cluckk
Well-Known Member
I make several quarts at time of a 1.040 wort that I inoculate with lacto from raw grain. I let this go until the pH is down to around 3.4. I can it in pint jars to use as needed. Because the pH is low enough I can hot water can it. Because it is canned I can add it at anytime to a batch of beer (mash, pre-boil, post-boil, fermentation, packaging, etc.). I made a 10 gallon stout and split it into two five gallon batches. To each I pitched Nottingham yeast, used an identical aeration method, same fermentation temps. I finished both by conditioning them with identical amounts of priming sugar in kegs. Each were stored same time, same temperature, cold crashed together and placed side by side in the kegerator at the same time.
The only difference is one was left as is, while the other had a quart of this soured wort added after fermentation kicked off (At first signs of good Kraeusen). The difference in gravity is negligible at most.
Today I tasted them side by side. They are almost perfectly identical. The one with soured wort added had a different quality to the head. It was more dense and finer bubbles (both were dispensed with CO2 at the same pressure with the same length of hose). This one also had a less pronounced burnt quality from the dark grains. The one with the soured wort just seemed to be a nicer beer. The one without just seemed to be slightly off of ideal--even tasting it without the comparison last night, it seemed to just be missing something. I assume it is the slight higher acid altering and melding the flavor profile. Other than the reduced burnt quality there is really no noticeable difference to the flavor--I know there would be if I added more, but I wanted it slight this time. I doubt there was enough pH change to really impact the action of the yeast--though others may say otherwise. They also both dropped Kraeusen within a couple hours of each other.
Edit: They also had a final gravity so close I really couldn't measure it with my hydrometer.
I'll see if they change over time.
The 10 gallon batch was 82.5% MO, 7.5 % Black Patent, 7.5 % Roast Barley, and 2.5 % Flaked Wheat. Mashed at 148, batch sparged, boiled 90 minutes. Hops were all East Kent Goldings (1.5 oz at 60, 1.5 oz at 40 and 1.0 oz at 20) for 37 IBU's total. Yeast was Lallemand's Nottingham hydrated prior to pitch.
The only difference is one was left as is, while the other had a quart of this soured wort added after fermentation kicked off (At first signs of good Kraeusen). The difference in gravity is negligible at most.
Today I tasted them side by side. They are almost perfectly identical. The one with soured wort added had a different quality to the head. It was more dense and finer bubbles (both were dispensed with CO2 at the same pressure with the same length of hose). This one also had a less pronounced burnt quality from the dark grains. The one with the soured wort just seemed to be a nicer beer. The one without just seemed to be slightly off of ideal--even tasting it without the comparison last night, it seemed to just be missing something. I assume it is the slight higher acid altering and melding the flavor profile. Other than the reduced burnt quality there is really no noticeable difference to the flavor--I know there would be if I added more, but I wanted it slight this time. I doubt there was enough pH change to really impact the action of the yeast--though others may say otherwise. They also both dropped Kraeusen within a couple hours of each other.
Edit: They also had a final gravity so close I really couldn't measure it with my hydrometer.
I'll see if they change over time.
The 10 gallon batch was 82.5% MO, 7.5 % Black Patent, 7.5 % Roast Barley, and 2.5 % Flaked Wheat. Mashed at 148, batch sparged, boiled 90 minutes. Hops were all East Kent Goldings (1.5 oz at 60, 1.5 oz at 40 and 1.0 oz at 20) for 37 IBU's total. Yeast was Lallemand's Nottingham hydrated prior to pitch.
I still maintain, sometimes I wonder who the heck came up with these ideas in the first place. 
