Apple Juice Lacto Starter

[TychoBrahe]

I am hoping to brew my first berliner this weekend. I purchased a vial of White Labs Berliner Blend. However, decided to try making my own lacto starter from apple juice and a cup of grain.

I was not very technical in my methods. Simply opened a new half gallon of preservative free apple juice. Decanted 2/3 of the juice to another container and added bottled water back to the aj container until there was approximately one quart of diluted apple juice.

Then simply took the cup of grains and tossed them into the container. I then wrapped my seed starter heat mat (designed to heat a seed starter tray 10F-20F over ambient temps)around the bottle and let it rock.
Within 12 hours there were visible bubbles forming, and the bottle began to swell. I have been releasing the pressure every 6-10 hours. Nice little cake is forming at the bottom of the bottle and the aroma is nice and tart.
I beleive I have a successful starter! Next steps? I am thinking of pitching this into my berliner, letting it go for 12 or so hours, then pitching a clean ale yeast. Thoughts?

 

[metic]

That should work fine, and a lot of people do it that way. I've had success pitching large amounts of lacto along with the yeast. Kristen England suggests a 5:1 ratio in Brewing with Wheat, but since I don't have any way to measure it I just let a large starter sit for a week, then pitch it along with a regular amount of yeast.

 

[Coff]

Keep in mind that you may have more than just lacto in that starter, who knows what critters live on those grain kernels. Not there is anything wrong with that, but its hard to predict what you'll get.

If you like it youre probably going to want to save the slurry bc you may not get the same result next time.

 

[TychoBrahe]

This starter turned out nice and tart. Pitched it into a berliner yesterday, we will see how it does. I saved some in a 50mL vial. How long will the lacto keep for in the fridge? Should I feed it periodically?

 

[CadillacAndy]

A quick trick that I've found works pretty well is acidifying the starter liquid to a pH of 4.0 or less before you pitch the grain. This keeps some of the less desirable bacteria and wild yeast in check. It also only allows stronger lacto (or lacto that is able to keep working past pH 4.) to colonize. I've done this several times after commercial lacto cultures have let me down.

 

[Thorpe429]

A quick trick that I've found works pretty well is acidifying the starter liquid to a pH of 4.0 or less before you pitch the grain. This keeps some of the less desirable bacteria and wild yeast in check. It also only allows stronger lacto (or lacto that is able to keep working past pH 4.) to colonize. I've done this several times after commercial lacto cultures have let me down.

Do you have a good calculator to use to determine the correct dosage of lactic acid to arrive at a ph of 4.0 from a given original ph and volume?


Blog: spontaneousfunk.blogspot.com

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[CadillacAndy]

Do you have a good calculator to use to determine the correct dosage of lactic acid to arrive at a ph of 4.0 from a given original ph and volume?


Blog: spontaneousfunk.blogspot.com

Sent from my iPhone using Home Brewing

I don't. I broke my pH meter a couple months ago so I've just been using the cheapo plastic wine test strips. They're not exceptionally accurate, but give you a general idea where you're at.

 

[CadillacAndy]

I should also add that I've used lactic acid, citric acid and acidulated malt to adjust pH all with favorable results.

 

[Thorpe429]

I should also add that I've used lactic acid, citric acid and acidulated malt to adjust pH all with favorable results.

Yes, sorry, I meant a calculator to adjust ph of starter liquid, not mash ph.


Blog: spontaneousfunk.blogspot.com

Sent from my iPhone using Home Brewing

 

[CadillacAndy]

Yes, sorry, I meant a calculator to adjust ph of starter liquid, not mash ph.


Blog: spontaneousfunk.blogspot.com

Sent from my iPhone using Home Brewing

Right - that's what I meant. I was saying that I've used all of those different means of acidifying the starter liquid. I use the acidulated malt not only to acidify, but to also grow a starter from. The lacto I got from that batch was able to get way more sour than commercially available cultures.

 

[geolover]

Right - that's what I meant. I was saying that I've used all of those different means of acidifying the starter liquid. I use the acidulated malt not only to acidify, but to also grow a starter from. The lacto I got from that batch was able to get way more sour than commercially available cultures.

Using acid malt to make a lacto starter...interesting. I like it. I'll have to try that.