Yeast for a Berliner Wiesse

[azazel1024]

So, I am planning on brewing one up in a few weeks using a sour mash. Any ideas on a yeast to use (targetting 1.035OG). I was thinking a Kolsch yeast originally, but now I am kind of leaning towards plain old S-05. It attenuates well and at lower fermentation temps is pretty clean.

Thoughts?

First time making this style or doing a sour mash.

 

[berebrando]

Check out the wild brewing section. You will probably get more responses to this question.

 

[beergolf]

If you are not locked in on your recipe, then there is another option.

Wyeast Private collection yeasts is offering a yeast for a Berliner Weisse yeast this quarter.

http://www.wyeastlab.com/vssprogram.cfm?website=2

 

[youreanimpulse]

I highly recommend pitching a Lacto strain or blend (I use yogurt) into wort rather than doing a spontaneous sour mash. You will be happier with the result. As for yeast, I like Belle Saison for a dry yeast that is clean, high attenuating and good in a low ph. US05 may crap out at low ph, so if you use it, pitch a generous amount. Kolsch is classic, 100% Brett is awesome. Lots of room in this style for creativity.

 

[Calder]

Personally I wouldn't use a commercial Berliner Weisse yeast. It mixes lacto and yeast and chances are it will take a long time to get the sourness you want.

I have never used grain/sour-mash. Many have used it with great success. From what I understand, to have success, you need to exclude O2 (clingfilm over the surface should do it), and incubate at over 100 F (it might be higher) to prevent clostridium from being very active. I have always used a pure lact to sour.

Use any yeast you want. The most important thing to remember is that you need to pitch big ..... really big. Two, three, or even four times your normal amount. The low ph is hostile to yeast and you will not get much reproduction, so you need to pitch high to ensure enough cells to get the job done. A fresh yeast cake would be perfect.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Magic trick is after your normal conversion rest, reduce temp to 110, then drop the pH to 4.5 with lactic acid, and then start your sour mash. The pH drop inhibits the enteric bugs and gives you a much cleaner, tastier, more predictable result.

And then I like Wyeast 1007/WLP036.

I don't have the citation on hand, but I read an experiment that found there's something about that strain that it seems to work best with the acidity of a Berliner. I want to say that was for a no-boil beer or pure culture beer but it ended up more sour. May not have the impact when using a sour mash followed by boil (the way I do it at least), but it's what I've used with great success.

 

[Hanso]

And then I like Wyeast 1007/WLP036.

I don't have the citation on hand, but I read an experiment that found there's something about that strain that it seems to work best with the acidity of a Berliner. I want to say that was for a no-boil beer or pure culture beer but it ended up more sour.

That's directly from Jess Caudill of Wyeast. Here's the NHC presentation from a couple years ago. Good stuff. http://youtu.be/_hClp9huB1M

 

[badlee]

I second the Belle Saison option.
I have had great results letting a starter of Lacto Brevis go first for about a week,then pitching the Belle

 

[pdxal]

FWIW I've had great success with sour mash BIAB using grains to innoculate, keeping the pot on a heating pad with the lid on, and the boiling to sterilize/set the level of sourness and fermenting with US-05.

 

[pdxal]

double post

 

[azazel1024]

Thanks all!

I did get the ingredients this past weekend and decided on S-05 and a sour mash. I am still putting together my heater (paint can + incandescent bulb) for my fermentation chamber, but I should be able to keep my flask at 100F or so for the 24-48hrs I should need to get a good sour mash.

I plan on using a bit of seltzer added to the flask with an airlock to hopefully drive off all of the O2 from the flask once I've mashed and innoculated with the uncrushed malt.

I plan to try to brew this the weekend before my "big spring break brewing" as I am nervous about the sour mash working out. My fall back is hitting up the LHBS and just adding in lactic acid to sour if I need to, though I'd prefer not.

I am not quite ready to use lacto directly in my carboy or bret for that matter. Soon, but not yet. I also am hoping to have this ready for drinking pretty quickly and from everything I have read, even Berliner Wiess blends might need a couple of months on the low end to really be ready for bottling/get desired sourness.

On the S-05, since I am shooting for an OG of 1.035 and 5 gallons, is a single packet okay? Oh should I be going for a lot more? Not sure if I'll be able to get another one before brew day, but I can easily enough make a starter if I need to, to double up on yeast.

I've heard not to use more than 15% sour mash added to the main mash to keep PH from dropping too low...is it possible to add some after the mash/end of the mash? Or is that a bad idea? I'd think the worst I'd see is the beer being TOO sour or maybe the PH dropping too low for the yeast.

Right now I am planning on mashing 1lb of pale 2-row and souring that and my main mash is going to be 5.5lbs 2-row, .5lb Caraviena (24L) and .75lb carapils which gets me just a hair under 15% sour mash to main mash (not including the ~2-3oz of uncrushed 2-row I had to innoculate the sour mash with).

Add it all to the main mash once soured? Add half and the rest later? Add it all near the end of the mash?

Thanks!