How to make my sour beer sour-ier

[tschafer]

So i've got a lambic that has been sitting in my crawlspace for 5 months.

I have yet to add the fruit, due to I have to many choice and i'm gun-shy on what to use.

I finally took a sample today. And it great, but not that sour. Mind you, i know that the choice of fruit will add to that pucker flavor, but I want to get this sweet tart sour before that, if possible.

Primary fermented with WLP575 Belgian Style Ale.

Secondary WLP655 Belgian Sour Mix 1.

Question, being 5 months in. Can I add another bacteria strain in at this point, and if so, want can i add that will turn this into a puckering sour that i was hoping to produce.

AND if i can, how do i have to reset my sour beer clock, and let it sit for another 5 months.

 

[NoPantsBrewing]

I'm not familiar with the sour mix you used, but it might just take longer to get to the sour level you want, especially if you mashed at a low temperature and your initial yeast fermented out those sugars.

It might be possible to brew a mouthpuckeringly sour beer and blend it with your current beer to get the taste that you want.

Hopefully somebody else on the forum has a better idea.

 

[masonsjax]

It can take a really long time to develop sourness, over a year even, depending on various factors. If you don't think there's any sugar left for the bacteria to work on, you could add some maltodextrin and let it go a few more months.

 

[electrolight]

If you want more sour-ier-ness then pitch the sour mix and the yeast at the same time next time.

Better yet would be to harvest dregs from an unfiltered/heated commercial lambic that you enjoy.

But, if you are looking to salvage this batch you've already made, things get tricky. You could try a few things, but arguably the easiest would be to hit up your lhbs and pick up some lactic acid. I'd add an amount you are satisfied with (you could practice with a beer bottle and extrapolate) and then put the fruit and lactic acid in your tertiary and rack right onto that.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[electrolight]

Missed your questions...

Question, being 5 months in. Can I add another bacteria strain in at this point, and if so, want can i add that will turn this into a puckering sour that i was hoping to produce.

AND if i can, how do i have to reset my sour beer clock, and let it sit for another 5 months.

To your first question. Sours develop over a long period of time, you are probably out of sugar. While you could toss in another strain (or dregs from another bottle) that may produce more sourness, it will have little to no effect because of the lack of food (sugars).

If you're not a fan of the lactic acid idea. And it were me, (that means you have time but no money) I'd brew another batch and toss 2 dregs from beers from Jester King, Russian River, or Jolly Pumpkin. They have more sour puckering bite than the commercial sour packs. Then in 6 months this batch you are worried about will have matured more and gained a bit more sourness and you could blend the two over some more fruit.

Also, how much fruit did you have in mind adding?

 

[Calder]

5 months is not a long time. Especially since you pitch regular yeast first. You should have just pitched the sour mix and forgot about the sacc. The sour mix has sacc in it, but only a small amount. this allows the bugs to start building their colonies before alcohol is produced, and maybe create some lactic acid. Pitching the yeast first slowed down this process.

Approximate timelines:

- Brett continues to build it's population for about 12 months, and works on the sugars and esters for about 18 months

- Lactobacillus and Pediococcus continus to build their colonies for up to 2 years, and will continue to slowly sour it for that long.

To help it along, drink a couple of sours (Jolly Pumpkin has some good bugs) and pitch the dregs into the batch, and leave it for another 5 months. 5 months is way too young to be adding fruit.

 

[madscientist451]

The White Labs website says you should get some decent sourness from the WL 655 in two years, and to keep the temp at 70 or above.
I'd lay it back and don't mess with it for at least a year, a year and a half would be better.

 

[masonsjax]

The key is to brew a new sour batch every few months at least, then once the first one is ready, you'll have a steady pipeline of sours maturing from then on.

 

[Natdavis777]

The key is to brew a new sour batch every few months at least, then once the first one is ready, you'll have a steady pipeline of sours maturing from then on.

Exactly what I've been doing. Got three goin now so when I tap one (which I hope to keep on tap for awhile) I can brew another and always have 3 in the fermenter.

The biggest thing I learned with the "sourness" is pitch the bugs up front. With my flanders, I did 1056 first, and then transferred @ 1.026 and pitched bugs second. The smell is awesome, but hardly and sourness, and that's after 15 months. My two lambics though, I blended Lambic blend and some brett lambicus, one of blackberries, one on raspberries, and they both taste awesome as of 8 months in.

Maybe it was the alcohol affecting the bugs. Not sure. I'm no sour expert, but plan on always pitching the bugs initially from now on.