Help with my first sour

rexbanner · 01-26-2012, 11:50 AM

I took a gallon and a half of a Belgian blonde I brewed and pitched Supplication/Jolly Pumpkin dregs alongside WLP530. The next week I realized that there might be two problems. One, it's a high gravity beer. 1.070. Two, it's 26 IBUs. Does this mean the lacto and pedio don't have a chance?

It's already forming a pellicle and I tasted it, it has a very strong brett taste. If it never sours I'd be OK with that, because right now it tastes very much like Oro de Calabaza (one of it's parents). However, if it doesn't sour does this mean that the brett and lacto are dead? That would make me very sad because I wanted to use this beer to inoculate future beers, with microflora from two of the top wild breweries.

Since the original beer was mashed at 149, I was planning on adding some maltodextrin when I rack to secondary. If I added maltodextrin and water, could I bring the ABV and IBUs low enough for the pedio and lacto to work?

**SGFBeerBuzz** · 01-26-2012, 12:00 PM

Sounds like you've already got a good start. Be patient with sours. They can take a while.

How did you draw your sample? It's important not to break the pellicle unless you want more of the vinegar-like acetobacter flavors in there. It's best to draw samples from the bottom if you can.

I don't think the gravity will be a problem for you since you pitched the sour bugs in so early. If anything, I expect you'll need to blend it when it's ready.

rexbanner · 01-26-2012, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGFBeerBuzz

Sounds like you've already got a good start. Be patient with sours. They can take a while.

How did you draw your sample? It's important not to break the pellicle unless you want more of the vinegar-like acetobacter flavors in there. It's best to draw samples from the bottom if you can.

I don't think the gravity will be a problem for you since you pitched the sour bugs in so early. If anything, I expect you'll need to blend it when it's ready.

The pellicle is so barely formed, the beer is only three weeks old. It's still in a bucket.

I'm just a little confused, because doesn't pedio stop working around 8%? I wish I knew a bit more about this whole process. I have Wild Brews which is a great book but isn't a how-to guide.

ReverseApacheMaster · 01-26-2012, 05:31 PM

Pedio takes a while to get busy so I wouldn't assume what you have now is what it will taste like in several months.

Coff · 01-26-2012, 06:00 PM

I think your best bet is to ignore it for 4-6 months. My first sour was pretty similar to yours a few months back except I transferred a gallon post Sacch fermentation. Its at about 4 months now and I just took my first sample, still visibly fermenting as I can see tiny bubbles coming up from all over the place, but its coming along very nicely.

rexbanner · 01-26-2012, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coff

I think your best bet is to ignore it for 4-6 months. My first sour was pretty similar to yours a few months back except I transferred a gallon post Sacch fermentation. Its at about 4 months now and I just took my first sample, still visibly fermenting as I can see tiny bubbles coming up from all over the place, but its coming along very nicely.

Is it sour? I understand that pedio takes time, but if the alcohol is too high, no amount of time will matter.