Too late for Lacto?

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rebel80

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I recently brewed a very simple pale extract kit at a local demonstration. After tasting the result, I realized this might be a good chance to try my hand at a sour. I pitched a pack of Brett L (along with 3 lbs of blackberry puree) about a month ago and the pellicle is just starting to form. After reading a little more, I realized that it's going to have some brett character but not quite the sour character I had hoped for.

So my question is, if I add the lacto now, is it too late to get any real sourness out of this beer?

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Depends how long you are willing to wait. Need to wait at least 6 months (probably more) to get any appreciable amount of lactic acid.
 
Cool. I've also never bulk aged over fruit before. Is it OK for the beer to sit on the blackberry puree for that long?
 
I'm still an amateur compared to many on here, but I have (and have had) several on fruit for 6 months. I think the key is to sanitize when making it and then ignore it.

I'd recommend getting a blend (Rosalare) rather than just Lacto, to ensure you have all the bugs.
 
I've had Lacto work really well in 2 months when pitching from the get go but at that point if you want to ensure youll get something from it you will need to be prepared to wait another 4-5 months and add something like 8oz of malto dextrin to give it something to eat. Even then your brett culture is probably pretty hardy and might do more of the eating than the lacto.
 
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