is there a way to tell or control the sourness?

[sputnam]

I've tried several sour beers and only really liked 1 (Rodenbach). I've run across some recipes that sound delicious but if it's too sour, I will probably have wasted my time (and $). Is there a way to control the sourness if you make your own. As I understand it, the sour intensifies with age but is there a way to deal with it during fermentation? Is there some sort of scale (like an IBU rating)? That would be awesome.

 

[TNGabe]

You mean like pH?

 

[jnacey]

Honestly, I would just brew a standard Flemish Red recipe with a smack pack of Roselare. Add some dregs of your favorite sours beers, except for ones from Jolly Pumpkin (they will aggressively sour anything). I've found the first pitches of Roselare to impart a subtle sourness. Pitching future batches on the Roselare cake will result in quicker and more intense souring.

 

[TAK]

Fermentables available to the bugs during the long aging can be controlled by mash temps.

Mash high > Less fermentable to the Sacc > More fermentables left for the bugs > More sour

Mash low > More fermentable to the Sacc > Less fermentables left for the bugs > Less sour

 

[Oldsock]

As others have suggested, there are ways to encourage more or less acidity. Another thing to watch is exposure to oxygen, which encourages the production of sharp acetic acid.

However, what sets Rodenbach apart from many American sours is stabilization and blending with younger sweeter beer. This is tricky to do at home, but it is easy to blend to taste in the glass. Brew a Flemish red as jnacey suggested, and a couple months before it is ready, brew something similar with just brewer's yeast. You can then blend them to taste in the glass while drinking to get your ideal sweet-sour balance.

 

[Sleepyemt]

Dry hopping seems to reduce the perceived sourness as well, fwiw


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[Shaffer1515]

Just did our first fruit lambic, we also didnt want an overwhelming sourness, because no one but us would drink it (not that I mind that!). What we did was pitch 1056 for a week or so to get the gravity down, then transfer to secondary where we then pitched Roselare and 10lb of raspberries. 9 months later I think were good to bottle soon, might add some fresh raspberries again to sweeten up a little, but its not super sour at all.