Beer Forum

Ok so last weekend I brewed a belgian wit based on JZ's wit. I brewed enough to have 5 gallons of the wit fermented with WLP400 and 2.5 gallons with the same yeast and Lacto to finish it out. Problem is I can't get Lacto at the moment. B3 is out until the 18th or so, and the LHBS doesn't stock bugs, but will order it (it would get here either this friday or next friday). I do have another local shop that has B. lambicus and I think maybe the belgian sour blend.

I'm not looking for any Brett character, just a clean tartness. So should I try the Belgian sour blend or wait until I can find some Lactobacillus? I'm worried that the other bugs in the sour blend my add some flavors that I'm not looking for. I really don't want to add lactic acid for souring.

Nevermind about what I should do I found the Lactobacillus from the other great sponsor Northern Brewer.

Still has anyone else tried something like this before?

Not intentionally.

At the end of May I kegged a Kiwit I brewed from Sam Calagione's book. It was slightly sweet and spicy. I shipped off some I had bottled to a contest before I left for NHC. I sampled it yesterday to find that I had a carbonated dry white wine in my keg. WTF?

I'm gonna get one of those "You should taste this before you send it" comments on the judging sheet. . . I hate those comments.

How did the lacto wit turn out? I like the idea

Right now there is not much sourness, but it has some tarness. It's still only a week and half on the lacto right now. The base beer attenuated fairly well so there's not too much for the lacto to chew up, but I'm hopeful for a nice slightly tart thirst quencher.

oneal66 wrote:Right now there is not much sourness, but it has some tarness. It's still only a week and half on the lacto right now. The base beer attenuated fairly well so there's not too much for the lacto to chew up, but I'm hopeful for a nice slightly tart thirst quencher.

That's sounds awesome. I wouldn't want an outright sour wit. That tartness sounds like it would really help the beer along. Nice work.

Another option would be to use a sour mash. I know Graham Sanders does one for his (in)famous tropical flower wit. A local pub here also makes a sour saison by sour mashing. The benefit is that you can turn one out much more quickly than waiting for the lacto to sour the post-fermentation brew.

There are a whole bunch of lovely lacto bugs, in a nice pure strain, floating around in the juice that collects on top of a tub of natural yoghurt. Use a spoonful from a freshly opened tub, into bit of a starter - let it sour overnight at 30°C or so and that will be lots of bugs for your beer.

For next time anyway

TB