brownni5
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2017
- Messages
- 782
- Reaction score
- 334
A common discussion point here is that hops limit the ability of microbes to sour - I've touted it myself. And most of the time it's true, especially when dealing with kettle or fast sour methods and something like L. plantarum that we might get from probiotic capsules or Goodbelly shots.
But, remember that there are other ways to skin the proverbial cat, they just don't happen fast. About a year ago, I brewed a "dark" Saison inspired by some recipes in Mike Tonsmeier's book, which were in turn inspired by Tomme Arthur at the Lost Abbey. I bottled half the batch and put the rest in a carboy to condition with Brettanomyces and bacteria. With an ounce of Magnum in the boil, and an additional ounce of Fuggles late in the boil, my software calculated the IBUs to be about 40 in a 1.063 wort. The resulting "clean" batch was not my thing - kinda brown tasting (though getting better with time), but the other half got some Gigayeast Sour Cherry Funk slurry from a previous sour and dregs from Jolly Pumpkin - probably Bambier.
Tonight I'll be bottling this - it is delightfully sour and complex. The bitterness from all the hops doesn't come through at all. I doubt it was the commercial blend that did the souring - I'm convinced it was the JP dregs which are known to really overpower everything else. It's very Oud Bruin like now.
I write this not to say this is how everyone should make sour beer, but to open up the idea that one can experiment with a beer that's drinkable now as a clean beer and perhaps later as a sour beer. The biggest draw back here is time - I've been staring at this carboy for a long time (though not that long in the sour beer calendar), so patience is necessary. Take home message: don't be afraid to experiment.
But, remember that there are other ways to skin the proverbial cat, they just don't happen fast. About a year ago, I brewed a "dark" Saison inspired by some recipes in Mike Tonsmeier's book, which were in turn inspired by Tomme Arthur at the Lost Abbey. I bottled half the batch and put the rest in a carboy to condition with Brettanomyces and bacteria. With an ounce of Magnum in the boil, and an additional ounce of Fuggles late in the boil, my software calculated the IBUs to be about 40 in a 1.063 wort. The resulting "clean" batch was not my thing - kinda brown tasting (though getting better with time), but the other half got some Gigayeast Sour Cherry Funk slurry from a previous sour and dregs from Jolly Pumpkin - probably Bambier.
Tonight I'll be bottling this - it is delightfully sour and complex. The bitterness from all the hops doesn't come through at all. I doubt it was the commercial blend that did the souring - I'm convinced it was the JP dregs which are known to really overpower everything else. It's very Oud Bruin like now.
I write this not to say this is how everyone should make sour beer, but to open up the idea that one can experiment with a beer that's drinkable now as a clean beer and perhaps later as a sour beer. The biggest draw back here is time - I've been staring at this carboy for a long time (though not that long in the sour beer calendar), so patience is necessary. Take home message: don't be afraid to experiment.