All brett beer not sour

[aubreywieber]

I brewed my first %100 percent brett beer about three months ago. I made a big starter on it, and it seemed to be working; about a week after I pitched the yeast, it started giving off a very strong sulphur smell.

I just sampled it, and it is not very sour. The %100 percent brett commercial beers I have tried (Crooked Stave, Almanac) are very tart. Should I just give it more time? Maybe pitch some lacto?

 

[Spokangeles]

100% brett beers are usually pretty restrained. Real sourness comes from the lacto and pedio. Some brett strains can produce tartness, but I believe that requires oxygen.

Depending on your IBUs, pitching lacto might not work.

You could always brew a mini lacto batch and blend it with your brett beer to your desired level of tartness.

 

[burninator]

You're going to need some type of lactic acid bacteria if you want the beer to be sour. If you have any Crooked Stave, try pitching those dregs into the beer. In general, CS bottles contain pediococcus and lactobacillus, in addition to brett.

 

[masonsjax]

Like they said, brett alone doesn't sour a beer, bacteria does. You can pitch dregs, and/or commercial bacteria strains/blends, and/or culture your own from grain, yogurt, sauerkraut, etc.

Alternatively, you can sour mash in your mash tun, or kettle. Do a search for sour mash, there's a few ways to skin that cat, each can give good results.

 

[Spokangeles]

If you're just wanting a slight tartness, you could always add a small amount of food grade lactic acid. In larger quantities it's described as a bit one-dimensional, but it might be ok in your case.