Needing help with a Sour.

Hello everyone.

I was very happy to find this webforum and look forward to reading and contributing as often as i can. It looks as tho there is a plethora of new information for me to learn from.

My question today is that the Wife and I are going to be brewing our first hopless beer. A "Tart heather ale" And i am confused on when to add my Wyeast 5335 Lactobacillus and Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale.

This will be extract as i have not upgraded to all grain just yet. Batch size is 5gal.

After some reading I am leaning towards pitching the Lacto 24-48 before the Irish Ale and keeping it in warmer temps. My biggest problem here is that i do not have a heat plate or anything that can consistently maintain an 80+ temp range. I was hoping i could keep it in my bathroom in a Glass carboy (airlocked) as this is always the warmest room in the house. Only problem is we have steam heat radiators so the temp can at times be erratic jumping up and down in temp.

So firstly, Is pitching the lacto 1-2 days in advance the best way to go with a quick sour?

Secondly, Will numerous temp rise and decline kill off the lacto? I mean we are talking 5 gallons of liquid so it would take alot to raise and lower the temp. I dont see the gradient being to dramatic.

Third, Will i have to areate my wort before pitching the Irish Ale yeast strain?

Any and all information you can provide is greatly appreciated.

 

A guy in my club puts his wort in the fermenting bucket around 110F and pitches lacto and lets it go a week before pitching ale yeast. He does a lot of Berliner Weisse beers.

Edit: temps won't kill the lacto it will just increase/decrease lacto sour flavor.

Third. Don't oxygenate before adding ale yeast. Check out American Sours or the LAMBIC AND WILD BREWING section of this forum.

 

Thanks for the reply Durty.

Appreciate it.

 

I make sour mashes all the time. Boil your wort and then cool it down to 120F. Siphon it into your carboy, pitch the lacto, and cover it in a blanket. That's it. It should still be at least 80F 48 hours later. If you intend to let it go for longer in order to get more sourness, you can put the carboy in a hot water bath and periodically refill with 120F water. You can then pitch your ale yeast at whatever temp it calls for.