How do I know when a sour has reached final gravity?

[hotwatermusic]

That may be a slightly misleading title, forgive me. I had a golden strong finish at 1.013. Which was not dry enough so I decided to pitch a vial of brett c to further dry it out and add some complexity. Eventually I will be bottling the beer and plan on letting it take it's time but I have never used brett and don't know how to confirm when FG is reached. Should a pellicle form is it worth disturbing it with a wine thief, if so how long would I wait between readings? I know brett will move slowly pitched late into a high stress environment. My original plan was just to wait a good 4-6 months, and then prime at a more modest 2.6 - 2.8 level in case the brett has some legs left. I would usually carb this beer to at least 3 vol. Thanks.

 

[deepbluegroove]

from "themadfermentationist"

Bottling: Before bottling I wait until airlock activity has ceased, the gravity has not changed in at least a month, and the flavor is where I want it. I have never had an issue bottling while my beers still have a pellicle, but it can be an indication that something is going on. I would also be cautious bottling any sour beer with a gravity over 1.010 (unless it has a high ABV, or had other extenuating circumstances).

 

[hotwatermusic]

Great info, thanks for your help. I think you answered my question better than I asked it.

 

[sweetcell]

My original plan was just to wait a good 4-6 months, and then prime at a more modest 2.6 - 2.8 level in case the brett has some legs left. I would usually carb this beer to at least 3 vol.

this is a pretty good plan. give it 6 months to be safe, the brett should have done most of its work by then. if you can, bottle in heavy glass.

 

[m00ps]

FWIW, I weigh all my bottles to save heavy ones for wild/sour beers. Most standard 12oz longnecks and short Sierra Nevada bottles are 195-205g. Anything over 225g or so I save (Stone, Deschutes). Many European and breweries that specialize in sours (Jolly pumpkin, crooked stave) have bottles that are over 300g. Its not long before you can just figure out if its a heavy duty bottle by holding it your hand alone

 

[hotwatermusic]

Any experience with the 32oz ezcap swing to bottles? I have a bunch of those but I use a bench capper on them. They seem pretty substantial.

 

[m00ps]

ive used swing top bottles for sours before. As long as the rubber gasket is still good youll be fine. I'd think about replacing them after 2-3 uses though