Dregs from older Cantillon bottle?

Hey all. I just acquired a 375mL bottle of Cantillon Kriek from Feb 2010. It had been kept cool, the bottle felt like it may have been cellared in the ~40F range (not completely sure on the storage temp but it was kept cool). I want to get the best possible use out of these dregs, so I had a few questions concerning their viability.

1) Did the cold storage temperature negatively affect the organisms in the bottle, or will they be more viable having had a slowed down metabolism?
2) Seeing that the bottle is 2+ years old, am I better off just using the dregs in a batch or throwing them in starter wort first to help anything that is still viable get a head start?
3) If I make a starter wort, should I aerate, or is there a possibility that there is leftover acetobacter in the bottle that would reproduce too much if exposed to O2?

I understand this is all speculation and relies on pH, residual sugar, and an array of other factors. I'm just looking to see if anyone has any experience with this kind of thing who can point me in the right direction. Thanks.

bottles of cantillon dont tend to produce much, they are generally pretty old by the time they ever get to us. They only thing Ive ever gotten out of it is a very funky brett strain that didnt taste right to me. Personally I now avoid using the dregs in homebrew

For your case it wouldnt hurt to make a small starter using the dregs and see what you get. Most likely there wont be any souring bacteria left in the bottle (too old) but maybe youll like the brett/etc that you get out of it.

i just did a starter of rose de gambrinus from last year about three weeks ago. I did aerate a little- i started w 20 wort and stepped up to 40 - i am seeing signs of activity, it smells okay and the 20 wort i decanted tasted fine. when i decant again, i'll let you know- but i would think that you would still have viability and could either pitch or starter up. I've been making small starters with dregs and then doing gallon batches, lately- so that's why the starter.

ryane said:

bottles of cantillon dont tend to produce much, they are generally pretty old by the time they ever get to us. They only thing Ive ever gotten out of it is a very funky brett strain that didnt taste right to me. Personally I now avoid using the dregs in homebrew

For your case it wouldnt hurt to make a small starter using the dregs and see what you get. Most likely there wont be any souring bacteria left in the bottle (too old) but maybe youll like the brett/etc that you get out of it.

Click to expand...

yeah - i didn't get any sour from the 20 wort i tasted (maybe a little from the leftover beer)- it tasted pretty clean. I'll probably decant and pitch to gallon this weekend, i'll let you know...

For now, I guess my best course of action here is to pitch it in some lower gravity wort and see what happens. I'll make a small starter this weekend and throw it on a stirplate and will update if I have any signs of anything good.

In the meantime, if anyone has had any luck in this kind of situation, I'd love to hear the results.

SethMasterFlex said:

For now, I guess my best course of action here is to pitch it in some lower gravity wort and see what happens. I'll make a small starter this weekend and throw it on a stirplate and will update if I have any signs of anything good.

In the meantime, if anyone has had any luck in this kind of situation, I'd love to hear the results.

Click to expand...

Other sour beers particularily JP and Odell have very active souring cultures, and they are generally very very fresh, so if you can get your hands on one of their lower abv beers they are a great way to make a sour beer

ryane said:

Other sour beers particularily JP and Odell have very active souring cultures, and they are generally very very fresh, so if you can get your hands on one of their lower abv beers they are a great way to make a sour beer

Click to expand...

I have access to those beers and have used them before (Actually have an ES Bam in the fridge right now that I plan on using). The Cantillon bottle was just a special find for me, so I want to see (in my giddy excitement) if I can actually get anything from it, even to just add a layer of complexity to a beer.