advice on my souring method, plz

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readmypilot

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I brewed up this piloncillo dubbel the other day:

85% Belgian Pilsner
10% Mexican piloncillo sugar
5% Caramunich
Yeast: 1762 Belgian Abbey II
OG: 1.079

And now I want to sour a gallon of it (which I've never done before). Here's what I'm thinking:

1) Throw some cherries, a couple oak cubes, and a little DME into the bottom of a 1gal bottle
2) Pitch the dregs of a RR Consecration
3) Let the bugs have at it for a few days, effectively creating a starter
4) Rack my piloncillo dubbel on top of the starter
5) Hide it in the closet for a year

What do you think?
Should I let the "starter" go for longer than a few days?
Does it matter that Consecration is bottled with a wine yeast?

Thanks, guys!
Longtime lurker, first time poster.
 
I'd skip all the other steps and just add the dregs to the portion you want to sour. Wine yeast is only an issue if it is competing with another sacc strain, not a concern for secondary fermentation. You don't need to make a starter. I recommend adding oak last. It's easy to overdo and a year is a long time for a small amount of beer on even a few cubes. I usually boil my oak first to get some flavor out. If you want a beer to taste like fruit, add the fruit after the base beer is where you want it. Adding fruit early ends up with less fruit flavor. For a really good fruit sour, 1lb pet gallon is my minimum, 2 lbs per gallon is the standard, and I've used up to 3 lbs per gallon.
 

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