Style Suggestions for Yeast Bay Blends

[FlaglerBC]

So I read the American Sours book and got super excited. I immediately went to the Yeast Bay and picked up a bunch of stuff. I have yet to make a sour, and although these forums are helpful, i'm not really sure what style the blends that I got are best suited for.

Also do I need to pitch another yeast with these vials? Should I make a starter?

The Three Yeasts...

MÉLANGE - SOUR BLEND
If you dig using a diverse array of unique organisms to create balanced sour beers, this delightful medley of microbes is sure to please!
Mélange is our most varied mix of fermentative organisms, intended for use in the production of sour beers in which a balance of funk and sourness is desired. This blend contains two Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates, Saccharomyces fermentati, five Brettanomyces isolates, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus delbreuckii and Pediococcus damnosus.

LOCHRISTI BRETTANOMYCES BLEND
This blend combines Brettanomyces strains isolated from a unique beer produced in the Lochristi area in East Flanders. One strain provides a moderate funk and light fruitiness, while the other strain adds a more assertive fruitiness dominated by hints of strawberry. This blend also imparts a pleasant acidity over time that helps to balance out the profile of the finished beer. It can be slow to start up.

WLP672 - LACTOBACILLUS BREVIS
From White Labs Website: "Lactobacillus brevis is a rod-shaped bacteria used for souring beers. Typically produces more lactic acid than Lactobacillus delbrueckii. Great addition to any sour program!"
We have used this culture in house and prefer it to other strains of Lactobacillus we've used in the past. It produces a it more acid than other strains we've used, and is said to have better IBU tolerance, though we have not yet independently verified this. When using, we would recommend keeping the IBUs on the low end (< 10 IBU) until we are able to run our own experiments.

Thanks for helping out a sour newbie

 

[FlaglerBC]

I made 12 gallons of the "Sour American" in American Sour Beers.

Recipe:
68% German Pilsner
20% Pale Malt
8% Wheat Malt
4% Rolled Oats
13 IBU Willamette at 75min

OG 1057

I'm going to use Tonsmeire's sour method of pitching brewers yeast (1056) and bugs at the same time and then racking to secondary after 2-3 weeks.

Any recommendation on how to pitch the bugs? I was thinking pitching the melange on one 6 gallon and lochristi brettanomyces on the other. Should I split the wpl672 (lacto brevis) between the two now, when it moves to secondary, on just one, or hold onto it.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[metic]

If you decide to pitch the Lochristi and the Brevis into six gallons, be aware that you are under pitching the Brett and that its slow to get started. This might give the lactobacillus time to produce lots of lactic acid, which is maybe exactly what you want, but worth keeping in mind.

 

[hirschb]

I'm going to use Tonsmeire's sour method of pitching brewers yeast (1056) and bugs at the same time and then racking to secondary after 2-3 weeks.

Any recommendation on how to pitch the bugs? I was thinking pitching the melange on one 6 gallon and lochristi brettanomyces on the other. Should I split the wpl672 (lacto brevis) between the two now, when it moves to secondary, on just one, or hold onto it.

Thanks in advance for any help!

???? If you pitch one of the Yeast Bay blends, that should be all you need. Why add additional sacch or L brevis? I'd save the L brevis for something you want to get sour quickly. btw, that recipe works very nicely in the new Wyeast de Bom blend.

 

[MileHighBrewer]

I've used the Lochristi as an under pitch at the same time as a lacto pitch (Wyeast) and it produced a lovely beer. Lochristi is a yeast blend, no bacteria. It would not by itself, produce a sour beer. Likely some tang due to acetic acid which brett can produce a small bit of, but not enough to be really considered sour. I have zero experience with the actual bug blends, but I THINK they're like the big guys blends, bacteria, sacch and brett all in one

 

[FlaglerBC]

Yikes....

Well now i'm open for suggestions as to what I should do, clearly I messed up. I used the 1056/Melange and 1056/Lochristi. Right now it has been fermenting away from 12 hours and is bubbling away with a nice krausen.

So I have 12 gallons of this stuff....what can I do to fix it?

Again my first sour, clearly lost, open to anything that might make this beer better.

 

[MileHighBrewer]

Let it ride, that's what you do. You didn't screw anything up, you just introduced a very complex mix of flavors, which is good. Be ready to let it ride for a year or longer, and enjoy.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Contact yeastbay and ask him! He's active on reddit. Maybe see if he could post example recipes to give a good idea what to expect.

 

[FlaglerBC]

Thanks MileHigh and Hirsch for the responses, I guess we will just wait and see what happens.

 

[joshrosborne]

I used Melange all by itself, but it's no problem that you used additional yeast. It's not necessary, but it won't hurt it.

 

[hirschb]

Let it ride, that's what you do. You didn't screw anything up, you just introduced a very complex mix of flavors, which is good. Be ready to let it ride for a year or longer, and enjoy.

Agreed..... let it ride and see where it goes.