2nd Lacto Additon during secondary?

[MeanDeuce]

I've currently got a YB Farmhouse Sour working in primary on a saison and am getting close to planning the transfer to secondary (been in primary since brew day on 1/2). I'm going to measure pH and gravity here shortly to see how things are coming along. If my acidity is not where I want it to be, is there any benefit in culturing up some additional lacto from yogurt using DME and adding it to secondary? I was planning to secondary on some peaches for a few months before bottling which would give the added and existing bugs some sugars to munch on.

additional stats:
Batch Size: 3 gal
OG: ~1.050
IBU: 10
Mash Temp: 154*

 

[jnacey]

So, I'm going to guess that you'll likely have a low level of acidity on this one for two reasons:

1) It was a blend that was pitched together so the lacto didn't have exclusive access to sugars without the sacc getting into the way. The lacto will likely continue to chew on anything left, but it will be pretty slow.

2) Your IBUs may be a bit on the high side for one or more of the lacto strains in that blend.

It might be fine for your tastes, but it likely won't be super tart. I wouldn't add any more lacto unless you think what's in there is dead for some reason. Aging on an acidic fruit like peaches or apricots will accentuate the sourness.

 

[MeanDeuce]

Yeah only testing will tell, but just based on the huge lag I experienced I'm just anticipating its not going to be very tart. That's why I was thinking of bumping the lacto population to compete with the remaining sacc in secondary for the peach related sugars.

I'm not opposed to it getting pretty sour, but was curious if added the extra was a waste of time in the first place.

 

[feinbera]

Lacto's probably just not the bug you're looking for – alcohol, hops, and a lack of simple sugars are all gonna make it tough on the little guys.

If you're not opposed to waiting nine to twelve months, you could pitch some pediococcus, which will chew on dextrines and spit out lactic acid, and some brett, to clean up the diacetyl and exopolysaccharide "sickness" the pedio will also kick out.

Ninja edit: dregs from commercial sours are a good source of pedio and brett that are hardy enough to keep souring an otherwise "finished" beer, long as the bottles are fresh-ish and were stored well. Plus, they come with a delicious sour beer to drink!

 

[MeanDeuce]

You're prob right, based on the process for this beer, lacto isn't the answer. I'm probably going let this one roll as-is without adding more variables to see what the end result is and then tweak from there. Gotta learn somehow right? But its good to hear feedback on other things to consider along the way for future brews.

Don't want to go down the brett/pedio path just yet. All in due time......

 

[chefchris]

dregs would probably be a better option for you. You could try Jolly Pumpkin, no pedio in that and they have a very hardy lacto strain in there.

I've got a Flanders Red with De Bom that's not sour enough (4 pH) so I'm adding tart cherry fruit concentrate. I have a culture of L. Brevis around so I also pitched some of that in there a couple days ago but I haven't checked it to see if the pH is dropping.

 

[kingwood-kid]

Saisons are delicious when not soured, so even if the lacto was a total dud, all is not lost. If you prefer it sour, you can buy some acid (lactic, citric, malic, tartaric or a blend) at your LHBS for about $2. You won't need anywhere close to the whole bag, but it's useful for hitting your mash pH in almost any beer.

 

[MeanDeuce]

I measured the gravity yesterday, sitting around 1.005, so primary is pretty much done. Will see what the pH looks like in a week or so and decide if I need to add acid or just let it ride on the peaches.