Berliner Weisse isn't souring

[jisaacbeerkowski]

I am new to the brewing game but not to the drinking game. I've only brewed a few batches and so I rely pretty heavily on others advice. I brewed a 5 gal Berliner Weisse six days ago with half a gallon of german ale extract. I pitched my lacto and was told to pitch the berliner weisse blend yeast strain six days later but was also told to taste the beer to check for sourness. I tasted it today and there is almost no recognizable sour notes in the beer and I am reading on here that it may take six months? We added coriander to the last five minutes of the boil and I intend to add salt to taste. I am going to pitch the berliner strain today and then keep waiting but it's all just a guessing game for me right now as there are many different opinions for this style of beer. How long do I wait? Do I need to keep it at a certain temperature? I have read 70-90 degrees is good for the bacteria. When do I add salt and how much? Basically...I have no idea what I'm doing with this recipe...sorry for the incompetents...I want to learn and get the beer right though.

 

[maffew222]

are you brewing a berliner or a Gose?

Also, a more detailed timeline of your brewing process/ingredients would help answer questions. I'd be greatly speculating otherwise.

 

[jisaacbeerkowski]

Used half a gallon German Ale extract at 120 degrees. brought it up to a boil for 60 minutes. dropped in the lacto and let it sit for six days with rotating temperature of 75-85 degrees. I have a berliner weisse blend yeast strain to pitch tonight. Brewed a berliner but I was thinking about moving for a gose with the coriander and the salt. the main goal is to get it sour though.

 

[maffew222]

what was the temp when you pitched lacto? How much did you pitch? what's the berliner weisse yeast strain contain? (Brett, clean ale yeast, etc?) What does "german ale extract" consist of? (Wheat/pale malt?) Are there any signs of fermentation at all? (bubbles, gravity change, etc) Is there an airlock or open to the atmosphere?

As you already seem to know, sours aren't really beginner beer, so good on you for trying it, but it's also why I gotta ask a million questions. And I'm a sour brewing n00b as well just in case anyone was wondering, but there are a bunch of ways to get a drinkable sour as well.

edit: and a quick google search for lacto-berliners shows this is typical. Check out The Mad Fermentationists posts on 100% lacto sours.

 

[microbusbrewery]

Did you make a starter for the lacto or did you direct pitch it? Also, what strain did you use? The cell count on bacteria isn't the same as for liquid (sach) yeast strains, so IME it benefits from a starter. I usually use Wyeast 5335 in a 1.020 starter at 80F and let it go for about a week before I pitch it into my brew. Using that method I get a krausen from just the lacto within a day and very noticeable sourness within 5 days.

 

[microbusbrewery]

P.S. What was your hop schedule like? Lactobacillus likes low IBUs.

 

[ColoHox]

Jeesh OP, you have a lot of questions to answer.

Here's another...Which strain of Lacto did you use?

 

[bknifefight]

half a gallon of german ale extract

I assume this is a pre-hopped kit? If so, your IBUs are probably too high to let the lacto sour your beer.

 

[Twinkeelfool]

Next time you try one, do 2, and pitch the 2nd one into the yeast cake. The 2nd will be much more sour. Then, add cherries to the first batch. The cherries will add some tartness to the first one ( and taste ****ing amazing ), and the 2nd one will be tart enough on it's own.