First Sour
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MizzouFermentationScience
Hanseniaspora ebrius
Nothing to worry about, just remind yourself that screwing up is what created the style of beer you're aiming for. My advice: start a LAB culture last week. My first sour I made the mistake of not prepping a healthy bacteria starter in time, I went the "throw some barley in the fermentor after sparge route" and by the time I was sour, the beer was nearly fermented. I racked and dry hopped at 1.018 and was freaked out that I would have a weird unboiled beer. It actually turned out great but there is no chance to add hop bitterness if you go this route. With a very healthy starter the acidification should happen soon enough that you can kettle sour for 24 hours then boil as usual. Adding a little bit of lactic acid helps by creating a favorable environment for the bacteria, or just add lactic acid to the desired acidity. Neither addition is necessary but it can help garauntee success. I do not like sour malt, I've tried to use it as the only source of acidity and as a way of lowering mash pH for kettle souring but both times I was not pleased with the flavor. I'd be worried that you can't really "brew a sour on Saturday," it is a longer term process (unless you go the unboiled route). Kettle souring is quickest but will take at least two days, long term aging with Brett and LAB can also sour a beer but that is a much bigger commitment.
Gonna need MUCH more info. What type of sour are you planning on doing? What kind of bugs do you plan on using?
What kind of turnaround are you looking for (weeks vs years)?
Mizzou has some good points, but the main takeaway (for me) is that if you're this undecided right now, brewing Saturday is WAY too early.
What kind of turnaround are you looking for (weeks vs years)?
Mizzou has some good points, but the main takeaway (for me) is that if you're this undecided right now, brewing Saturday is WAY too early.
zgja2
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I agree with cactus. There are many ways to skin this cat. I can offer what is likely the easiest way to jump into the world of sours.
And no I am not going to suggest a kettle sour.
Get a lacto blend (Bootleg Biology Mad Fermentist Blend for ex) or a saison strain of your choosing and some goodbelly shots. Good belly is a probiotic drink you can find in most grocery stores. Brew up you favorite saison grain bill and pitch the blend or co-pitch the sacc and goodbelly. Thats it. L. Plantarium (found in both the above examples) Will sour at saison ferm temps.
They key here is NO MORE THAN 2 IBU.
Brett is optional but always recommended.
I have done this many time and produces a good sour beer in less than a year.
And no I am not going to suggest a kettle sour.
Get a lacto blend (Bootleg Biology Mad Fermentist Blend for ex) or a saison strain of your choosing and some goodbelly shots. Good belly is a probiotic drink you can find in most grocery stores. Brew up you favorite saison grain bill and pitch the blend or co-pitch the sacc and goodbelly. Thats it. L. Plantarium (found in both the above examples) Will sour at saison ferm temps.
They key here is NO MORE THAN 2 IBU.
Brett is optional but always recommended.
I have done this many time and produces a good sour beer in less than a year.
You could also delay a sour pitch until you've got the bugs aspect figured out. In that case, brew as usual and ferment with ale yeast as per usual. Then, after primary fermentation, pitch your souring bugs. Then sit and wait at least 9 months (depending on your bugs). This will allow you to brew and start the process at least, but essentially lock you into a 9+ month timeline.
For a shorter timeline than that (couple months?), you could do a 100% brett ferment, but you'd need to delay your brew day at least a week in order for you to choose a strain and build up a huge starter.
For a shorter timeline than that (couple months?), you could do a 100% brett ferment, but you'd need to delay your brew day at least a week in order for you to choose a strain and build up a huge starter.
So I just did the first half of my first sour last night. Doing a cranberry kettle sour. I felt the same way, thought I was in over my head when my wife asked me to do it. The first one is the hurdle, sounds complex but not terrible.
1. Pick a grain bill. I did a simple 60% white wheat / 40% Pilsen grain bill, similar to what you would see in a Gose style.
2. Pick the "bugs". I went with Omega OYL 605 Lactobacillus.
3. Pick the yeast to finish fermentation. I picked US-05.
4. Start your brew day as usual with your 60 min mash, sparge, and lauter.
5. Once your complete with that and your wort is in your boil kettle, perform a quick boil to kill off any unwanted bugs.
6. Chill the wort to desired bug temp. For the OYL 605, it was 95*F.
7. Add lactic acid to pre-acidify wort to 4.0 - 4.4 pH.
8. Pitch the bugs (the lacto or whatever you choose).
9. Let it sit until desired sourness is achieved.
10. Continue with your 60 min boil once sourness is achieved. Add hops to taste.
Sounds like a lot, but not bad. I will agree with cactus and say that if you're undecided at this point, put it off for another day until you have a plan. Going into a brew day without a plan is not a good idea in my opinion. I can't say how this one turned out yet but the process is fairly user friendly.
1. Pick a grain bill. I did a simple 60% white wheat / 40% Pilsen grain bill, similar to what you would see in a Gose style.
2. Pick the "bugs". I went with Omega OYL 605 Lactobacillus.
3. Pick the yeast to finish fermentation. I picked US-05.
4. Start your brew day as usual with your 60 min mash, sparge, and lauter.
5. Once your complete with that and your wort is in your boil kettle, perform a quick boil to kill off any unwanted bugs.
6. Chill the wort to desired bug temp. For the OYL 605, it was 95*F.
7. Add lactic acid to pre-acidify wort to 4.0 - 4.4 pH.
8. Pitch the bugs (the lacto or whatever you choose).
9. Let it sit until desired sourness is achieved.
10. Continue with your 60 min boil once sourness is achieved. Add hops to taste.
Sounds like a lot, but not bad. I will agree with cactus and say that if you're undecided at this point, put it off for another day until you have a plan. Going into a brew day without a plan is not a good idea in my opinion. I can't say how this one turned out yet but the process is fairly user friendly.
jrgtr42
Well-Known Member
My first sour I went with a kit from MoreBeer - the Russian River Consecration clone. It was a bit pricey but it had everything I needed to get it done, plus the full grain bill etc. A year later I bottled that batch and it's still great a few years after that. A couple months ago I rebrewed it using the same bill, making a couple small changes. Pitched the bugs maybe a month ago and things are moving along.
I've done a couple other wild brews without as much success, but I think I'd have had even less if I'd totally winged it. There are also books about wild fermentations. Don't remember the titles offhand but a couple Amazon searches should do you well.
Remember that sours are probably the toughest styles to really get right, and even the pros dump a lot of batches along the way.
I've done a couple other wild brews without as much success, but I think I'd have had even less if I'd totally winged it. There are also books about wild fermentations. Don't remember the titles offhand but a couple Amazon searches should do you well.
Remember that sours are probably the toughest styles to really get right, and even the pros dump a lot of batches along the way.
Wanted to post an update and ask a couple questions.
I am transferring the sour I started two weeks ago into a secondary fermenter today and adding Wyeast 3278. I followed this recipe: https://learn.kegerator.com/brewing-sour-beer/
My question is this; we only hit an OG of 1.037. We should have hit at least 1.050. Should I add in some DME to make up for 1.013 points of gravity when I pitch the yeast today?
If I add DME like that on this beer, or any beer for that matter, do I need to boil it first or can I just toss it in?
Can I just toss it in after cooling on brew day when I find out i missed gravity or do I need to wait for fermentation to get going?
I am transferring the sour I started two weeks ago into a secondary fermenter today and adding Wyeast 3278. I followed this recipe: https://learn.kegerator.com/brewing-sour-beer/
My question is this; we only hit an OG of 1.037. We should have hit at least 1.050. Should I add in some DME to make up for 1.013 points of gravity when I pitch the yeast today?
If I add DME like that on this beer, or any beer for that matter, do I need to boil it first or can I just toss it in?
Can I just toss it in after cooling on brew day when I find out i missed gravity or do I need to wait for fermentation to get going?
This is an interesting approach. I have one sitting currently where i used 3278 as well but i ONLY used 3278. That is a blend that contains yeast and the souring bugs so using the dry yeast first is weird to me, but i suppose it's another method.
I think you could add dme to the mix but for sure boil it first for maybe 10 minutes, chill it then add it. You don't HAVE to, you'll just have a bit less abv at the end if you don't.
On brew day if you miss it, i think you could add it but i would think you would want to boil it. Only problem there is then you throw off your hopping schedule. Unless you boil the dme separately and add it to the fermenter.
I think you could add dme to the mix but for sure boil it first for maybe 10 minutes, chill it then add it. You don't HAVE to, you'll just have a bit less abv at the end if you don't.
On brew day if you miss it, i think you could add it but i would think you would want to boil it. Only problem there is then you throw off your hopping schedule. Unless you boil the dme separately and add it to the fermenter.
radwizard
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You should boil it and measure the gravity and volume to make the adjustment.
What is the gravity now? How much head space do you have in the secondary?
If this was me, and I wanted to increase the gravity, I would brew up a unhopped mini batch to top off the carboy, the pitch the culture. Your top-off wort can be extract or all grain, its up to you.
You've already got 16 ibus in there, which is a little higher then I go with a new culture. The top off wort would lower that, which would be beneficial here as well.
What is the gravity now? How much head space do you have in the secondary?
If this was me, and I wanted to increase the gravity, I would brew up a unhopped mini batch to top off the carboy, the pitch the culture. Your top-off wort can be extract or all grain, its up to you.
You've already got 16 ibus in there, which is a little higher then I go with a new culture. The top off wort would lower that, which would be beneficial here as well.
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