So brewed my first sour beer (Flanders red) using the Flemmish Red ECY02 East Coast Yeast which is supposed to have Saccharomyces, Brett, lacto & Pedio. I went with plastic better bottles after reading the Mad Fermentationist's blog. I pitched the yeast right in the better bottle and it has been there since about May 19th (about 4.5 months or so). The beer fermented as any clean beer would for the first 2 days or so then the airlock activity slowed then stopped. I was checking on it every few weeks and I noticed a pellicle covering the entire top of the beer after around 2 months or so. Around 3 months in however, it looked as if the pellicle started breaking up (thinning out). It actually hasn't changed much from the picture in the last month but I am worried something is wrong. Oh, it been in my dining room in a cardboard box the whole time (avg 74 deg) with airlock. I actually had a chance to talk to Lauren Salazar from New Belgium (she spoke at our club meeting) and she said it sounded like it could be getting too vinegary because the protective pellicle is growing too much lacto (not sure if I got that right, she said it more correctly). I just know she said I could have 5 gallons of vinegar.
She said to taste it and see. Sounds simple right? So I just pop the airlock off and stick the wine thief in and sample? Won't taking the air-lock off let in a crap ton of oxygen? What I am saying is that do I need to be 100% ready to bottle if it actually tastes OK. My point is that I won't be able to bottle for about 1 more week (schedule). So should I wait to taste it until I get everything ready, I can either bottle it or dump it? Or will letting a little oxygen in real quick not going to be that big a deal? I'm just worried that if I taste it tonight and it tastes OK, then in a week when I get ready to bottle, it will be more vinegary due to the increased amount of oxygen I allow in during sampling.
Sorry to the long post. Any feedback is appreciated.
Edit: Forgot to mention I used de-bittered hops.
She said to taste it and see. Sounds simple right? So I just pop the airlock off and stick the wine thief in and sample? Won't taking the air-lock off let in a crap ton of oxygen? What I am saying is that do I need to be 100% ready to bottle if it actually tastes OK. My point is that I won't be able to bottle for about 1 more week (schedule). So should I wait to taste it until I get everything ready, I can either bottle it or dump it? Or will letting a little oxygen in real quick not going to be that big a deal? I'm just worried that if I taste it tonight and it tastes OK, then in a week when I get ready to bottle, it will be more vinegary due to the increased amount of oxygen I allow in during sampling.
Sorry to the long post. Any feedback is appreciated.
Edit: Forgot to mention I used de-bittered hops.