Sour not souring

[bruteforce]

I am attempting to make a berlinner weisse. However, after 3 days, it doesn't seem to be getting sour. Am I expecting things too soon? Here's the steps I used.

6 pounds pilsner malt
4 pounds wheat
.5 pounds acid malt
.25 oz german hallertau at 60 minutes

Mash at 150 for an hour, 1 hour boil, the usual. Cool to 100°F

Pitch Wyeast 5335, keep at 95 to 100° with heat wrap

Theres a little krausen looking thing on top of the beer right now, but the pH is sitting at 5.3. pH was about 5.4 during the mash.

So yeah, am I just being impatient? I would have thought I would be able to tell a difference by now.

 

[Agate]

Hops are the enemy when trying to pre-sour a Berliner. The only thing they really do is inhibit the lacto, which is counterproductive with this kind of beer.

Try bumping the temp up another 10 degrees, that may help. Next time, try souring before the boil, no hops in the mash, and try to get some omega lacto, OYL-605. Make a 1 liter starter. It'll be fully sour within 24 hours.

Good luck! The additional heat may help this one.

 

[bruteforce]

Thanks for the advice on this. Yeah, I was hoping that only 4 IBU would be low enough to not irritate the little buggers, but maybe thats my issue. I'll bump the temp and if I don't get anything in a few days dump some stronger bugs in and see what happens.

 

[BigPerm]

Thanks for the advice on this. Yeah, I was hoping that only 4 IBU would be low enough to not irritate the little buggers, but maybe thats my issue. I'll bump the temp and if I don't get anything in a few days dump some stronger bugs in and see what happens.

What's your gravity? I have one going now, OG ~ 1.070. Its been 5 days at a constant 120F and its barely below pH 4.

 

[bruteforce]

What's your gravity? I have one going now, OG ~ 1.070. Its been 5 days at a constant 120F and its barely below pH 4.

I came in at 1.057 on this one.

 

[Agate]

Thanks for the advice on this. Yeah, I was hoping that only 4 IBU would be low enough to not irritate the little buggers, but maybe thats my issue. I'll bump the temp and if I don't get anything in a few days dump some stronger bugs in and see what happens.

I think that's the issue right there. Wyeast's recommendation for 5335 is to not use any hops.

 

[BigPerm]

I came in at 1.057 on this one.

Did you make a starter or just pitch the pack? Your lag may be due to low bacteria counts. I'm pretty sure that's my problem too (will update if true). This will be exacerbated with HG worts. Give it more time, pitch more bugs and/or raise your temps.

 

[bruteforce]

No starter on this one, but I might make one next time. We'll see if it gets anywhere.

As to the hops, from the WYeast site

L. buchneri. This culture produces moderate levels of acidity and is commonly found in many types of beers including gueuze, lambics, sour brown ales and Berliner Weisse. It is always used in conjunction with S.cerevisiae and often with various wild yeast. Use in wort or beer below 10 IBU is recommended due to the culture’s sensitivity to hop compounds.

So yeah, I'll try completely unhopped next time I guess. I figured since it only came in at 3.6 IBU it would be alright, but maybe not.

Again, thanks for the advice, its much appreciated.

 

[stpug]

So yeah, I'll try completely unhopped next time I guess. I figured since it only came in at 3.6 IBU it would be alright, but maybe not.

I was bitten by the hop bug twice in lactobacilli sours. I learned my lesson - zero hops for the L. bacteria if you want to get somewhere fast.

 

[secondbase]

The hops definitely inhibited your lacto. You have a couple options:

1. You can start another kettle sour and blend the two together.
2. You can wait it out. It will sour slowly, gradually over time.

Either way, it's not likely to be a quick turnaround. Cheers.

 

[StopTakingMyUsername]

NO hops.
Also, lower mash ph to 4.5 before pitching lacto (either with acidulated malt or lactic acid)

Other than that, you're doing it fine.