Signs of souring

[Pyg]

I made a sour with the following in July :
4# 2 row
3#. Wheat
.5# acidulated malt
.75 tatt hops 30 min
White Labs WLP630 Berliner Weisse Blend (contains German Weizen Ale yeast and Lacto)
Blackberry 2-3# added at secondary

Added WLP 655 to secondary a month later.
Up until now there has been no sign or taste of sour.
2 weeks ago I added some dregs from a crooked stave.
Now I have the below film in both carboys.
Is this a sign of good infection?
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1478384852.633132.jpg
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[Sourz4life]

So you can't tell really from a pellicle but seeing as you introduced crooked stave dregs you probably introduced a stronger strain of brett/LABs. When you co pitch lacto it takes a good amount of time for it to get down to the acidity you'd want. Anywhere from a few months to a few years. By introducing brett it will most likely go through a secondary ferment and be drier and get brett ester formation, which in my opinion I like. So only time will tell but if all your additions were intentional then just let it ride and check in on it every month.

 

[Pyg]

MoreView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1478877064.852312.jpg

 

[Pyg]

I know I am not supposed to disturb the thin layer of infection, but I had to add the dregs of a 7 day sour.
I am thinking I am going to let it age for a few months than split in 1/3 and dry hop 1, add fruit to another & let one be!

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1479302051.588689.jpg

 

[mitchard]

Give it some time. Though lacto works pretty fast, most strains need some time to sour at ale fermentation temps.

What was your estimated IBU on the batch? CS dregs should be fine, but a lot of other strains will not sour fast or at all at above 5 IBU.

 

[Aristotelian]

^This. Looks like you have somewhere around 10-15 IBU. Expect the souring to be more subtle and take months if not longer.

That does look like a brett pellicle and nothing to worry about.

 

[Pyg]

Below is the sour's growth most recently.
I don't know the difference between a lactobacilus infection and Brett, I just know in the last weeks there have grown bubblesView attachment 377486View attachment 377487

 

[Pyg]

Below is the sour's growth most recently.
I don't know the difference between a lactobacilus infection and Brett, I just know in the last weeks there have grown bubbles
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1479514250.204170.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1479514264.206275.jpg

 

[Sourz4life]

There is no particular pellicle for any yeast/bacteria. They can look vastly different even in the same species. But either way its a pellicle.

 

[Pyg]

There is no particular pellicle for any yeast/bacteria. They can look vastly different even in the same species. But either way its a pellicle.

That is still good, correct?

 

[mitchard]

It looks fine. However, keep in mind that a pellice isn't always a "good" sign. Pellicles are formed by brett and bacteria as a result of the introduction of oxygen to the beer, which you don't want in most cases. You have very little head space, so I wouldn't be worried about it though. If you had more head space, flushing it with co2 after opening it would be a great idea.

RDWHASB.

 

[Pyg]

It looks fine. However, keep in mind that a pellice isn't always a "good" sign. Pellicles are formed by brett and bacteria as a result of the introduction of oxygen to the beer, which you don't want in most cases. You have very little head space, so I wouldn't be worried about it though. If you had more head space, flushing it with co2 after opening it would be a great idea.

RDWHASB.

Complete noob question:
How do I flush with Co2?
Do I have to spend a ton of $$$ on an apparatus or can I buy a "whip it" can of Co2?

 

[Sourz4life]

Any form of food grade c02 will work. Just remove the bung and airlock then pump a blanket of c02 on top of the beer, rebung.

 

[Pyg]

The layer of bubbles is gone.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1480011618.803667.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1480011630.779234.jpg