Sour mash awfulness

Ok, so I brewed a berliner weiss/saison hybrid using a 48 hour sour mash. I took everyones advice and prepared myself for the stench that would ensue and ignored it in the hopes that it would go away and a nice brew would result of it.

I bottled the beer over a week ago and tried my first bottle last night, the carbonation was great, but the smell and flavor was still a bit rank. I think the only way I can describe it is a bit of vomit and foot. It still has this smelly tone to it, more so in the nose and less so in the flavor. The beer isn't all that bad, but that note is hard to get past.

Anyone know if this will dissipate with time? Is this common with sour mashes? Or is there just something nasty going on?

beeraroundtown said:

Anyone know if this will dissipate with time? Is this common with sour mashes? Or is there just something nasty going on?

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It's certainly common in a 48 hour mash. It'll fade 'some' but not entirely. That long of a sour mash is not good unless you really like the funky stuff. I'll do an overnight occasionally, but that's about it.

Personally, I would rather do a Berliner Weisse with the lactobacillus. It's easy, more likely to succeed and the way Berliner Weisse is really made.

I will do a longer sour mash (24-36 Hours) 'sometimes' when brewing a Gose style for my wife. It's one of the few beers she enjoys.

Personally, I don't find a sour mash a proper sub for a lacto ferment - that "vomit" flavor is the difference.

Thanks for the info, I didn't have a lacto culture so I went with the sour mash, now I know, and knowing is half the battle.

I wish I had read that info before hand, lacto it is next time.