So I had a tube of White Labs in my fridge with plans of using it in something that I haven't got to brew yet. When I did my wit up last weekend I decided that I'd toss the lactobacillus into my 3.5ish gal portion of my 8 gal batch. I can't find a clear answer about whether or not it will stop fermenting or keep going. I'm trying to find answers even in academic papers about lactobacillus but they're all about lambics when related to beer.
So basically what I'm worried about is the lactobacillus continuing to work after bottling. I know lactobacillus is supposed to really quit reproducing around 3.8 pH. I plan on blending the two fermentors together and if the lacto has not died (which I assume it will not) will I have to pasteurize the beer? I am thinking I might just wing it throw it in bottles in a week or two and then make a concerted effort to drink it fast in case of overcarbonation. I guess I could do a little bit of an experiment. I will leave them go for three weeks then pasteurize some in the dishwasher. Plus I will check pH and do a WLD plate to check for lactobacillus.
PS I just tasted the soured fermentor and it tastes fantastic!
So basically what I'm worried about is the lactobacillus continuing to work after bottling. I know lactobacillus is supposed to really quit reproducing around 3.8 pH. I plan on blending the two fermentors together and if the lacto has not died (which I assume it will not) will I have to pasteurize the beer? I am thinking I might just wing it throw it in bottles in a week or two and then make a concerted effort to drink it fast in case of overcarbonation. I guess I could do a little bit of an experiment. I will leave them go for three weeks then pasteurize some in the dishwasher. Plus I will check pH and do a WLD plate to check for lactobacillus.
PS I just tasted the soured fermentor and it tastes fantastic!
