Berliner time.. Bring me your best.

That's sweet , you go to Augusta every year? Prediction?

 

Sorry to horn in on the OP's thread, but I had an idea that I wanted to see if you all thought would work.

Would a no-sparge, no boil Berliner be possible? Add grain, add total water amount (desired batch size plus grain absorption amount), mash as normal, drain into the fermenter, wait for wort to cool to Lacto pitching temps, pitch Lacto, wait a week (or however long) at high temps, add yeast, ferment out, then package? I realize efficiency would suffer because of the no sparge bit, but not dragging out the kettle, burner, and propane tank is awfully tempting...

Thoughts?

Edit: I guess, for sanitation purposes, you could mash normally and then sparge/mash out at a high enough temperature to pseudo-pasteurize mash/wort before pitching Lacto.

 

Agreed on Day. Needs to rest his wrist, but he was my prediction coming into the year.

 

@FATC1TY did you check your gravity before boiling?

 

Yes, I've done this multiple times with good success. It's a quick hour to hour and a half job.

 

So, do you just mash with your full batch size (plus grain absorption amount, dead space amount, etc.), drain your tun, pitch lacto, and then your yeast? Do you mash out to kill everything bad first before draining? I would love more details if you're willing to provide them. Thanks!

 

You'll want to mash out as normal. Get it as close to 170 as you can. Other than that, I think you've got the basic process covered.

 

Mash 60 minutes with full batch size, mash out at 170, cool to around 110, pitch lacto, keep it hot (most important step) for around 3-4 days, pitch yeast, bottle

 

This thread got me curious and excited to try this. On Sunday I mashed, then threw it in a bucket with some grain and a heating pad wrapped around the bucket. Tuesday, it started bubbling at a good pace and the bubbling stopped today. It tastes great so far. But I was wondering, does anyone know if boiling it would have some effect on the lactic acid? I'm just curious if that would change the flavor in any way. Because I really do like it the way it is now.

 

Thanks, I'll probably end up boiling it. It just seems like I'll have less to worry about with a boil. If this ends up as well as I think it will, I'll probably be brewing a lot of these in the future.

 

I asked because I use the same method and usually add DME after souring to boost my gravity just a little because as you probably know the lacto from grains makes the lactic acid without making alcohol.

 

What if a wild yeast culture also grew from throwing in the grains to get the lacto growing? So then the lacto and yeast completely ate all the sugars. And since the lactic acid messes with the hydrometer reading, would the best way to determine if this possibly happened be to simply taste a sample?
I think I know the answer to my own question, and I hope you understand what I'm asking. I think it is a possible scenario. I'm just curious, because boiling after fermentation is completely finished, would result in no alcohol being present. So this may be a problem if you aren't careful and sample it.
But then this could also be an answer to your low 2% abv berliner. Brew 2 batches and boil one after fermentation to remove the alcohol, then blend the 2 batches.
Sorry for the long rambling post, but I had to bounce these thoughts off of someone.

 

Exactly my thought, although the chance of it happening seems small, potentially you could end up with an alcohol free beer. That's what made me curious about the possibility of a very low abv berliner. Would you think boiling one batch after complete fermentation, then blending it with another normal berliner, may be a real option? Are there many potential problems or unwanted results by doing this?