Beer Forum

I've been listening to quite a few of the archives with topics on sour beer fermentation. Everyone agrees that you really should have separate equipment for those beers, but I haven't heard anyone mention anything about a separate fermentation box. I use a chest freezer and I'm probably overcautious about fermenting a sour beer in there since it has rubber gaskets and scratches, etc. On an early Sunday Session episode w/Vinnie, he said the Belgian brewers producing sour beers don't really get the bugs from outside the brewery but they are coming from the interior rafters/ceiling or from blending a certain % of already innoculated beer to keep the bugs going. Whenever their roof needs replacing they just add onto the top and leave the inside alone to keep the bugs around.

I have no problem dedicating carboys, tubing, wine thiefs, etc to my sour beers but I just want to make sure I won't have to go out an buy a new chest freezer to do the same.

Perhaps my real issue is that I don't understand how lacto/pedio/brett travel to "contaminate" liquids. How long can they stick around before dying on their own? How effective are the sanitizers common to us homebrewers, etc? What cleaning/sanitizing regimens work for you? Should I really be this worried?

If this has been covered before just call me an asshole.

I've just pitched a pLambic and a Brown Ale next to each other underneath my stairs. At this stage they both only have an ale yeast grown up from a 6-pack of beer.

But before I leave on Saturday, I'll be inocculating my pLambic with a 500ml starter from a Cantillon bottle.

I've just made sure the Brown Ale has a tight seal and an air lock to ensure nothing can get into the fermenter. This is slightly different to my regular ferment. I've been experimenting with just some glad wrap over the fermenter top, or a bottle top over the hole where the air lock goes to reduce pressure inside the fermenter.

I'd say as long as inside your fermenter is cleaned and sanitised properly and you keep it well sealed, you will be okay. I may have a differing view in 8 weeks.

I will ferment sours in the same chest as regular beer with no problems. I segregate plastics only, even though on occasion I have used my regular wine thief to sample a sour, etc. Most of the wild bugs are just as susceptible to the common sanitizers as regular yeasts. If you practice good sanitation for all of your beers you shouldn't really have any problems.

Cheers!