Loysenian Cherry Kriek

I know this probably isn't a good beer for a beginner like myself, but I've become very interested in "wild" flavors and the like. Previously I've made 5 gallon batches from kits. The recipe I bought ingredients for is from Papazian's New Complete Joy of Homebrewing.

I'm wondering what I can do to maximize chances of success and what potential problems to plan for. Here are the ingredients:

6 lbs LME syrup
1/2 lb crushed pale malted barley
1/4 lb crystal malt
1/2 oz old stale hops (I asked the guy at the store and got some that were a little aged. thinking i'll put the pellets in the oven on low for a few hrs).
10-12 lbs sour cherries (i don't have these, but have blueberries, strawberries and mulberries in the freezer. he says you can substitute other fruits)
ale yeast
Brett. Brux. culture
brett. lamb. culture
3/4 c. corn sugar.

The first step is to boil the crystal malt and dissolve the LME. Next, pour into a pail, add crushed malted barley and put a sheet of tin foil on the surface in contact with the wort. Fit the lid and then wrap the whole thing in sleeping bags to get up the temp. 24 hours later is should b pretty sour.

Now add the hops and boil for an hour. Sparge, and transfer to a fermenter with cold water, yielding 4 gallons total volume. Add yeasts and cultures after it cools.

After a couple weeks, siphon onto cherries (or fruit mix, in my case) that have been pasteurized in a gallon of water. Add them to the secondary fermenter. After a month, siphon to a third vessel. Bottle it when you feel like it, then age well.

Thanks very much for reading over this. I really want this to succeed, so any advice or admonishment is much appreciated. Again, I am fairly new and am possibly biting off more than I can chew with this one, but hopefully it will be fun and I won't end up wasting $70 worth of ingredients!

It's been 36 hours and the wort still doesn't smell sour. Should I turn up the heat and let it keep sitting?

Don't try a sour mash as a beginner. It could work, but not really worth the risk/time. The lacto in barley grain is really not going to get active till 85-90 F, and even then it'll take a week or two to sour. You need hotter temps to do it quicker, plus a sour mash is not traditionally done in Belgian sour production... maybe Berliner weiss.

Here's what I would do... I know it's more money, but go to your HBS and pick up Wyeast 3763 or 3278- Roselare or Lambic blend- 3763 is a better choice in a cherry kriek. If you're a White Labs person, WLP 565 works also.

I'd pitch the Brett l. along side the 3763/3278.. it'll add some nice complex funkiness. You could also add the brux, but I'd keep it in the fridge and brew up a 100% Brett fermented blonde or IPA with it. It'll be really tasty. With the kriek, pitch the blend, no starter, with the brett, and just forget about it for a year!!

Hope this helps- PM me if you need anything