Lambic Starter

[Dent Arthur Dent]

I decided to brew my first lambic years ago. The blend I bought was well past expiration date and, while it did ferment, it didn't sour. Let it sit for years, checking every now and then to see what would happen.

I'm at a point where I'd like to give it another try. Curious to know who's had success, what yeast(s) they used, whether they used a lambic blend or lactobacillus themselves, and how long it took for the batch to sour. I've also heard that cultivating your culture through a single-gallon batch first can be helpful, so has anyone tried this?

Oh, and if anyone is wondering, the original batch had a series of lucky breaks, eventually souring over some infected cherries from another wild batch that turned out quite nice, and then getting blended with the end of a saison. The final version reads a bit like a milder duchesse de bourgogne.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Hops inhibit souring. They can easily stop Lacto and greatly delay Pedio.
You need to match the amount of hops to the tolerance of the bacteria strains you pitch.

Something like first generation Wyeast Belgian Lambic blend will sour beer in a matter of days/weeks if you use a low hop rate like 0.2 oz hops per 5 gallons of low AA hops.

If you carefully propagate a culture though hopped media (batches or starters) it will help increase the hop tolerance of the bacteria. Dregs from hopped sour beer will also have more hop-tolerant bacteria.

Feeding a batch in progress can also help it sour since the bacteria (Pedio) have had time to grow accustomed to the hops.

Cheers

 

[Dent Arthur Dent]

Hops inhibit souring. They can easily stop Lacto and greatly delay Pedio.

Do you know what does this? I'd used an ounce of debittered hops for three first attempt.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Aged hops have oxidized beta acids, which are even more potent for inhibiting bacteria than alpha acids.