Hi, folks. I have a question about souring. (apologies for the borg-cube of text, but I need to explain beforehand) I have a 5-gal batch of beer (RR COnsecration clone) and 1-gal of cider in with bug blend. The RR I brewed end of last summer, racked after primary slowed down and pitched a vial of White Labs bug blend. I didn't get any hint anything was happenning, so when I did the cider, I used the Wyyeast smack pack, half into the cider and half into the beer. The cider went well, with a nice pellicle forming within a few weeks, but the beer took longer. Finally around beginning of March it started and by mid month it was a nice coating across the surface. My main questions are: 1) is it unusual for it to take that long to form on the beer, and 2) how will I know when it's ready? I keep reading about how you don't want to disturb the pellicle once formed, but do I break through for a sample now and again, or will it do something to say it's done? Thanks.
Some people never have pellicles form. Supposedly pellicles may drop when beer is finished, although in my limited experience, the pellicle has never dropped (1 Year+). It can reform if broken (mine broke and reformed about 12 times after barrel topping up sessions). I would use taste and stable gravity as metrics for finished beer.
As barfdiggs stated, you don't always get a pellicle. On both my Lambics, no pellicle. On a split batch of Blonde Ale, one carboy (blackberry) got a nice thick pellicle, the other (mango) didn't ever get one. Sometimes it is caused by the amount of oxygen in the head space. The blackberry has a light vinegar note and the Mango and first Lambic have no acetic acid at all. I get into my sours every other month or so until they near the end then maybe every few weeks. Pellicle always reforms.
1.) Maybe because you pitched equal parts smack pack into unequal volumes? half pack into 1 gallon of cider half pack into 5 gallons of beer Just first thing that came to mind is all.
I can see it taking that long. Bugs act on their own accord a lot of times. Plus by waiting until primary fermentation was done you created an unfriendly environment for the bugs. Some might have died off with the alcohol. Not saying this is bad, as this is not unusual way to do it. Personally, I add the bugs with the primary yeast, I like my bacteria and what not to get a strong hold. No worries on disturbing the pellicle, you just don't want too much oxygen introduced. I have disturbed the pellicle by moving carboys, adding fruit, taking samples, and even transferring. The pellicle always comes back. I do as the other posters have said, taking a sample every few months at the beginning and more frequently when I feel it is shaping up. Another tip I have is wait a long time for it to condition in bottles. When fresh I sometimes get a dirty diaper/funky smell, but this wears off after about 2-3 months in the bottles. I don't always get this but sometimes do. I think I get this when I might have introduced too much oxygen (had trouble when bottling some berry sours)
I had pitched a full vial into the beer, then after not getting any hint of activity for a few months, when I did the cider, I didn't want a full pack into 1 gallon, so I did some, and the rest into the beer. I don't know if it was that pack that gave me the actrivity / pellicle, or the older one, or a combination orf the 2.
