Looking for Strain Suggestions

[TheZymurgist]

Looking for suggestions on blends of Sacch, Brett, and Pedio for my next batch. If it has Lacto as well, that's fine, but it will be inhibited by the IBU. Here's the recipe:

Batch Size: 10gal
OG: 1.079
IBU: 27

Fermentables:
56% Munich
36% Pilsner
6% Special B
2% Chocolate Malt

Hops:
3oz Hallertau @60min
2oz Hallertau @20min

Half of the batch will be lagered with Saflager 34/70. This is really just the Bell's Consecrator recipe from Zymurgy, with a small amount of Chocolate Malt added.

The other half, I'm looking to sour, but I'm not sure which blend to use. I like the dark stone fruit descriptor from White Lab's WLP665 Flemish blend, but also looked at WLP655 Belgian Sour Mix, Wyeast 3278 Belgian Lambic Blend, 3763 Roeselare, and The Yeast Bay's Melange (although I already have a Belgian Dubbel-ish aging with that blend.)

Dregs are pretty much out of the question, since Georgia has an extremely limited supply of commercial sours, but I'm also open to mixing and matching particular strains if you guys have a blend you've created that you're fond of. Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks!

 

[TheZymurgist]

I also thought about creating a mix using a Belgian strain, The Yeast Bay's Amalgamation Brett Blend, and Pedio. If I went this route, I could split the soured portion in half and experiment with pitching everything at once, and doing a staggered addition of the yeast and bacteria.

Any thoughts?

 

[Oldsock]

I'm a big fan of Roeselare for big/dark sours. Whatever strain you use, I'd suggest pitching some brewer's yeast as well to ensure a quick/complete primary fermentation. You can pitch the blend in primary at the same time, but it likely won't have enough cells for such a big beer.

 

[TheZymurgist]

I'm a big fan of Roeselare for big/dark sours. Whatever strain you use, I'd suggest pitching some brewer's yeast as well to ensure a quick/complete primary fermentation. You can pitch the blend in primary at the same time, but it likely won't have enough cells for such a big beer.

What if I pitch two packs of Roeselare, would you still recommend adding a Sacch strain? Any recommendation on which Sacch strain? I'm thinking something Belgian to give the Brett more to work with.

 

[Oldsock]

What if I pitch two packs of Roeselare, would you still recommend adding a Sacch strain? Any recommendation on which Sacch strain? I'm thinking something Belgian to give the Brett more to work with.

If they are reasonably fresh packs, say around a month since manufacturing, I bet you’d be fine. I’ve had good luck with all sorts of primary strains (Belgian, English, American, lager etc.) I tend to use whatever I have on hand. Belgian is certainly the classic, and seems to speed up the production of funky byproducts by converting ferulic acid to 4VG, which the Brett turns into 4EG.

 

[TheZymurgist]

If they are reasonably fresh packs, say around a month since manufacturing, I bet you’d be fine. I’ve had good luck with all sorts of primary strains (Belgian, English, American, lager etc.) I tend to use whatever I have on hand. Belgian is certainly the classic, and seems to speed up the production of funky byproducts by converting ferulic acid to 4VG, which the Brett turns into 4EG.

Yeah, I read your writeup on the subject, good stuff!! I'm liking the idea of Roeselare more and more, since I'll be able to compare it to The Yeast Bay's Melange, which I have going at the moment, and it's probably a good idea to get a little more experience under my belt before trying to mix and match.

Thanks for the help Mike!