pearljam1984
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I wanted to post this out for any folks wanting to move into quick sours, or kettle sours. I struggled through a few batches to begin with but turned a corner some time ago. Sharing best practices and what helped me get there.
Pineapple Sour
OG 1.044 FG 1.006
5lbs White wheat
5lbs 2-Row
Held mash at 150°. Then batch sparge.
No hops- 0
Goodbelly Lacto (mango- used the whole quart)
US-05-50%
Belle Saison-50%
6lbs Frozen Pineapple mashed up
Process-
Water- no changes, used tap water.
Mashed in at 150°. Took in 6 gallons of wort at 1.044. Boiled for 10mins.
Temperature lowered to 100°, tested ph around 5.4(sample at room temp) and added 10ml of lactic acid to reduce ph down to 4.7(sample tested at room temp). then moved to stainless fermentor specifically used for lacto sours.
Once at 95°- pitched lacto goodbelly probiotic entire quart.
I put the fermenter in a warm room(78°) covered with a blanket and allowed for the wort to free fall. Didn’t Monitor temps further with room temps where they were.
After 24 hrs ph tested at 3.6/3.7.
After 36hrs ph tested at 3.3. (Pellicle had formed and was spectacular)
After 48hrs ph tested at 3.2. At this point I moved the fermenter to Temp controlled room at 65°. Pitched US-05 and Belle saison yeast.
At day 5 from brew day, gravity was at 1.010 after an active moving fermentation. Allowed for 5 more days to finish out. Gravity at day 10 was 1.008.
On day 10- While still in primary, I added 6lbs frozen(thawed) mashed pineapples into strainer bag and into the primary fermentor.
On day 17, I removed pineapple and racked to kegs. Ended up with about 4.75gallons after losses.
After 36hrs of force carbonation, ready to serve. Pineapple was the obvious up Front and heavy flavor and aroma, no “saison” feel at all. Clean yeast profile. I use the saison yeast to help get FG down low, not to try to get saison flavor.
I read (just about) every article and forum before I started kettle sours. Struggled at first to get it sour enough. Tried ultima flora probiotic capsules, couldn’t get it past high 3s for ph. Was concerned about oxygen, but in reality shouldn’t have been as it’s not an issue.
I have only been using Goodbelly since failing with the probiotic capsules. It’s so easy. Cheap. And super reliable. Set it and forget it for 48hrs. It works excellent between 73° and 95°. I don’t ever go above 95°.
If you want to leave it past 48hrs, I don’t feel it would drop much past 3.2ph, so if timing is an issue or you have to wait longer for some reason to pitch yeast, I don’t see it being an issue.
If you are trying to kettle sour with out a ph meter, do yourself a favor and stop. Go buy one. I tried using the little test strips and got results all over the place, and always not accurate. If you are trying to go off taste to see if your wort has soured, stop. The wort is just too sweet to really understand or have a feel for how sour the beer will or won’t be. Most people sour the wort and then move back to a boil to kill lacto and/or add hops. I don’t feel it’s necessary and have dedicated equipment for just lacto. I also don’t add hops in quick sours unless it’s the dry hopped variety. To me the bitterness from hops in the boil clash with sours.
For fruit I have used blackberry, raspberry, pineapple, mango and blueberries. All with success. IMO it’s better to use more than one fruit as it ads to the complexity of the finished beer. Also- use more than you think you need. You may get good coloring from the fruit, but to get great flavor you have to use a good amount. At least 1lb per gallon IMO.
Pineapple Sour
OG 1.044 FG 1.006
5lbs White wheat
5lbs 2-Row
Held mash at 150°. Then batch sparge.
No hops- 0
Goodbelly Lacto (mango- used the whole quart)
US-05-50%
Belle Saison-50%
6lbs Frozen Pineapple mashed up
Process-
Water- no changes, used tap water.
Mashed in at 150°. Took in 6 gallons of wort at 1.044. Boiled for 10mins.
Temperature lowered to 100°, tested ph around 5.4(sample at room temp) and added 10ml of lactic acid to reduce ph down to 4.7(sample tested at room temp). then moved to stainless fermentor specifically used for lacto sours.
Once at 95°- pitched lacto goodbelly probiotic entire quart.
I put the fermenter in a warm room(78°) covered with a blanket and allowed for the wort to free fall. Didn’t Monitor temps further with room temps where they were.
After 24 hrs ph tested at 3.6/3.7.
After 36hrs ph tested at 3.3. (Pellicle had formed and was spectacular)
After 48hrs ph tested at 3.2. At this point I moved the fermenter to Temp controlled room at 65°. Pitched US-05 and Belle saison yeast.
At day 5 from brew day, gravity was at 1.010 after an active moving fermentation. Allowed for 5 more days to finish out. Gravity at day 10 was 1.008.
On day 10- While still in primary, I added 6lbs frozen(thawed) mashed pineapples into strainer bag and into the primary fermentor.
On day 17, I removed pineapple and racked to kegs. Ended up with about 4.75gallons after losses.
After 36hrs of force carbonation, ready to serve. Pineapple was the obvious up Front and heavy flavor and aroma, no “saison” feel at all. Clean yeast profile. I use the saison yeast to help get FG down low, not to try to get saison flavor.
I read (just about) every article and forum before I started kettle sours. Struggled at first to get it sour enough. Tried ultima flora probiotic capsules, couldn’t get it past high 3s for ph. Was concerned about oxygen, but in reality shouldn’t have been as it’s not an issue.
I have only been using Goodbelly since failing with the probiotic capsules. It’s so easy. Cheap. And super reliable. Set it and forget it for 48hrs. It works excellent between 73° and 95°. I don’t ever go above 95°.
If you want to leave it past 48hrs, I don’t feel it would drop much past 3.2ph, so if timing is an issue or you have to wait longer for some reason to pitch yeast, I don’t see it being an issue.
If you are trying to kettle sour with out a ph meter, do yourself a favor and stop. Go buy one. I tried using the little test strips and got results all over the place, and always not accurate. If you are trying to go off taste to see if your wort has soured, stop. The wort is just too sweet to really understand or have a feel for how sour the beer will or won’t be. Most people sour the wort and then move back to a boil to kill lacto and/or add hops. I don’t feel it’s necessary and have dedicated equipment for just lacto. I also don’t add hops in quick sours unless it’s the dry hopped variety. To me the bitterness from hops in the boil clash with sours.
For fruit I have used blackberry, raspberry, pineapple, mango and blueberries. All with success. IMO it’s better to use more than one fruit as it ads to the complexity of the finished beer. Also- use more than you think you need. You may get good coloring from the fruit, but to get great flavor you have to use a good amount. At least 1lb per gallon IMO.
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