here is what I have for a test batch (1 gallon wine jug-thanks revvy)

1 lb two row mashed, cooled, add 1/2 cup of sourdough starter from a bakery around the corner, loosely cover, maybe with a wet towel, for 24 hours. Mash another 1 lb of two row with 1 lb of biscuit malt and an ounce or two of something else for color (I'm leaning towards possibly 2oz of crystal 60). once mash is done, strain the pot with sourdough starter through a fine sieve into the boil. Then .25-.5 oz of low alpha hallertau at about 40 minutes. Probably add some irish moss or whirfloc to attempt to clarify it (expecting it to be cloudy though) and some defoamer. funnel into 1 gallon wine jug, a bit of neutral dry yeast, stopper and airlock, then just wait and see... I think that I am going to start this one next weekend, any feedback?

Edit: so after chatting with my neighbor, TheDrunkChef, about biscuit and ryan_pa's post I am going to amend the second mash to be 1.5 lbs two row, 4 oz crystal 60, 2 oz biscuit, 2 oz rye malt. ideas? this beer is going to be just plain strange.

z987k · 08-31-2009, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhatchable

I kind of want the sourdough flavor though. I've played around with the idea some more and here is what I have for a test batch (1 gallon wine jug-thanks revvy)

1 lb two row mashed, cooled, add 1/2 cup of sourdough starter from a bakery around the corner, loosely cover, maybe with a wet towel, for 24 hours. Mash another 1 lb of two row with 1 lb of biscuit malt and an ounce or two of something else for color (I'm leaning towards possibly 2oz of crystal 60). once mash is done, strain the pot with sourdough starter through a fine sieve into the boil. Then .25-.5 oz of low alpha hallertau at about 40 minutes. Probably add some irish moss or whirfloc to attempt to clarify it (expecting it to be cloudy though) and some defoamer. funnel into 1 gallon wine jug, a bit of neutral dry yeast, stopper and airlock, then just wait and see... I think that I am going to start this one next weekend, any feedback?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan_PA

Look into the Kvass style. It is also known as Russian Bread Beer.

There is a PA brewery that puts out a fine example, the yeast is sourdough.

Sourdough yeast is not yeast at all, it is the bacteria Lactobacillus. Well there's Saccharomyces cerevisiae in there to, but the "Sourdough flavor" comes from the lacto.

White labs and wyeast both make pure cultures of lacto and if you do like BK said, you can all save yourself some money. The lacto is already on the grain.

When I made my sourdough starter for bread I crushed 3-4oz of 2-row and threw it in the starter just to speed things up a bit and make sure I got a high lacto count. But the flour also has lacto on it so....

Ryan_PA · 08-31-2009, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhatchable

Most of what I can find classifies that as a soft drink, very low alcohol, but did find out about more beer-y examples that include malt or malt extract. perhaps I should get a bit of rye malt in this too. Thanks alot, see edited recipe above.

Thats right, the example I had from East End brewing (several samples actually, quite tasty) was not that low of a ABV. From memory I think it is like 3.5%.

Here is some reading for you if you have not found these sites yet:

The Mad Fermentationist: Neo-Kvass
The Mad Fermentationist: Neo Kvass: 1st Tasting
The info below if from Beers - East End Brewing Company

Quote:

Kvass/Sourdough Kvass: This was a beer from our Session Ale series that we still get a lot of calls about. (Sorry but no, we don't have any and no we can't ship beer.) We did two batches of it with Tom Baker a while back, and while we may brew it again some day, there's no plans to do it any time soon.