Sour worting problem

[nicroeth]

So, after reading the great new American Sour Beers, I decided to try the quick sour method in which you pitch lacto, allow it to sour the wort then kill it with heat and pitch brett. My OG was 1.074 and I pitched the Gigayeast lacto at 110 degrees. I let it sour for several days. It got down to 1.064 and had a good sourness. I then reheated the beer to 190 and pitched the brett after chilling to 70 degrees . . . and then everything went wrong.

I made a 2 liter starter for the brett and left it on a stir plate for several days. I the took it off the stir plate and let it settle out. Then I decanted the beer off and added about a liter of new wort. The starter looked good. It fermented well and I had a good amount of white yeasty stuff at the bottom.

I pitched the whole starter and then . . . nothing. It is now day six and there is no activity. The only thing that has happened is that there is now a thin film on the top of the beer.

What did I do wrong? Thoughts?

 

[hirschb]

Two things:
1) Do you have any way of knowing the PH of the wort/beer? If it is too acidic, it might have inhibited the brett growth.
2) What strain of Brett? Some take longer than others. I'm assuming you didn't aerate the wort/beer? This may lead to a long lag time.
Otherwise, a 2 liter starter of brett for (I'm assuming) a 5 gal batch, should have taken off like a rocket. I'd be puzzled too.

 

[nicroeth]

No idea about ph. I don't have a meter. It tasted acidic, but not bracingly so. And it is WLP653. I'm pretty perplexed, too.

 

[hirschb]

And it is WLP653.

I think we've got an answer! Lambicus can be notoriously slow. It's also normally used for secondary, not primary fermentations (although you'll read about people using it that way).
I would:
1) check the SG... it might be fermenting and you just don't see bubbles/krausen. The thin film is likely the start of pellicle formation, which is a good sign that the yeast is still alive and potentially working.
2) aerate the wort (especially if you skipped this step), or at least agitate the wort to help get some yeast re-suspended.
Also, higher ferm temps would be good (75-85)

 

[nicroeth]

I was starting to wonder if that might be the problem. I had read that some brewers were using this yeast for primary and it seemed like an interesting flavor profile. So, I went for it. I likely will not be going for it again.

I swirled the carboy until everything was back in suspension. I then warmed the beer to about 75 degrees. By this morning I could see some white, bubbly bits on the surface. Still no positive pressure in the blow-off tube, however.

I will take a gravity reading and a taste in the next few days. Hopefully this will do it. If not, I may pitch another strain of brett in an effort to get things moving.

Also, on a side-note, the Gigayeast lacto worked out much better than I expected for quick souring. I have another pouch that I'm going to use for a Berliner when I have a free carboy.