Lacto Sour with L Plantarum Caps

[10sense]

I did a sour experiment about a year ago comparing Lacto propagated from 2-row to L. Plantarum. I added 1 L. Plantarum capsule to a gallon starter kept it at 115°F for three days. After boiling and cooling, I blended the L. Plantarum wort with an oatmeal stout (50/50 blend) and bottled.

Long story short, the L. Plantarum was our least favorite (when compared to the 2-row sour) at bottling but was the best tasting a few months later.

 

[munk24]

You can use Goodbelly probiotic drink and/or shots, found in many grocery stores, Its cheap, full of L Plantarum, and is used by many to quick sour a beer. Check the wiki at www.milkthefunk.com for directions and recommended temps.

 

[munk24]

115 degrees is too hot for L. Plantaurm, needs to be in 90's. and then you can let the temp fall, should be around 3.4 ph in a couple days. Check out the wiki at www.milkthefunk.com for more info.

 

[munk24]

Also when using l. Plantarum, 0 hops, you can hop after it sours. L Plantarum is very sensitive to hops, even 2 or more IBU's is too much. www.milkthefunk.com wiki for more info.

 

[coypoo]

Bumping this thread, what are other opinions on L. plantarium's hop tolerability? I just made 10 gal of golden sour with 2 IBUs worth of tettnanger and pitched 1 cap/gallon last night at somewhere over 100F (I was in a rush and forgot to check the final temp when I pitched the lacto). Also, no pH meter (yet), so I wont be able to check a pH today to see if it's working. Not doing a kettle sour, just giving the lacto a 24hr head start prior to pitching my sacc, so if it's not sour in a couple of months I can pitch some pedio and go from there

 

[Morrey]

Bumping this thread, what are other opinions on L. plantarium's hop tolerability? I just made 10 gal of golden sour with 2 IBUs worth of tettnanger and pitched 1 cap/gallon last night at somewhere over 100F (I was in a rush and forgot to check the final temp when I pitched the lacto). Also, no pH meter (yet), so I wont be able to check a pH today to see if it's working. Not doing a kettle sour, just giving the lacto a 24hr head start prior to pitching my sacc, so if it's not sour in a couple of months I can pitch some pedio and go from there

I have read that L Plantarum is so hop sensitive you really can't use much at all. I doubt that 2 IBU is going to shut you down, but for the very reason you are concerned, I stick to kettle sours then boil and add hops afterwards.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

I've gotten no action using under 5 IBU. Granted that's per Beersmith not legit testing or anything. The nice thing about this though is that it makes using the same gear for regular beers a nonissue because the vast majority of what people brew is too hoppy for the lacto to operate. Obviously you should still be sanitary but it's a nice plus.

 

[coypoo]

I've gotten no action using under 5 IBU.

Are you saying under 5 IBUs you have no issues? Or even with IBUs under 5 (and not 0) you've seen inhibition of lacto?

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Are you saying under 5 IBUs you have no issues? Or even with IBUs under 5 (and not 0) you've seen inhibition of lacto?

Under 5 IBU was enough to inhibit the lacto. Granted these weren't aged hops but they were low alpha. Without lab work on the beers/system there's really no way to tell if I had the 3-4 IBU Beersmith gave or 7-8 or whatever IBU so that's an important factor. I found it easier to just leave em out.

 

[RevKev]

Under 5 IBU was enough to inhibit the lacto. Granted these weren't aged hops but they were low alpha. Without lab work on the beers/system there's really no way to tell if I had the 3-4 IBU Beersmith gave or 7-8 or whatever IBU so that's an important factor. I found it easier to just leave em out.

You could just do whirlpool additions @180°F, that would be much easier and allow hopping. Do you dry hop?

 

[user 204491]

You're going to get some IBUs doing a whirlpool. Recent studies have even shown that dry hopping adds some IBUs to the beer.

If you're using L. Plantarum I would completely avoid hops until you are done souring. Either dry hop or do a kettle sour and boil.

I've had lots of luck using L. Plantarum and then dry hopping after.

 

[coypoo]

Under 5 IBU was enough to inhibit the lacto. Granted these weren't aged hops but they were low alpha. Without lab work on the beers/system there's really no way to tell if I had the 3-4 IBU Beersmith gave or 7-8 or whatever IBU so that's an important factor. I found it easier to just leave em out.

Good point. Next time I'll leave them out. Not really sure why I did them in the first place. Hopefully 0.5 oz of 2% won't hurt the lacto too much

 

[munk24]

Are you saying under 5 IBUs you have no issues? Or even with IBUs under 5 (and not 0) you've seen inhibition of lacto?

On Milk the Funk there have been instances reportee where even more than 2 or 3 IBU's inhibited L. Plantarum. Recommend no hops at the souring stage, Theres also the Devin Bell Reverse Method where you can sour with L. Plantarum after fermenting. More details on the wiki at milkthefunk.com

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

You're going to get some IBUs doing a whirlpool. Recent studies have even shown that dry hopping adds some IBUs to the beer.

If you're using L. Plantarum I would completely avoid hops until you are done souring. Either dry hop or do a kettle sour and boil.

I've had lots of luck using L. Plantarum and then dry hopping after.

This is spot on. I think Plantarum works well with dry hopping citrusy/tropical hops. My favorite so far was a 6% Nelson Sauvin sour IPA.