macaronijones
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Like many i've become more interested in sour beers recently, and would like to experiment with brewing one. I plan to brew a blue moon clone and pull off one gallon after the mash to kettle sour over the weekend. I'd just like to explain my proposed process and get feedback/advice/critiques.
I've done this clone before from one of the threads floating around HBT and it was a hit. At about 60/40 with 2 row and wheat, along with a bit of oats, I thought it would be a good base to add a tart twang to. I probably won't add the coriander/orange peel to this gallon, as it's my first sour attempt I feel it would be useful to get a "clean" taste to know how to modify it later.
Mash: BIAB, my stovetop can only handle boiling a little over 4 gallons, so I typically mash with 5 gallons, get about 4.3 pre-boil, to arrive at 3.5 post-boil. So this time I'll scale up the recipe to make 4.5 gallons total (3.5 as normal plus 1 for souring), and start the mash with 6.25 gallons of water.
Post Mash: I have a small stainless steel kettle that I'll use for the kettle souring, but I also use this kettle during my normal brew day to help speed my heating to boil as well as my cooling postboil. So, split my wort in two as normal to heat towards boiling. Once the wort has hit about 170 i'll pull off 1.25 gallons of the wort and set it aside in a bucket. This way it has stopped any additional conversion while i complete the rest of my normal brew day. Remainder of the wort will be boiled and brewed as usual.
Once the normal brew is finished and my stainless steel kettle is free, i'll take the 1.25 gallons I set aside and bring it to a brief boil to kill any bugs. I'll let this cool to about 100°, reduce pH to about 4.5 using lactic acid, and then dump the contents of one or two capsules of Swanson's L. plantarum supplement. i've read about 1 per gallon is sufficient, and it works at temps much closer to room temp so i'm not concerned about losing heat overnight. I'll then cover the wort with plastic wrap and put the kettle lid on. Check pH about every 12 hours until at about 3.4, then bring it up to a boil to kill the lacto and complete the brewday as normal. Ferment with US-05 for a couple weeks and then bottle.
To anyone with relevant experience- how does this sound? What am I missing or how can I make the whole process go smoother or more efficient? Thanks.
I've done this clone before from one of the threads floating around HBT and it was a hit. At about 60/40 with 2 row and wheat, along with a bit of oats, I thought it would be a good base to add a tart twang to. I probably won't add the coriander/orange peel to this gallon, as it's my first sour attempt I feel it would be useful to get a "clean" taste to know how to modify it later.
Mash: BIAB, my stovetop can only handle boiling a little over 4 gallons, so I typically mash with 5 gallons, get about 4.3 pre-boil, to arrive at 3.5 post-boil. So this time I'll scale up the recipe to make 4.5 gallons total (3.5 as normal plus 1 for souring), and start the mash with 6.25 gallons of water.
Post Mash: I have a small stainless steel kettle that I'll use for the kettle souring, but I also use this kettle during my normal brew day to help speed my heating to boil as well as my cooling postboil. So, split my wort in two as normal to heat towards boiling. Once the wort has hit about 170 i'll pull off 1.25 gallons of the wort and set it aside in a bucket. This way it has stopped any additional conversion while i complete the rest of my normal brew day. Remainder of the wort will be boiled and brewed as usual.
Once the normal brew is finished and my stainless steel kettle is free, i'll take the 1.25 gallons I set aside and bring it to a brief boil to kill any bugs. I'll let this cool to about 100°, reduce pH to about 4.5 using lactic acid, and then dump the contents of one or two capsules of Swanson's L. plantarum supplement. i've read about 1 per gallon is sufficient, and it works at temps much closer to room temp so i'm not concerned about losing heat overnight. I'll then cover the wort with plastic wrap and put the kettle lid on. Check pH about every 12 hours until at about 3.4, then bring it up to a boil to kill the lacto and complete the brewday as normal. Ferment with US-05 for a couple weeks and then bottle.
To anyone with relevant experience- how does this sound? What am I missing or how can I make the whole process go smoother or more efficient? Thanks.
