My wine-themed sour

[worlddivides]

I started the recipe for this beer a couple months ago, but didn't actually brew it until a little over 2 weeks ago. I fermented it with Danstar Windsor yeast to try to leave some residual fermentables, but as is usually the case with me, it fermented a lot dryer than I expected (I thought it would end around 1.019, but it finished at 1.012). Last night I racked it onto 2 ounces of Medium+ toasted French oak that had been soaked in Cinnabar Mercury Rising red wine for 3 weeks (I didn't put in the wine) and 350 grams of golden raisins, then added White Labs's Belgian Sour Mix. Fermentation took off immediately (like, within 1 hour) and after about 5 hours, the golden raisins very slowly started floating to the top. It's been over 24 hours since I pitched the mix and the golden raisins keep floating to the top.

I'm guessing the crazy fermentation I'm getting now is from the Sacch and the Brett in the mix. I don't know what kind of brewer's yeast is in the mix, but I would imagine it's a Belgian strain, which should ferment beyond the 1.012 it finished at. Plus there are all the raisins I added.

I know a lot of people add raisins for yeast or bacteria nutrient and mouthfeel, but I added them after reading American Sour Beers and reading the section about dried fruit. I had read contradicting reports saying that raisins would add too many tannins and others saying that they add a very pleasant grape/raisin/wine flavor to a beer.

The base was pretty standard. Mostly barley with a little wheat and crystal malt. Only 5 IBUs with Hallertau Mittelfruh (which is what I used on my Berliner Weisse that I think got infected with something that produced butyric acid because it smelled like a mixture of vomit or even poop. It was an odd smell. When I tasted my beer yesterday before adding the sour mix, it tasted great).

It's going to suck having to wait 6-18 months for this to be ready, but that's the name of the game. I've never actually had a beer with raisins in it or with a strong wine flavor, so I'm not exactly sure how it'll taste in the end, but I'm looking forward to it.

 

[tarmenel]

I've used raisins like you mentioned for a yeast nutrient but I removed them after the initial soaking. My main concern would be that they've floated to the top and could start to grow mold as they are in contact with the air. It might be better to put them in a weighted hop sock or something like that.

 

[worlddivides]

I've used raisins like you mentioned for a yeast nutrient but I removed them after the initial soaking. My main concern would be that they've floated to the top and could start to grow mold as they are in contact with the air. It might be better to put them in a weighted hop sock or something like that.

Too late for that. I put the raisins in about a week and a half ago. At first they stayed on the bottom, but after a day or so, they floated to the top and they've been floating on the top so far. I read quite a bit about putting fruit (and specifically raisins) in a sour beer, but none of them mentioned putting them in a meshed sack or anything like that. There were quite a few methods mentioned though. I did use a knife to slice up some of the raisins (but not all of them), but those sliced up raisins are also floating at the top now.

I've seen tons of photos and videos of sour beers with raspberries, cherries, and other fruits floating on the top, but I've never heard of them getting mold on them (oftentimes the photos are from several months after the fruit has been added). Is mold really a concern?

The oak cubes are also all floating on the top. Guess they're just buoyant things.