Hey guys,
I'm brand-new to sour brewing. I'm trying to do a Berliner Weisse, and opted for a split primary. I bled off 1/3 of the wort to do a Kolsch fermentation and the other 2/3 to Wyeast 5335 lactobacillus. My intention was to combine them for secondary. After 5 days, the Kolsch is just about done, but when I check the lacto batch... nothing. Nada. I haven't taken an official pH read, but it just tastes like plain old wort, no tartness at all.
Now the confessions to the things I've done wrong:
1. I didn't run a starter. I did direct pitch, as instructed on the package.
2. I thought I'd be able to hold the wort at around 70 degrees, but we've had a bit of a cold snap, and it's running closer to like 64. The package says it should produce anywhere above 60, but 64... probably not optimal.
So here are my options:
1. Stay the course. Maybe the cold temps and no starter, it's just taking its time getting going. RAHAHB.
2. Go ahead and combine the two batches, and assume I'll just have a bland hefe.
3. Try to kickstart the lacto by putting the whole fermenter in a warm bath and bringing it slowly up to 90 degrees.
4. Dump it. I can't think of why I'd do this, since bad beer is better than no beer.
Any words of wisdom?
I'm brand-new to sour brewing. I'm trying to do a Berliner Weisse, and opted for a split primary. I bled off 1/3 of the wort to do a Kolsch fermentation and the other 2/3 to Wyeast 5335 lactobacillus. My intention was to combine them for secondary. After 5 days, the Kolsch is just about done, but when I check the lacto batch... nothing. Nada. I haven't taken an official pH read, but it just tastes like plain old wort, no tartness at all.
Now the confessions to the things I've done wrong:
1. I didn't run a starter. I did direct pitch, as instructed on the package.
2. I thought I'd be able to hold the wort at around 70 degrees, but we've had a bit of a cold snap, and it's running closer to like 64. The package says it should produce anywhere above 60, but 64... probably not optimal.
So here are my options:
1. Stay the course. Maybe the cold temps and no starter, it's just taking its time getting going. RAHAHB.
2. Go ahead and combine the two batches, and assume I'll just have a bland hefe.
3. Try to kickstart the lacto by putting the whole fermenter in a warm bath and bringing it slowly up to 90 degrees.
4. Dump it. I can't think of why I'd do this, since bad beer is better than no beer.
Any words of wisdom?
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