Went a little crazy with souring. Need some input.

Hi guys,
I brewed a Berliner Weisse a couple months ago and as my second sour I thought, what's the worst that could happen. Well I let it ride out to about 1.004 with just the lacto and legged it a few days ago. It's good. Just really sour. What are my options at this point? I would like to back sweeten or add a fruit to sweeten it up.

Thanks


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You could try blending it with another beer. Brew something complementary to it.

Another option might be to add sugar syrup or fruit in the serving glass, like they do in Berlin. But I would probably blend it with another fully fermented beer. Adding anything fermentable at this point (sugar, fruit) will probably only make it sourer, unless you pasteurize it first.

metic said:

Another option might be to add sugar syrup or fruit in the serving glass, like they do in Berlin.

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I really consider this the only option. Besides drinking it straight up that is.

I'd go the blending route. One benefit of blending is that you might be able to effectively double your batch. Moreover though, I find that blending nearly any sour (overly sour BW included) usually makes the final product better than the sum of it's parts. For example, I recently blended a bottle of very sour BW with a glass of 100% Brett Citra IPA poured from my keg. Both finished and carbed beers (I just blended in the glass). The Brett IPA was very fruity and a bit viscous with no funk, and with just the correct blend with the BW it became something really good.

I like the blending idea. I brewed a citra pale ale this weekend that might be interesting with this BW.

Would I be able to add sucrose or another sugar to the keg since it's at 28* or so? I wouldn't think there would be any issue with fermentation at this point.


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A BW is supposed to be sour. Drink it as is, or mix with syrup in the glass.

Depending on the sour level you have/want sweetening may not get you where you want. If something is way to sour dumping a ton of sugar won't make it taste better, just different. So either sweeten in your glad when you pore it or experiment with the beer and sugar in the glass. When you find the right ratio in the glass you will have a better idea of what to add to the keg. No you won't have any issues with adding it to the keg as long as is kept cold.

I think dry hopping would be an option as well, with something like Amarillo, citra or Nelson. It would change the flavor profile just a bit


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I would leave it as is. Pour into the glass and add syrups to taste. At least that way you don't get a full keg of Mango Raspberry Guava that tastes, well, not like you wanted it too.