Farmhouse Sour Ale

robcoombs · July 30, 2015, 08:10:29 AM

I didn't do a starter for a Flanders red I brewed. I remember reading it wasn't just because a certain strain may dominate but also the ratio of bugs in the packet would be upset.

I do get what you're saying about mixed cultures. The info out there isn't always consistent. And there are always guys going against the best advice out there and still producing great beer. So it's hard to know exactly what the "right" thing to do is. Try reading up on mash and brew techniques for a berliner weisse. There are so many any variables from the starter to mash to boil (or lack of) that it can take a lot of time to get a game plan.

jamie_savoie · July 30, 2015, 11:10:28 AM

When I get a yeast blend, I use it as fresh as possible and use it "as is" for the first time but then after that when I re-pitch it I have no clue what the proportions are but they still do what's they're suppose to. Sometimes its better, sometimes pretty much the same, sometimes not as sour. What I'm doing now for my re-pitch is I also add at the same time a fresh dose of lacto + sacc. My thinking is lacto is pretty much dead or just too low cells count after a year+ as opposed to brett and pedio who stay alive by feeding on unfermentable during aging

Last week I racked some 1 year+ old lambics into secondary with cherry juice, rhubarb and honeysuckle. I was stunned when I saw a blowoff mess 3-4 days later

robcoombs · July 30, 2015, 11:23:02 AM

Wow! A blowoff after that long. Impressive.

jamie_savoie · July 30, 2015, 01:06:25 PM

Quote from: robcoombs on July 30, 2015, 11:23:02 AM
Impressive.

not so impressive cleanup thought! I had fruits sticking to the celling lol

feldmann · August 13, 2015, 10:26:48 PM

I decided to rack it into secondary today. I'm not really doing this with any of my other sours, but because this blend is only sacc and lacto, theres no brett to eat the dead yeast so I was worried about autolysis. Its been about two and a half weeks and its down to 1.014. First taste test is pretty damn good, theres a good sour level but it doesn't overtake the saison yeast. I could probably bottle this right now, but I'm going to give it some more time.

robcoombs · August 14, 2015, 08:23:12 AM

I was wondering about transferring to secondary for a Gose I plan to brew very soon. Normally I only use primary unless I'm aging a beer long term. But sours are a whole different story.

feldmann · August 14, 2015, 03:58:41 PM

I debated it in my head for awhile but in the end I decided to just do it. It was at a sour level I was happy with and I don't think its going to go any lower on the gravity so I figured there probably wasnt any harm. My biggest regret was not purging the new carboy with CO2 but I guess thats a lesson for next time.

robcoombs · January 06, 2016, 08:59:42 AM

Curious how this turned out @feldmann

feldmann · January 06, 2016, 05:33:59 PM

It's still sitting in a carboy but it's on the top of my list to bottle once I get back home either this weekend or the next.

feldmann · January 25, 2016, 09:58:05 PM

Finally bottled this. It didn't get any lower than 1.014 and flavour hasn't changed a whole lot, but the sourness has become a tiny bit more mellow and clean.