Should I sour my funky beer?

[jroth420]

I brewed a red ale last week and when I transferred to secondary there was a noticeable "funk" to it. It wasn't the worst thing I have ever tasted, it just wasn't what I was looking for. I used an American Ale yeast from White labs so it should not have had any off flavors from the yeast. The only thing I can think of is that something wild got in during the cooling process before pitching.

Anyway, I was thinking of adding something to sour the beer and just go with it. Should I add brett or lacto if I am looking for a distinctly sour profile; something along the lines of a Flemish Red is what I was hoping to salvage. Is that possible, or do I just need to dump this batch and start again? This is the first "bad" beer that I have ever made and I am a little frustrated and am hoping to salvage something out of it rather than ditch 10 gallons. Ideas?

 

[Guess42]

Brett won't add any sourness, just funk. Lacto may not survive in the IBU's you probably have. One of the sour ale mixes will contain brett, pedio, and lacto. This would probably be your best bet for souring. Curious that you got funk that fast. How is it funky?

 

[pericles]

I like the idea of trying to sour the beer; I'd add pedio and brett (The pedio is for souring: as Guess noted, the brett won't sour the beer, but it will consume pedio's diacetyl). You could also pitch a package of Wyeast Roselaire, which is a combo of bugs.