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Almighty · 03-10-2011, 10:06 PM

I will agree with Barc on the pellicle. It has nothing to do with a beer being "done". In my mind the beer is done when it tastes like you want it to. If you are referring to when it is done fermenting that is a different story.

With the error involved with hydrometers I would wait more than 2 weeks between measurements. Remember that every gravity point is about 1 Volume of CO2 once bottled.

And late Nov is not very old depending on the amount of food left for the bugs and what bugs you used.

If you really want to bottle the beer and you are not sure that it is done fermenting then use campden tablets. Use 1 per gal and then wait a couple weeks and use a neutral yeast at bottling.

**Tiber_Brew** · 03-11-2011, 11:28 PM

Yum.

smellysell · 03-12-2011, 08:11 AM

This is my "mother" that I use to innoculate a lot of my sour beers.

FromZwolle · 03-12-2011, 12:19 PM

that last one looks like what i imagine a soilent green processing plant is full of.

KingBrianI · 03-12-2011, 12:38 PM

Wyeast 9097 Old Ale Blend in secondary on oak cubes.

Clonefarmer · 03-12-2011, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barrooze

It sounds like you guys are sour masters! I've got my old ale souring now and am wondering if you can give me tips on when I'll know to bottle it. I've heard that when the pellicle falls it's ready to package. Is this generally true? I've got a comp in May and was hoping to bottle in April. If the pellicle doesn't fall by then and I bottle anyways, what may happen?

Thanks!

The pellicle may fall and rise with the seasons. Your palette is the only way to determine when it's ready.

Don't rush to bottle for a comp. These beers take a long time to develop.

blizzard · 03-12-2011, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smellysell

This is my "mother" that I use to innoculate a lot of my sour beers.

Hey Smelly, mind enlightening me on how you care and feed that mother? Don't want to hijack (new thread?), but I'd be interested in how old it is, how often you feed, how much you use in a batch, and if any bugs have outcompeted the others and are dominating. Thanks

jtakacs · 03-12-2011, 07:43 PM

Agree... I have a sour house yeast that I feed on occasion but havent used it yet and haven't seen much info on maintaining a perpetually alive house yeasts. When not feeding it its capped and in the fridge.

smellysell · 03-13-2011, 03:34 AM

Every couple months I decant it and pour some fresh beer on there. When I use it I dump about a quarter of a cup of the oak chips in the fermenter. It's about a year and a half old I think, and so far I've had some really good results. Not real scientific but it works for me.

Hoppin_Mad · 03-13-2011, 03:41 AM

You are all sick by the way.