Kettle souring -- boil after mash?

[edgarmsmith]

I'm kettle souring for the first time. Some places call for a 5 minute boil after the mash and before adding lacto. Some don't.

Then I will watch the pH and do the 60 minute boil with hop additions after it reaches my desired pH.

What's the common, preferred practice on the pre-lacto boil?

 

[doomy86]

I don't see why you would need to boil before adding the lacto. I have never done it. A quick pasteurisation @74C should be enough.

Do you have a pure lacto culture or how have you planed to sour it?

 

[edgarmsmith]

I'm using Omega Yeast Labs Lactobacillus Blend. I found more places that called for the boil than didn't, so I did a quick boil last night. It added a little bit of time to my brew night, but it gave me an opportunity to drink another beer.

 

[MrHopScotch]

Sounds wise to me. Without knowing which recommendations you've seen, I'd be willing to bet that some of the no-boil-before-souring recipes relied on bacteria present on the malted grain. These can be good or bad bacteria, but if you are pitching a lacto blend yourself, you might as well at least pasteurize first to make sure you don't have any aerobic batch-ruiners hiding away in there. A bit more work for a lot greater peace of mind and consistency IMO.