first "sour" need advice

[Polboy]

So i would like to try something new but this forum is missing sticky/guide kind of thread that can explain basics of brewing sour beers for newbie like me. From information i was able to gather here and there i come up with this plan:
simple recipe with pilsner malt as a base+some vienna and munich (10-15% each mostly for color), OG around 1.050, IBU around 10 (saaz), mashed high around 156-158F and fermented with 3787 (this is my belgian house strain). Quick primary and transfer to 2ndary with addition of new bugs and maybe some sugar, and here im little lost, what bugs should i use (i like Brettanomyces Bruxellensis from the description), i will make 10gal (2 carboys) of it so i would like to use 2 different cultures in 2ndary, i have yeast culture from bottle of orval so i would like to use those also/maybe?, any suggestions for choice of bugs in 2ndary fermentation? (i know it will take long so im prepared for 1 year+)
Does this all make sense or should i do it differently?

 

[Quaker]

If you haven't already checked out the theMadFermentationist.com, go now. This particular entry is a good primer. http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2009/11/brewing-sour-beer-at-home.html

I dipped my toes in the water with a sour mashed Berliner Weiss, and then jumped in with 3 more sour carboys and soon to be a 5th all brewed in a 3 month period. As you may have noticed there are too many options to choose from and it's a long time to learn the results. Regarding bugs and malt bill, I'd say if there's a commercial sour beer you like, use that as inspiration but don't expect a clone. For example, I'm not an Orval fan, so I've avoided those dregs. But Rodenbach is glorious, so I do have Wyeast's Roeselare at work in one batch and Russian River dregs in another. All mine are different bugs with very similar grist bills, so I can try to dissect what I like once further down the road and repeat it.

 

[dcp27]

just to clear things up, orval isn't a sour beer and brett isn't a bug. if you want a sour beer you need lacto and/or pedio. brett can create a lil acetic acid with oxygen, but its more funk than sour. IIRC, brett brux is what is used in orval so you could just use your culture from that. if thats the direction you're going, it should only take 3-6 months or so.

also, no need to feed it with extra sugar. shoudl be plenty of funk without it from your mash plans and if you added it early, the sacchro would just eat it

 

[Polboy]

thanks guys, speciall for the link to mad fermentationist this is exactly what i was looking for, have to buy few sour beers for dregs

 

[Undrtkr_00]

Thanks for the link. That is very helpful for us sour beer noobs.

 

[cmybeer]

The biggest step in starting a sour beer is just starting it. I debated what to do for so long I forgot about it for a while and then just went ahead and did it one day. Grabbed a random recipe from BYO and Jeff Sparrow. It's at four months now with a wicked awesome pellicle. Shameless self promotion alert: Check out my website/blog for pics.