Brewing a Gose - Kettle Sour Technique Check!

Hi, I've been brewing for about a year now, and due to the rarity of one of my favorite styles of beer I've decided to take the plunge into sour brewing.

I'm going for a post-mash/pre-boil kettle sour using OYL-605. I've compiled the following steps and would appreciate any feedback or advice!


1. Create starter - DME to create 1.040 wort, add 10% pasteurized apple juice, 20 grams of CaCO3, and 1/2 teaspoon of yeast nutrients.

2. Pitch culture into starter and keep at around 80F for 24 hours. I plan on using a crock pot hooked up to a temp controller for this.

3. After 24 hours, mash and sparge as usual. I do partial volume BIAB, using a bucket for a dunk sparge, but I don't think that matters here.

4. Collect wort. Should I adjust the PH of the wort at this time?

5. Boil wort for about 15min to kill un-wanted bugs.

6. Cool wort down to 80-90F and pitch starter into wort. Do I need to purge the kettle with Co2?

7. Seal kettle with saran wrap and keep in the temp range of 70-90F for 24 hours.

8. Check PH every 12 hours.

9. When PH is below 3.5 proceed with boil and pitch as normal.

Do these steps make sense? I have three questions I hope someone can answer:

Should I adjust the PH of the wort to 4.5 prior to pitching the culture? If so should I use food grade lactic acid or acid malt? Do I even need to do this if I'm using a commercial culture?

Do I need to make a starter with the commercial culture?

Do I need to flush the kettle, or bubble CO2 through the wort after pitching the culture?

Thanks for reading!

Here you go, I literally just wrote up a post reply, with links, about this elsewhere:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=7585233&postcount=5

Thanks, good stuff!!

I guess my main question is do I need to adjust the wort PH and purge oxygen from the kettle if I'm using a commercial culture? I've read on several blogs that these steps are really only needed if you are using the wild/grain technique.

Additionally I'm using OYL-605 which has a lower temperature range and sours very fast. Not sure if that makes a difference either.

One blog even says they dont bother with a starter if using a commercial culture. So primarily I'm looking for advice on using this specific blend.

It would seem not, as there shouldn't be any viably bacteria which you need to suppress. I'm not an expert though, and 5-10 minutes might be considered cheep insurance.

sixwinds said:

I guess my main question is do I need to adjust the wort PH and purge oxygen from the kettle if I'm using a commercial culture? I've read on several blogs that these steps are really only needed if you are using the wild/grain technique.

Click to expand...

I recommend adjusting the pH of your wort down to 4.5 using either phosphoric or lactic acid. The lower pH tends to inhibit the types of bacteria that can produce off flavors and aromas in your beer (think parmesan cheese and stinky feet). For my last few kettle sours, I haven't worried too much about oxygen. I tried putting cling wrap on the surface of the wort for one batch but it was kind of a mess, so now I just layer some CO2 over the top of the wort after pitching my lacto culture and any time I open up the kettle lid.