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Everyone has overlooked the obvious answer: syrup! Either buy or make a sweet fruit syrup to add to the beer in the glass. It's the way Berliners are traditionally served in Germany, and it's an easy way to add some variety. I like my Berliners 3.2-3.3, so 3.6 may grow on you.

The citric acid shouldn't cause any issues, I've used apple juice with citric acid to grow Lacto before. However, I will say that peaches are one of the fruits that are most dependent on ripeness. I've had great luck with over-ripe farmer's market peaches (white especially), but I've also...

It'll be fine assuming the blow-off is tightly fit and the end stays submerged. Head space is a much bigger issue in barrels because it allows the wood near the top to dry out (becoming more permeable). In impermeable fermentors, the issue is just that each time you open it up for a sample, more...

I'd give it a month to be sure.

Esters are combinations of acids and alcohols, 4-VG is a phenol. They shouldn't be connected. 4-EG and 4-EP are much more in the funky than fruit direction. Barnyard, Band-Aid, smoke etc. Seems like just a coincidence that the low temperature rest is leading to beers with a fruity flavor.

@unionrdr - that kottbusser was traditionally a sour beer, or the one that you brewed tasted sour? I'm sure many if not most pre-1860s eventually went sour if stored long enough (wood fermentors, no pure culturing techniques, no knowledge of sanitation, low hopping rates etc.). However, much of...

My cellar is a mess at the moment (I need more shelves), but here's a picture from a few years ago: http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2010/09/how-much-ready-to-drink-homebrew-do-you.html The White Labs and Wyeast L. brevis strains are promising. I've also heard good things about the Omega...

What people expect from authors and producers has really changed the last few years with Facebook and Twitter. I can’t imagine writing a book and not making yourself available to answer questions. So much information in the book was inspired by things I’d read here and on other forums. It’s a...

Certainly an option, but the effect won't be quite the same as the long/hot sparge (which pulls tannins and other compounds as well). Still should make a great beer.

I've tried to grow pure Pedio a couple times from a couple labs with no luck. I'd just pitch it directly into the beer and let the Brett produce the low-oxygen environment it needs to thrive.

I usually suggest people skip the barrel when they start out doing sours. I just find that it adds a layer of complexity without a huge benefit to the results. How often to top-off? High surface-to-volume ratio, for small "homebrew" barrels. Timing batches to avoid leaving it empty. etc. Barrels...

The issue is that a big part of the turbid mash process is a near-boiling sparge. This serves to gelatinize the remaining starches from the raw wheat and wash them into the kettle. You might try just drawing off a half gallon of turbid wort a couple minutes into the mash, bringing it up to...

To me it's like asking if you can brewing Pliny the Elder without any hops (just a bit of pre-isomerized alpha acid in the keg). Sure you’ll get bitterness without real hops, but you’ll be missing out on all the other interesting flavors and aromas that hops provide. Similarly...

I'd wait, that is pretty low attenuation for a Berliner. Some of the microbes may not have really gotten going yet. Warm it up and see if it doesn't drop even .001 in the next month.

What is the gravity now?

6-8 weeks. Gravity being stable is required. Longer doesn't hurt, but the fruit flavor will begin fading slowly.

Thanks! I think part of my advantage was that I was learning as I wrote. Sure I had a few years of sours under my belt before I started, but I was genuinely interested in trying to answer questions I’d had. Not simply write down things already in my head. I started out writing at my own pace...

Up to 53 reviews on Amazon, with a 4.96 star average. Not sure what the sorting algorithm they use for “Avg Customer Review” is, but How to Brew is the only book in Beverages & Wine that ranks higher (although less flattering, right behind me is Tipsy Bartender "I'm having a girl...

Sorry for the late response... tradition! When you are talking about beers that take a year or two, people tend to be very risk averse. I always go to a bit of extra effort to do things right when a beer is going to be aging for that long. Cheers!

I dropped $40 for Noyaux last time I was in San Diego. More than I'd usually spend, but it was such an interesting concept. Very good beer, but didn't get much from the apricot pits.