Esters in Berliner Weisse

I recently made a traditional sour mash Berliner Weisse (72 hours at 110F), did a full 60 min boil and pitched WLP001 to finish off the fermentation. The beer came out fantastic with a straw like color, sharp tartness and also a fruity ester character.

I submitted the beer to the Walk on the Wild Side competition in Florida and recently received my score sheets back. All of them agreed that is has an apricot and green apple/cider flavor profile, which I agree with, but I am not really sure where that characteristic came from. The beer fermented at 66F so I do not believe that the WLP001 threw off any esters due to temperature but can the ph of the wort have an impact on the yeast that would cause this?

One other thing, my grain bill did consist of 10% acidulated malt.

If you did a sour mash, you're obviously targeting lacto, but you never know exactly what else is lurking there. My guess is that some wild yeast or some other microbe is responsible.

kingwood-kid said:

If you did a sour mash, you're obviously targeting lacto, but you never know exactly what else is lurking there. My guess is that some wild yeast or some other microbe is responsible.

Click to expand...

Enteric bacteria produce some very interesting flavor and aroma compounds that don't boil out. Acetic acid, propionic acid and butyric acid. They readily come from bacteria on the grain in a sour mash.

Out of curiosity, did you sour 100% of the mash? Or a portion?

Aunt_Ester said:

Out of curiosity, did you sour 100% of the mash? Or a portion?

Click to expand...

100% sour mash for ~72 hours.

Hey, I am reserecting thisnold threat as I am considering to brew this beer using the process described in the "home brew beyond the basics" book.

I am wondering whether I should treat this beer (to be fermented with US05) the same way as a mixed fermentation beer fermented with a mixed culture or bottle dregs. In that case I will use my sour dedicated fermentation equipment and will keep the resulting beer away from my keezer/kegs??