Question about pH testing and souring

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by ontheterrace, Aug 15, 2017.

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  1. ontheterrace

    ontheterrace Initiate (0) Oct 20, 2016 New York

    Recently read this article: https://www.hopculture.com/how-to-use-a-ph-meter-for-homebrewing/

    Quote of interest:
    While homebrewers like Marshall will use the kettle sour method, in which a beer is soured and then inoculated with yeast, professional brewers do things a bit differently.

    “We let the saison and Brett express themselves first,” says Mike Makris, the Cellar Manager at The Rare Barrel, a legendary sour brewery in California. Markis then takes a portion of that beer — called the base beer — and places it in a barrel with a mixed culture of bacteria that will produce a sour beer. The other portion, generally 30 percent of the batch, will continue to ferment without becoming sour.

    “I like to use the analogy of a spice rack,” says Makris, referring to the barrel program at Rare Barrel. “We’ll take a look at these beers every 2 to 4 weeks, depending on what we’re aiming for. Each batch has roughly 18 barrels, and we’ll designate 2-4 from which to pull pH samples monthly.”

    Once the sour beer is at an acceptable pH and taste level, Makris will combine sour and base beer for bottling. This holds especially true for dry-hopped sours....

    Question:
    Do any of you use the more advanced method when brewing a sour? Makris then goes on to say that some homebrewers he knows produce a 5 gallon batch and then sour 50% and keep 50% as a base beer for blending. I don't have a ton of room for homebrewing so I'm asking if the effort/space required is worth it. I don't own a pH tester currently, but I'm going to pick one up for my first sour...
     
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