Made a Berliner last summer quick and easy pitching grains for a week to sour then boiling and pitching yeast. Went for it a different way this past weekend..... Normal brew day (boiled enough simcoe to keep IBU below 9) then pitched safale-05, a vial of white labs lacto, and dregs from 5 de garde bottles and love child #5 ( stir plate with starter for 3 days). Will try and maintain temp between 64-70 for duration. Anything else I should be doing or watching for? Want to try and hit pH of 3.4. I also would like to dry hop it when optimal pH is hit to stop the lacto from further souring. ( that sound right?) Anything else to watch for? parameters to hit? Suggestions?
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe that dry hopping will stop your lactobacillus. IIRC the alpha acids from hops are what inhibit lacto growth. Since dry hopping doesn't contribute any alpha acids, I don't think that will do anything to stop your souring. I've also read that it's best not to use high-alpha hops before the souring process because the alpha acids will inhibit the growth of the lacto. Simcoe is definitely high AA, but if you only boiled enough for 9 IBUs, then perhaps it may not be enough to make a difference.
Yeah the dry hop was a thought didn't really reasearch that one. Thought it would be the same principles as boiling hops prior to pitching everything to keep lacto in check. My approach to the simcoe was I had a tiny bit in the freezer and we try to keep the ibu under 15? No aged hops available. Just plugged in brew cipher and gave it a whirl. I came home today and the yeast is finally done going nuts. Hope everything else does its part.
I'm pretty sure (not 100% though) that dry-hopping will still result in AA contribution, but enough to stop souring? That would need a lot of dryhops I'd imagine! The amount of AA needed to stop Lacto really depends on the Lacto strain. I can't remember which one is what, but some strains will stop at about 3-4 IBU, and others well over 10 IBU.
Dry hopping should add lots of Alpha Acids. But they won't be isomerized. I have no idea if isomerization is important for lacto inhibition.
Just wanna make sure I didn't over due it with a nice 500ml addition of de garde dregs( Brett and bacteria) plus the lacto vial.
This attempt at a sour probably won't get as sour as you'd like as quick as you'd like, because you co-pitched everything. The AA you used won't be a big deal from the boil, although, the lactobacillus will probably have a smellier and less happy fermentation because of the AA in the wort(if it ever really gets going). Keeping your temp down won't help the lacto either. You may make an alright beer, but i suspect it won't get as sour as you'd like. Unless you age it much longer. Good luck.
I was debating letting the primary yeast go first then tossing in bugs. In the end I just threw it all in at the same time. Trial and error I guess. From reading the American sour book seems like everyone does it slightly different. I can definitely wait for a better pucker even though was hoping to have this ready for august latest. I like a sour bomb my wife not so much. Last year hit a pH of around 3.5-3.6 and that seemed to please everyone even the non sour lovers. This batch I also over shot my grains a bit purposely to make sure the bugs would have plenty of sugars to eat along the way. This hopefully will be more so of an imperial Berliner at around 5-5.6% abv.
I like letting the lacto work first, then boil and add the yeast. I'm sure your beer will end up fine, just let the taste determine when it's finished.
Oh I gotcha now. I did it that way last year. Normal brew day, no boil though, pitched 1/2 lb Pilsner, let it go at about 85-90 in the garage for a 6 days in July. Then brought it to a boil for 15min. Then cooled,pitched yeast. Grain to mouth about 3 weeks. Turned out fantastic.
Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to just repeat the same process that made a great beer. We all like trying new things and learning new processes. Its hard to blame anyone for wanting to do that.
