So I'm brewing a sour... by accident.

Whoops.

I just got done brewing a 100% Brett stout, and it turned out fantastic. Then I brewed a chocolate stout with US-05, and it took after my Brett stout and formed a pellicle of its own. Crap.

It tastes thin and watery with very little of the stout characteristics I was going for, and only the barest hint of chocolate despite the hefty amount of cocoa powder I added. But I'd rather not dump it, so I'd like to see if I can put some flavor back into it.

So I want to roll with the infection I've got, and give those bugs (presumably Brett, but I'm not certain) something to munch on so they can produce more lovely flavors. I'm thinking I'll add some cherries and a bit more chocolate. I want to know the following:

1) Is this a good idea? Do you have a better one?

2) Should I also add another Brett strain, just to make sure that there are indeed some Brett bugs in there giving off the flavors I want, rather than a wild strain of who-knows-what eating every last flavor compound and producing nothing but molecules of blandness?

if you have the space/resources, i would let it ride.

did you make your two stouts in the same fermenter?

invivoSaccharomyces said:

2) Should I also add another Brett strain, just to make sure that there are indeed some Brett bugs in there giving off the flavors I want, rather than a wild strain of who-knows-what eating every last flavor compound and producing nothing but molecules of blandness?

Click to expand...

certainly can't hurt to get a little insurance in there. how about some lambicus, in hopes that it contributes some cherry pie notes?

I would let it ride, don't throw good money after bad.

You might also just have wild yeast and not Brett from your previous batch.