Lagunitas Aunt Sally clone?

[mhburgat@#gmail.com]

Anybody have an all grain clone for Lagunitas Aunt Sally Sour Mash? Now would be a good time to brew this so it's ready when the weather warms up.

 

[deadwolfbones]

Don't have an exact recipe, but here's what I'd do:

It's a pretty light beer, color-wise, so I'd stick to 2-row and maybe a little crystal to hit the 1.058 OG.

Mash 149-151F for 60min, raise it to 180F, then let it cool to 90F. Pitch 10mL lactic acid and lactobacillus (I like to use Goodbelly StraightShot—1 is good for 5gal) and hold it there (between 90 and 100F) for ~2 days. (I like to use an Anova sous vide wand in a water bath around the kettle, but if you have good enough insulation you can just wrap it up and maybe give it some gas every once in a while.)

Once it's soured to your taste, bring to a boil. Use a smooth bittering hop to get to the stated 33 IBUs, chill, pitch yeast (I think I read Lagunitas uses WY1968?). Dry hop (maybe double?) with aroma hops of your choice. I've got no idea what Lagunitas uses for this one.

 

[deadwolfbones]

Maaaaybe something like this?

https://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/lagunitas-aunt-sally-clone

But again, going on very little info here.

 

[mhburgat@#gmail.com]

Thanks! Your recipe is the only one I’ve been able to find. How did it turn out?

 

[deadwolfbones]

Thanks! Your recipe is the only one I’ve been able to find. How did it turn out?

Oh, I literally just cobbled it together from what little info I could find. Haven't tried it, have no idea what grains Lagunitas actually uses, just looking at the color and my memory of the taste. As for the rest, just the anecdotal info that that's their house yeast, plus the OG and IBU info they provide, and my own knowledge of making kettle soured goses. (Aunt Sally should probably be a little less sour than a gose, so you might just want to sour for a day instead of two. I'd guess a pH around 3.5-3.6?

 

[mhburgat@#gmail.com]

I am brewing this beginning tonight and will let you know how it goes.

 

[deadwolfbones]

Hope it goes well, apologies if it doesn't!

To give you an idea of how quickly wort sours: I pitched lactic acid (6mL for 3.5gal wort) and Goodbelly (1x StraightShot) on this Bruesicle clone I'm doing yesterday morning, and by this morning it was down to 3.4 pH. I'm going to boil tonight! I feel like Aunt Sally is probably less tart than the gose/Berliner style I'm doing, so 18-24 hours is probably plenty. If you don't have a pH meter, just taste it every few hours and boil when it's sour enough for you (bearing in mind that it'll taste MORE sour after the sugar ferments out).

Also, I'd recommend pitching the lacto closer to 90F than 110F, just to make sure you don't kill the bacteria.

 

[deadwolfbones]

One more thing: rehydrate your yeast and use two packs if possible, just to counter the effects of low pH.

 

[mhburgat@#gmail.com]

So I brewed it up several weeks ago and opened one up last night. Not quite Aunt Sally but a fantastic brew and very close. I used 1 Good Belly and simply dumped it in a carboy and kept at 100° for 48 hours then boiled it. Didn’t think about fermentation reducing the sugar. Even so it’s not overly sour but next time I’ll boil after 24 hours. I’d also increase the dry hop amount by about 50% to provide additional aroma. Aroma is great now but I’d like more. Used Wyeast with no starter and had no problems. Delicious! I’d buy it as is at local pub if it was on tap. Thanks for the assist!

 

[deadwolfbones]

So I brewed it up several weeks ago and opened one up last night. Not quite Aunt Sally but a fantastic brew and very close. I used 1 Good Belly and simply dumped it in a carboy and kept at 100° for 48 hours then boiled it. Didn’t think about fermentation reducing the sugar. Even so it’s not overly sour but next time I’ll boil after 24 hours. I’d also increase the dry hop amount by about 50% to provide additional aroma. Aroma is great now but I’d like more. Used Wyeast with no starter and had no problems. Delicious! I’d buy it as is at local pub if it was on tap. Thanks for the assist!

Awesome, glad to hear it! What Wyeast strain did you use exactly? The ESB?

 

[mhburgat@#gmail.com]

Yes, Wyeast 1968 ESB. Great summer beer and a hit even with those who don’t like sours.