Sour beers

[Jaded and Bitter]

I made a Mulberry Sasion in October which I kegged first week of November. It tastes like its starting to sour slightly. The taste is getting better so I'm not complaining. Is this normal for a fruit beer?

Was the fruit completely sanitised? If not all kinds of critters live on the skin, also many fruits contain acid.

 

[Tech02]

I'm interesting in brewing a sour beer but I really have no idea how to go about it. I know the basics of an IPA and such but sour beers really have me interested.

I have the same problem with you. Did you solve it?

 

[AJ80]

I have the same problem with you. Did you solve it?

This is something I had a fair bit of trepidation with as well before buying American Sour Beers by Michael Tonsmire - it's a great read and breaks things down into simple components.

One of the thing he recommends early in the book is to make the jump and get a sour beer underway before you finish the book. He recommends something with an OG between 1.040-1.060, fewer than 20 IBUs, colour below 25 SRM and minimal late boil hopping and pitching a commercial souring microbe blend from Wyeast (Roselare) or White Labs (Belgian Sour Blend1).

One you make the jump you will never look back. Good luck!

 

[AJ80]

Another option that delivers a sour beer without the time or dedicated/separated equipment is sour mashing or kettle souring. A great place to start and given the wort is boiled, thus killing the souring microbes, it can be fermented in any fermenter with a clean ale yeast (I've had good results with both Nottingham and the Mangrove Jacks West Coast).

 

[jimmy86]

The only issue I have found with kettle souring is it is slightly one dimensional. You don't get the complexity of using different lacto strains the way you do in a ferment.
But on saying that a simple Gose with a kettle souring method is one of the best beers to drink on a hot day IMO. That's my house beer.
It is a good way to learn how to balance your sour beers also.

 

[Mardoo]

Willing to share your recipe? I had a couple goses (gosii???) and I reckon you're right about it on a hot day. Awesome!

 

[Jaded and Bitter]

I think the stygma of needing a whole set of separate brewing equipment for using lacto is ridiculous.

Lacto is everywhere already, especially if you use grains. Its in your mouth, everywhere!

If your sanitation is already keeping it out of your brews you should be able to clean it out of your equipment fine too. Soak with sodium percarbonate, rinse with star san etc.

I just use the same equipment and clean the beegeezers out of it as I always do.

I actually have bigger problems with airborn wild yeast at bottling than lacto (this was before I started using it as well).

 

[jimmy86]

Mardoo for my original kettle sours that I have made I used wyeast strains and followed methods previous posted on this site until I got the pH I was after but now as I have gotten busier in life I found an easy way to make a great quaffing Gose. I got the idea for this this technique out of BYO mag a few years ago.

For my last four batches of Gose that I have made I have been using acidulated malt for the lactic acid and adding it late in the mash to avoid raising the pH too high for the conversion of the other malts.

50% Weyermann Wheat
30% Weyermann Vienna
20% Weyermann Acidulated

8 to 9 IBU's using noble hops at 60 mins. Mostly I use Tettenanger but on the batch I am kegging tonight I used Summer hops in the hope I can achieve some stone fruit notes but with such a low volume I may be blowing wind up my own ass.

1gm Sea salt per litre (into the fermenter) Make sure not to use iodised salt. 5 mins from end of boil.

30gm Coriander seed ground in morter and pestle 5 mins from end of boil. ( Be aware that if you use your wife's small food processor to grind the coriander when your lazy may result in cracking the plastic bowl and your brewing will lose any credibility it had instantly)... I will add whenever she uses it now I still either get "the look" or a smart ass comment I don't think I deserve. h34r:

Mash the wheat and vienna for 60 mins at 64degC then add the acid malt for a further 30 mins.
Mash out and sparge as normal

I only boil this for 60 mins as I don't see the need to go longer with this beer.

Ferment with any neutral ale yeast, US 05 has been my last go to yeast with this beer also.

This beer probably wouldn't win any style comps but I love it and so does the wife.

Also wine drinkers like it too, as its not too beery. As if that's even a problem

 

[Mardoo]

Fantastic mate. Huge thanks for the detailed recipe!

 

[jimmy86]

Pleasure mate

 

[jimmy86]

Well the one kegged yesterday that used summer hops is helping the coriander shine and just seems more "sharper".
I am enjoying the change in the hops and can recommend using them.

 

[Ciderman]

For those who have made an unblended lambic, did you use the 3278 WYeast or a combination of Brett, lacto, pedio etc

 

[barls]

my one that i got third with was straight brett L and some dregs

 

[Ciderman]

Another sour question. I made a 25L batch of Flanders red with the #3763 Roeselare two weeks ago today. Ferment was slow to get going so I suppose it's been actively fermenting for 11-12 days. Gravity is sitting around 1.010 and I was thinking after 2 weeks I would rack to a glass carboy. It still has a 1-2cm Krausen on top of the beer. Do I need it to completely fall away before racking?

 

[barls]

nope do what you want,

 

[Ciderman]

Cool, might let it go a couple more days then rack it off.

 

[winkle]

Anyone think its worth having a Sour Beers wiki?

 

[Grainer]

If I did it again Id just use Rosemarie straight up as I would have preferred it more sour. Which is what I plan for my solera barrel next.

 

[JB]

There a new Sour Hour podcast out & vidcast too

 

[AJ80]

There a new Sour Hour podcast out & vidcast too

Cheers JB - my favourite podcast, although it's a little strange to see the faces behind the voices ;-)

Just finished up at GABS16 and there were some great sours on tap. The white Rabbit Flanders red was a real standout as were the two different Rodenbachs and Boon Kreik on tap (I really was spoiled!). The sour from Ferral was a real winner too.

A number of 'kettle soured' commercial sours were also on offer and, on the most, were surprisingly disappointing. Overly lactic and tasted like extreme sour cream / natural yoghurt. Real shame.

Edit: anyone else going along, make sure you hit up the Local Taphouse sour bar. Apparently their one keg of Cantillon will be tapped tomorrow night. Was rather disappointed it wasn't on offer tonight!! Get in early if tonight was anything to go by - the Rodenbach did not last long.