Krusen/pellicle ?'s

[Arg1129]

I want to start a Flanders red but am afraid to use my only 6.5 carboy. Do sours have high krausen or can I use a 5 gal and just know ill lose a little to trube? I am just curious as to how much headspace sour beers need while fermenting.

 

[microbusbrewery]

I've only used Roeselare in my Flanders Reds. All but one (an older blend) took off pretty aggressive and pushed up through the airlock of 6 gallon Better Bottles.

 

[dcp27]

sour beers still need yeast so there will be a normal krausen

 

[sweetcell]

sour beers still need yeast so there will be a normal krausen

to elaborate on that: you do a primary fermentation with a saccharomyces (brewers) yeast, then once they've finished the bugs take over and sour over many months. the second phase will not produce krausen. so you could do your initial fermentation in the big vessel, then transfer to a smaller vessel.

 

[Arg1129]

Thank you for the replies I guess I'll follow it up then with; Should I worry about my glass carboy becoming a tank that can only ferment sours or is it possible, and easy, to clean out the nasties for my regular beers?

 

[dcp27]

Thank you for the replies I guess I'll follow it up then with; Should I worry about my glass carboy becoming a tank that can only ferment sours or is it possible, and easy, to clean out the nasties for my regular beers?

I re-use the same equipment for clean/sours all the time. a hot soak in a good cleaner like PBW and then using star-san should be all you need. you definitely don't need to designate it, especially being glass

 

[sweetcell]

glass can be used for both, if cleaned and sanitized properly. plastics, not so much (yes, someone will chime in that they do it... i don't doubt that they are the exception, but why risk a batch of clean beer for the price of some plastics that should be replaced periodically anyways? brew for a year with plastics then replace, and retire the old stuff to sour/wild duty).

 

[dcp27]

plastics, not so much (yes, someone will chime in that they do it... i don't doubt that they are the exception, but why risk a batch of clean beer for the price of some plastics that should be replaced periodically anyways? brew for a year with plastics then replace, and retire the old stuff to sour/wild duty).

that seems like a waste to use plastics for only a year and then retire them (unless of course you're doing enough sours/wilds that its no loss). if it's gotten pretty beat up sure, but a bit overkill to designate them just cuz they hit some term of use.

the first time I re-used plastics for sours I thought it was a risk, after going back n forth for 2 years I don't even give it a second thought anymore. of course segregating is safer, but it's not a necessity if you clean/sanitize properly

 

[sweetcell]

i don't think that replacing plastic after a year is a waste. plastic is porous. no cleaner, not even bleach, can get all the way into every nook and cranny. for me it's insurance. i'd hate to find out that after 6 months of aging, my $80 batch of cherry-aged dubbel is ruined because i kept using the same plastics.

i realize it's one of those primary vs. secondary type things. it's not a debate we're going to settle here - our systems are working for each of us

 

[Arg1129]

Well sorry for asking a topic with as much controversy as using a secondary. Maybe I'll just throw down for a plastic bucket fermenter or better bottle for sours. At least I now know a bit more on what I'll need to start down the sour path.

 

[sweetcell]

Maybe I'll just throw down for a plastic bucket fermenter or better bottle for sours.

be aware that plastic buckets do let a little O2 through, so long aging in a bucket can result in a very acidic beer. might work for a really sour flanders red, but otherwise the sour will likely be too much. it's generally advised to use better bottles or glass for extended aging.

 

[eastoak]

i'm another mixer of sour/clean gear. sour bugs are not immune to cleaners and i have yet to have a cross contamination in the 2 years i've been using my plastic fermentors for both clean and sour fermentations. i guess my answer to the OP is do whatever is comfortable for you but it is possible to clean off sour bugs.