I don't know if this is normal or not, but I just bottled it anyways. I guess my question is; should I sit on this for a while or just go ahead and pour them out. The beer tasted kind of okay, but not like any sour I've had before.
How long was it in the bucket? What did you pitch? I'd keep the bottles for at least a few years and see how they develop. What's the harm?
I've used that before, though it was in a glass carboy. You should expect a pellicle, though that one is a little more intense than mine was. IMHO plastic buckets have high oxygen permeability and aren't the best choice for a sour beer. You probably got a lot of acetic acid and not so much lactic, and yes the extra O2 probably also encouraged that healthy pellicle. The beer will continue to develop for years, so keep it and open one every once in a while. Learn from the experience, do some reading (I recommend "Wild Brews" by Jeff Sparrow) and try it again!
You're good. Keep them out of light at cellar temps for years of aging. Try one every couple months or so and see where they go. As stated above, go with glass next time.
It looks identical to my Flanders in my top off bucket. The stuff in the barrel has a thin, wispy pellicle, but the stuff in the top off bucket looks identical to yours.
Wow, you really do like that acetic acid in your Flanders...think I'll use my purged Better Bottle just to get a little more sourness. Better yet, maybe I'll just keep it in the bucket like you did. somebody will drink it after the apocolypse : )
I was pretty shocked there was no acetic character in the barrel. Thankfully, the bucket didn't have that problem! Hostess and acetic Flander's party at my house to ring in the apocalypse.
