So I brewed a sour ale (no particular style) last night. I ended up with a lower than anticipated OG and in turn the IBUs are a lot higher than I would have wanted (I'd wager they are close to 30). Should I add some more fermentables to the wort?, (I pitched more than enough cells to deal with more sugars). I ask this because I've heard some of the bacteria won't work in high IBU environment. Please let me know my best course of action. Thanks
Flanders red and brown ales have IBU levels up to 25, 30 IBUs in your beer should not inhibit the bacteria.
Nope. Post-boil the IBU's are pretty much set. What might go up and down is your perception of them...like if you add a bunch of sugar post boil. Also, not all bugs are inhibited by high IBU's. What exactly did you pitch into you wort?
ECY20 , I think there are 15-16 strains in it. I just didn't want to throw it out of whack, too late for that
If you're concerned, post your complete recipe. You might be ok....like od_sf said, some sours have higher IBUs.
my recipe was like 10# 2 row 1#light munich 1#light wheat 1# C-60 1#flaked oats I was expecting about 75% efficiency (1.068) ended up w/ 60% (1.055) so IBUS went up. I bittered w/ 2 oz of 2012 Glacier hops original AA was 5.5% (frozen in original vacuum package). I originally thought the AA would be cut in half because they were so old, but based on the little research I did this AM it seems like they still might be 75-80% viable. If they were 80% viable AA-wise I'm up over 30IBUS if they were cut in half I'd be around the 20 I intended for. A lot of moving parts in the scenario, truthfully I have no idea what I was working with for viability of the hops
In terms of OG and IBU's, you're at the upper end of the range for a Flanders Red....not sure if that's what you were going for here. But your numbers aren't extreme. I say let it ride and don't worry. ECY 20 seems like a killer blend that will eventually give you a complex sort of sour beer. It'll probably be pretty damn good on its own. And even if you don't like the end result you should keep the batch for blending purposes/ aging on fruit/ et al.
