Beginner Souring Question

[jmhbutler]

Hoping for a bit of insight on the following topic.

I am currently brewing with sacch and brett. I have separate taps, serving lines, kegs, carboys, and plastic material that I use exclusively for my brett fermented beer.

I am currently looking to attempt some sour brews and I'm wondering if I can use my brett gear with the sour fermentations or should I get a third set of gear? If required, what pieces of equipment should not be mixed between sour and non-sour/brett beers.

Thanks,

 

[ColoHox]

You can use your Brett stuff with your sour beers. They generally play well together.

After the boil, you should use separate equipment for anything that comes in contact with the beer, especially hoses and other vinyl/plastic parts, like you already mentioned.

Chances are high that the equipment will harbor a few remaining bugs, but that may add complexity to your batches. For example, you will probably introduce a few souring bacteria to your brett beers and vice versa.

 

[jmhbutler]

Thanks ColoHox,

So heres the next question. If I pre-sour a Berliner Weisse, boil once desired pH is hit, and then complete fermentation with Sacch, am I good to continue fermenting and serving this beer on my clean gear from the point of the second boil forward?

 

[m00ps]

I would think that you wouldnt want to re-boil partially fermented wort. There's all kinds of oxidation and reactions that would occur, right?

 

[foltster]

Pitching a Lacto culture to sour before boiling have excellent results.

Some good sources of info:

http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Sour_Worting
http://sourbeerblog.com/fast-souring-lactobacillus/

 

[ColoHox]

Thanks ColoHox,

So heres the next question. If I pre-sour a Berliner Weisse, boil once desired pH is hit, and then complete fermentation with Sacch, am I good to continue fermenting and serving this beer on my clean gear from the point of the second boil forward?

Yes! The boil will kill the sour bugs. Don't rely too heavily on the pH. Make sure to taste it as well.

I would think that you wouldnt want to re-boil partially fermented wort. There's all kinds of oxidation and reactions that would occur, right?

Kettle souring is a very common process. Downside is that you lose some of the volatile flavors produced during souring, but the upside is that you are transferring clean and sour wort to your fermenters. Boiling actually reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen in the wort.

 

[jmhbutler]

So my brew kettle uses a 240V element and a PID controller. During the 1-6 days souring period, Colohox, do you think I should leave that on at around 100-110F or will the direct heating cause problems? I'm using lacto brevis.

 

[ColoHox]

So my brew kettle uses a 240V element and a PID controller. During the 1-6 days souring period, Colohox, do you think I should leave that on at around 100-110F or will the direct heating cause problems? I'm using lacto brevis.

I use propane, so I can't say for certain. Is it a low density element? I would think that it would be fine. Some stirring would help with heat stratification and oxygenation, as L. brevis does better with some oxygen in the wort.

 

[jmhbutler]

Yes. Its low watt density but not ultra low what density. My thought is that lacto grows so fast at higher temperatures that even if a small amount is being killed off near the element, the remainder that is flourishing should overthrow the balance making it more efficient then growth at room temperature. Thoughts?

 

[masonsjax]

I think you'd be fine using the element to keep the temp up.

Brett is basically yeast, so if you properly sanitize, it should be no problem to then use your equipment for clean beers. I've been doing this for years without problems. Bacteria is another story. It is much smaller than yeast and can hide and thrive aggressively. Any plastics that have been used with bacteria are segregated in my brewery and clearly labeled as "wild/sour" to prevent accidental cross contamination.

 

[jmhbutler]

Follow up:

The pH is quickly dropping. Its been three days and I'm down from 4.50 to 3.62 - almost down to my 3.5 target. No problems w/ the element. Strangely, there are no signs of fermentation, krausen, pellicle, etc.

I have the kettle saran-wrapped, and because of the heat, there is a lot of condensation and it smells like DMS or old cabbage. Will my 90 minute remove this even if it has already came out as condensation and gone back into the kettle?