Adding flaked wheat to Berliner Wiesse primary

Yes, you read that correctly. I've seen this suggested in other forums (in long extinct threads, so I can't exactly ask for an explanation). The idea is that adding a bag of flaked wheat to your wort as you pitch your bacteria/yeast combination gives the bacteria some extra food to munch on, and adds to the desired sourness of your brew.

Any ideas on this? Is it worth a try? When do I yank the bag? or do I just let it sit in there until I bottle? Or is it hogwash?

I have never brewed a BW but it's on my list so I have been reading a lot about brewing techniques. My understanding was that adding grain to the wort was for the purpose of introducing the lacto that naturally lives on the surface of the grain, not so much to give the lacto "extra food to munch on." The lacto on the grain sours the beer. It's probably more reproducible to pitch lacto (preferably from a lacto-only starter); grains you buy from the LHBS likely have lacto on them but the amount would be unreliable. Some other important steps are to delay pitching the yeast until after the lacto has had some time to sour the wort, and to let the souring occur at higher temperatures (around 37C or 98F).
Good luck with your beer.

It's not something I would personally do, but you can play with it and report back on how it turns out.

Traditional Berliner Weisse (until about the 1970s) was made with a mixed culture of ale yeast, lactobacillus brevia and brettanomyces bruxellensis (among other things), which innoculated unboiled wort. More recently, the brewers switched to pure cultures and eliminated the brettanomyces (which gave the beer its bouquet). Part of the wort is boiled and fermented with regular yeast, part of it is heated to pasteurize (but not boiled) and innoculated with the lacto, and then the two are blended to taste after fermentation is complete.

ArcaneXor said:

It's not something I would personally do, but you can play with it and report back on how it turns out.

Traditional Berliner Weisse (until about the 1970s) was made with a mixed culture of ale yeast, lactobacillus brevia and brettanomyces bruxellensis (among other things), which innoculated unboiled wort.

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Well, I am all for the traditional way as long as it doesn't involve a lotta extra work. I'll be using White Labs' Berliner Wiesse strain, which I understand has everything I need in it, but prevents me from pitching the bacteria and yeast separately. Could I (possibly) brew up a gallon or two of pasteurized wort and pitch the White Labs, wait a few days, then give the rest of the wort a fifteen-minute boil, cool it, and dump it in...? Might that give the bacteria a sort of head start? Would it have a bad effect on the yeast?

I understand you gents are not responsible for whatever results I get, by the by. I'm just tossing ideas out there.