Alferman Imperial Berliner Weisse

[Morkin]

Well, after much waiting, it's all done. Here's the first small pull off the keg. It turned out beautiful! Bear in mind, this is also the non-imperial recipe I came up with. However, big thanks to Morkin for his. I used your recipe as the base for this, and it wouldn't have turned out nearly as well as it did without it.

Looks great! How's the taste?

 

[LoneWolfPR]

Fantastic. Light, refreshing, and wonderfully tart!

 

[america]

How hot can I keep the lacto starter? I pitched at around 125 and with the ferm wrap heater I can keep it pretty hot. Is there any reason not to keep it as hot as I can get?

 

[Morkin]

From what I've read, 100 degrees is where it likes to be. But I guess you could experiment if you'd like. Keeping it warmer just speeds up the lacto growth. I'm not 100% sure if you will get any undesirable flavors at a higher temp.

 

[america]

From what I've read, 100 degrees is where it likes to be. But I guess you could experiment if you'd like. Keeping it warmer just speeds up the lacto growth. I'm not 100% sure if you will get any undesirable flavors at a higher temp.

Thanks. I was also wondering if I should keep it warm for the first couple days with just the lacto and then cool it down to beer temps when I pitch that or if it should be warm/cooler the whole time.

 

[Morkin]

Keep at 100 or so when you pitch, so that in 48 hours, the beer should be down to at least 60-80. Pitch the 1056 in that. Don't ever pitch yeast above 80 (maybee a Sasion) unless you want some terrible off flavors and risk of killing the yeast.

 

[america]

Alright. I plan brewing this as soon as the sour starter is ready. Smells like really dank sour cream currently...

Edit: I normally use Ph stabilizer in my mash. Is there any reason to not want to do that with this beer?

 

[america]

"Brewed" this up tonight and it seemed to go well but there were a bunch of firsts I hadn't thought about before diving in. I opted out of using Ph stabilizer, wasn't sure if that was smart or not. I did the no boil method and wasn't sure if I needed to bring it up passed 150 to stop conversation or even higher before cooling it down. I ended up raising to about 157 for 15 minutes and called it a day. My starter smelled ready but I wasn't sure what it should look like.

Its currently sitting around 113 with my fermwrap heater. Guess we'll see where this goes and post results.

Pictures are what my starter looked like. I drained 1/3-1/2 cup of liquid from it.

 

[Wolfhound180]

Well mine has been on lacto for just under 48 hrs and I'm pretty sure that it took! I did my own starter from the OP and it seems as though it is working great! Pitching the yeast tonight.

 

[america]

What do you think will happen if you wait longer to pitch the beer yeast? I may have got drunk and blew off pitching the beer yeast for 3 or 4 days instead of the recommended 2 days.

 

[Morkin]

What do you think will happen if you wait longer to pitch the beer yeast? I may have got drunk and blew off pitching the beer yeast for 3 or 4 days instead of the recommended 2 days.

Should be fine.

 

[Morkin]

Well mine has been on lacto for just under 48 hrs and I'm pretty sure that it took! I did my own starter from the OP and it seems as though it is working great! Pitching the yeast tonight.

Looks about right. I'd say that the grey portions look a bit strange, but this beer isn't exactly normal. Taste is really the only way you know this worked correctly. Some pelicals are crazy and some are more refined.

 

[Wolfhound180]

Looks about right. I'd say that the grey portions look a bit strange, but this beer isn't exactly normal. Taste is really the only way you know this worked correctly. Some pelicals are crazy and some are more refined.

Yea the grey parts are just lighting issues with my camera phone. The pellicle was pretty much solid white. Been fermenting for a week or so now around 65 F. Going to keep it there for another week before I let it warm up into the 70s again. How long is normal to let this stuff sit before kegging?

 

[Morkin]

Yea the grey parts are just lighting issues with my camera phone. The pellicle was pretty much solid white. Been fermenting for a week or so now around 65 F. Going to keep it there for another week before I let it warm up into the 70s again. How long is normal to let this stuff sit before kegging?

Good! I didn't want to freak you out, but a grey material on the pellicle would mean some type of mold or undesirable.

As for how long, make sure it hits its final gravity. Since you are kegging, this shouldn't be a problem, but if you bottle, you will want to make sure it is all the way done fermenting.

I usually give it a couple of months, just to make sure, but if the sourness is right for you, then once it is done fermenting, keg it.

 

[Chub]

So I pretty much followed the recipe exactly. Brewed it on May 18. Took a hydro sample this weekend and it was at 1.012. Flavor was like sauerkraut juice, with a tiny pickle juice background. Anyone ever get anything like this?

 

[elproducto]

I'm drinking my batch of berliner weisse using homemade lacto, that was also brewed in May. It is VERY clean, and reminds me more of lemonade than pickles.

 

[Morkin]

So I pretty much followed the recipe exactly. Brewed it on May 18. Took a hydro sample this weekend and it was at 1.012. Flavor was like sauerkraut juice, with a tiny pickle juice background. Anyone ever get anything like this?

Sounds like you got something other than lacto in there.... The lacto starter does smell bad and in many cases. Time usually cleans these up, but it should never taste like sauerkraut....

 

[america]

I made my batch on May 31st and just tasted it this weekend as well. So far its not too tart but I get more of a lemonade taste than anything else... Hope that clears up for you Chub.

 

[VinceF]

I just brewed this yesterday. Thanks for all the great info, the starter worked just like expected. I kept it in the garage to keep warm, not too hard to do in south Texas. So far so good.

 

[Chub]

Sounds like you got something other than lacto in there.... The lacto starter does smell bad and in many cases. Time usually cleans these up, but it should never taste like sauerkraut....

My lacto starter smelled a little like nail polish remover. Probably not a good thing. What smell should I expect out of the starter?

 

[Morkin]

My lacto starter smelled a little like nail polish remover. Probably not a good thing. What smell should I expect out of the starter?

Usually that is the sign of Ethyl Acetate or Acetone. It 'could' subside, and also could not. Homemade Lacto starters are very trial and error. This is primarily why Jamil likes using store bought lacto cultures, because the Homemade ones are sometimes hard to predict.

I have had 1 batch that had a slight smell of Ethyl Acetate, and it turned out fine with some time. I would say if you are scared to pitch it into wort, don't.

Next time, make 2 Lacto starters, and then choose the one that smells the most like a clean, tart, lactic acid smell.

 

[america]

My lacto starter smelled a little like nail polish remover. Probably not a good thing. What smell should I expect out of the starter?

Mine smelled of quite sour dairy/dank sour cream after about a week. Not sure if that's the right smell but my beer seems to he doing ok. Although I've yet to see any pellicle on my beer. Could this have anything to do with using fermcap s?

 

[Morkin]

Mine smelled of quite sour dairy/dank sour cream after about a week. Not sure if that's the right smell but my beer seems to he doing ok. Although I've yet to see any pellicle on my beer. Could this have anything to do with using fermcap s?

That is about right for the lacto starter. But you should have seen a pellicle. A fermcap should have had nothing to do with not forming a pellicle. Has your airlock done anything, or has the gravity changed?

 

[america]

That is about right for the lacto starter. But you should have seen a pellicle. A fermcap should have had nothing to do with not forming a pellicle. Has your airlock done anything, or has the gravity changed?

Airlock was going crazy the first few days after I added the lactose. Didn't really do much of anything after the brewers yeast was added. Haven't taken a gravity yet as I wanted to wait till the end, as to not waste the sample. But ill take one this week maybe.

 

[CUBrewing]

So with this beer would i sparge normally or is it a no sparge thing?

 

[america]

I batch sparged as usual and then cooled it to about 100 and pitched my lacto starter... its been like15 days since I pitched the brewers yeast and there is still no pellicle. Hope everything is ok...

 

[Morkin]

So with this beer would i sparge normally or is it a no sparge thing?

Sparge normally. Cool to 100 or so. Pitch Lacto. It's just a no boil.

 

[Morkin]

I batch sparged as usual and then cooled it to about 100 and pitched my lacto starter... its been like15 days since I pitched the brewers yeast and there is still no pellicle. Hope everything is ok...

There is always a chance that the pellicle will not be visible, although with this beer it certainly should be. Did you taste it after 48 hours before pitching the yeast? If it was not sour enough for you likeing, I would have weighted to pitch the yeast.

Also, I have had some cases where when I pitched the yeast, the pellicle fell back into the beer.

Take a sample and reading. That is the only way to know for sure.

 

[Wolfhound180]

There is always a chance that the pellicle will not be visible, although with this beer it certainly should be. Did you taste it after 48 hours before pitching the yeast? If it was not sour enough for you likeing, I would have weighted to pitch the yeast.

Also, I have had some cases where when I pitched the yeast, the pellicle fell back into the beer.

Take a sample and reading. That is the only way to know for sure.

I had a pellicle before pitching but not again after. Is that normal?

 

[Morkin]

I had a pellicle before pitching but not again after. Is that normal?

I believe so. I think it is the same premise of if you have ever rocked a carboy with a pellicle in it, they will fall back into the beer.

As long as the taste was correct, there is no worries. But will state this again:

*Make sure the sour level is where you want it before you pitch yeast*.

It will sour a bit more, but the lacto and yeast then are competing for sugars, and there is less the lacto can eat to produce the flavor.