Alferman Imperial Berliner Weisse

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I'm planning on brewing this recipe, or one with slight variation very soon, but I have one question. I would like to use a boil to add a touch of the hop bitterness. That said, when using a Rahr 2-row or the more typical Pils if you only do a 15 minute boil, wouldn't that create a lot of DMS? I'm still fairly new, but I thought those paler malts created a lot of DMS when heated and need the full boil to get rid of it.
 
Turned out very well, the syrups really bring out a well balanced flavor

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You shouldn't get any DMS because you are never heating the work to boiling temperatures, and if so, it's only for a short time.

Good to know thanks.

A further question not related specifically to the recipe: if one wanted to hop a wort for 20 mins, would it be necessary to start the boil 40 mins before hopping to preliminarily rid the wort of the DMS that will be created during the 20 min boil?
 
@Morkin
I used your method for creating a lacto starter. It's been going for 4 days now in a jar with foil over the opening. I just checked it today, and it appears theres some grey mold developing on the top. Is that supposed to be there, or is my starter shot?
 
Yeah, found out it was just pellicle. Starter is fine. However, I pitched yeast 2 days after pitching lacto and 24 hours later I'm not seeing any activity. I'm going to give it another day or two, then I might need to try to find a way to fix a stuck fermentation.
 
LoneWorlfPR how did it work out? I'm concerned becuase my lacto starter formed a pellicle after 4 days. I can't seem to find an answer of whether or not lacto forms a pellicle. Some people say yes, some say no. I don't want to pitch it if it's gone bad.
 
Tried this recipe. Brewed it about 2.5 weeks ago. This is it in all its glory today at about 1.006.

Tastes wild.

CZ1FD
 
Tried this recipe. Brewed it about 2.5 weeks ago. This is it in all its glory today at about 1.006.

Tastes wild.

CZ1FD

Looks about right!

I haven't made this beer in almost 6 months and I am glad that everyone is enjoying it. I'm going to be making another this Sunday, and will post some pictures to answer any questions anyone has.
 
Looks about right!

I haven't made this beer in almost 6 months and I am glad that everyone is enjoying it. I'm going to be making another this Sunday, and will post some pictures to answer any questions anyone has.

Oooof. Didn't have any yeast, so had to dump the starter.... sad. Will post some pictures when I have.
 
Yeah, I do have a question. Should this be fermenting at a warmer temperature? I have it sitting at 64 right now and it still has a really funky smell kicking.
 
Yeah, I do have a question. Should this be fermenting at a warmer temperature? I have it sitting at 64 right now and it still has a really funky smell kicking.

What I do is rack to my fermentor at around 100 degrees. I will then pitch the lacto. I monitor the temperature, and if it falls below say 85, I put a blanket on it. Over the course of 48 hours, it should get to a temperature of aroudn 70-60 degrees depending on where you are fermenting. 64 should be a fine temperature for fermenting once you have given the lacto a kickstart.
 
Well, I pitched the lacto at 100 and let it sit for 2 days, I get that milky lacto film on the top and then pitched the yeast after that. If i want to give the lacto more of a push at this point, I can just move it to a warmer temp yes?
 
No need if you gave the lacto 2 days to outperform the yeast. It will sour up even after you give it a kick with the yeast. You could warm it up, but I'm not sure it will do you any good, and could be a huge hindrance if you have already pitched the yeast, as it will give you nasty off-flavors.

The only thing the warmer temperature does is give a better environment for the lacto to grow. It would still give you sourness if you fermented the lacto at say 70 degrees, it just takes longer.
 
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So it's been about a month, have an interesting development I think. Looks like a bunch of biodomes!

Sorry for the crappy picture, my light burned out in the room i ferment in and im out of light bulbs!
 
Well, after much waiting, it's all done. Here's the first small pull off the keg. It turned out beautiful! Bear in mind, this is also the non-imperial recipe I came up with. However, big thanks to Morkin for his. I used your recipe as the base for this, and it wouldn't have turned out nearly as well as it did without it.

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Well, after much waiting, it's all done. Here's the first small pull off the keg. It turned out beautiful! Bear in mind, this is also the non-imperial recipe I came up with. However, big thanks to Morkin for his. I used your recipe as the base for this, and it wouldn't have turned out nearly as well as it did without it.

Looks great! How's the taste?
 
How hot can I keep the lacto starter? I pitched at around 125 and with the ferm wrap heater I can keep it pretty hot. Is there any reason not to keep it as hot as I can get?
 
From what I've read, 100 degrees is where it likes to be. But I guess you could experiment if you'd like. Keeping it warmer just speeds up the lacto growth. I'm not 100% sure if you will get any undesirable flavors at a higher temp.
 
Morkin said:
From what I've read, 100 degrees is where it likes to be. But I guess you could experiment if you'd like. Keeping it warmer just speeds up the lacto growth. I'm not 100% sure if you will get any undesirable flavors at a higher temp.

Thanks. I was also wondering if I should keep it warm for the first couple days with just the lacto and then cool it down to beer temps when I pitch that or if it should be warm/cooler the whole time.
 
Keep at 100 or so when you pitch, so that in 48 hours, the beer should be down to at least 60-80. Pitch the 1056 in that. Don't ever pitch yeast above 80 (maybee a Sasion) unless you want some terrible off flavors and risk of killing the yeast.
 
Alright. I plan brewing this as soon as the sour starter is ready. Smells like really dank sour cream currently...

Edit: I normally use Ph stabilizer in my mash. Is there any reason to not want to do that with this beer?
 
"Brewed" this up tonight and it seemed to go well but there were a bunch of firsts I hadn't thought about before diving in. I opted out of using Ph stabilizer, wasn't sure if that was smart or not. I did the no boil method and wasn't sure if I needed to bring it up passed 150 to stop conversation or even higher before cooling it down. I ended up raising to about 157 for 15 minutes and called it a day. My starter smelled ready but I wasn't sure what it should look like.

Its currently sitting around 113 with my fermwrap heater. Guess we'll see where this goes and post results.

Pictures are what my starter looked like. I drained 1/3-1/2 cup of liquid from it.

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Well mine has been on lacto for just under 48 hrs and I'm pretty sure that it took! I did my own starter from the OP and it seems as though it is working great! Pitching the yeast tonight.

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What do you think will happen if you wait longer to pitch the beer yeast? I may have got drunk and blew off pitching the beer yeast for 3 or 4 days instead of the recommended 2 days.
 
What do you think will happen if you wait longer to pitch the beer yeast? I may have got drunk and blew off pitching the beer yeast for 3 or 4 days instead of the recommended 2 days.

Should be fine.
 
Well mine has been on lacto for just under 48 hrs and I'm pretty sure that it took! I did my own starter from the OP and it seems as though it is working great! Pitching the yeast tonight.

Looks about right. I'd say that the grey portions look a bit strange, but this beer isn't exactly normal. Taste is really the only way you know this worked correctly. Some pelicals are crazy and some are more refined.
 
Morkin said:
Looks about right. I'd say that the grey portions look a bit strange, but this beer isn't exactly normal. Taste is really the only way you know this worked correctly. Some pelicals are crazy and some are more refined.

Yea the grey parts are just lighting issues with my camera phone. The pellicle was pretty much solid white. Been fermenting for a week or so now around 65 F. Going to keep it there for another week before I let it warm up into the 70s again. How long is normal to let this stuff sit before kegging?
 
Yea the grey parts are just lighting issues with my camera phone. The pellicle was pretty much solid white. Been fermenting for a week or so now around 65 F. Going to keep it there for another week before I let it warm up into the 70s again. How long is normal to let this stuff sit before kegging?

Good! I didn't want to freak you out, but a grey material on the pellicle would mean some type of mold or undesirable.

As for how long, make sure it hits its final gravity. Since you are kegging, this shouldn't be a problem, but if you bottle, you will want to make sure it is all the way done fermenting.

I usually give it a couple of months, just to make sure, but if the sourness is right for you, then once it is done fermenting, keg it.
 
So I pretty much followed the recipe exactly. Brewed it on May 18. Took a hydro sample this weekend and it was at 1.012. Flavor was like sauerkraut juice, with a tiny pickle juice background. Anyone ever get anything like this?
 
I'm drinking my batch of berliner weisse using homemade lacto, that was also brewed in May. It is VERY clean, and reminds me more of lemonade than pickles.
 
So I pretty much followed the recipe exactly. Brewed it on May 18. Took a hydro sample this weekend and it was at 1.012. Flavor was like sauerkraut juice, with a tiny pickle juice background. Anyone ever get anything like this?

Sounds like you got something other than lacto in there.... The lacto starter does smell bad and in many cases. Time usually cleans these up, but it should never taste like sauerkraut....
 
I made my batch on May 31st and just tasted it this weekend as well. So far its not too tart but I get more of a lemonade taste than anything else... Hope that clears up for you Chub.
 
I just brewed this yesterday. Thanks for all the great info, the starter worked just like expected. I kept it in the garage to keep warm, not too hard to do in south Texas. So far so good.

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Sounds like you got something other than lacto in there.... The lacto starter does smell bad and in many cases. Time usually cleans these up, but it should never taste like sauerkraut....

My lacto starter smelled a little like nail polish remover. Probably not a good thing. What smell should I expect out of the starter?
 
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