Lacto Starter, 1st Berliner Weisse

[tgmartin000]

Hey guys, I'm getting ready to brew my first berliner weisse this weekend and need a little moral support.

This is my first time using lacto, and I'm a little concerned about my starter. Two days ago, I boiled up enough DME for a 2L starter. Got it going at 98 degrees on a stir plate. Added wine nutrient (I'm out of beer yeast nutrient), but did not oxygenate the starter. Used a packet of wyeast lacto, about 6 weeks old.

I haven't seen any krausen or anything in the starter. Is this normal? Does lacto create a typical krausen? Also, does it follow the same growth pattern as yeast? My 2L starter, according to yeastcalc, should create about 300 billion cells. Assuming the lacto packet had 100 billion cells, anyways.

For the beer itself, I'll be doing a 50/50 blend of wheat and pilsner malt. Mash at 135 for 2 hours, then at 149 for an hour, then mash out to 170 directly to the fermentor, no boil. Pitch about 300 billion cells of lacto at 98, hold until desired sourness arrives (24 hours?), then pitch 100 billion cells of german ale yeast.

Any comments on this madness?

 

[dantheman13]

I've only used the White Labs Lacto with this method, but from what I have read, the Wyeast Lacto is homofermentive, which means it only produces lactic acid. The White Labs strain is heterofermentive and produces a frothy head (CO2, ethanol, and lactic acid). So, I think you should be good.

If you don't like the results of this berliner weisse, try again with the White Labs 677. I had a very sour BW with that strain (no starter, sat in wort between 85-95F for 7 days, cooled then pitched US-05).

 

[ChugachBrewing]

I have not observed a typical Krausen - that's not to say it doesn't exist. Try tasting a little of your starter and see what flavors you get.

My only comment would be to pasteurize the wort (say, 180) before going to the fermenter. This way you are assured that nothing else makes it in other than the bugs you want. If you just run off from the mash tun, the first bit you will collect could probably be under the 150 mark, depending on your level of insulation and/or methods.

The method I had great success with was the sour mash, followed by sparge and heating up to 200, then chill and pitch yeast. This way you control the sourness and shut it down when it's where you want.

 

[dantheman13]

This is what a WLP677 L. Delbruekii only fermentation looks like.

 

[tgmartin000]

Well, I skipped the pasteurization step, and pitched the starter. Its been 3 days, with only a touch of sourness to account for. I've got it sitting at 98 in my fridge, with fingers crossed. The initial sample had some DMS. Not feeling good about this one.

iwas super, super cautious about infection, so I'm not too worried about that, but the dms is concerning.

and btw, my wyeast lacto ferment does have tiny krausen.