Kettle sour, 3.2 pH after 24 hours but not sour??

[WI_Wino]

I'm in the midst of my first kettle sour attempt. I brewed up a batch on Saturday (4 lbs wheat, 4 lbs 2-row, 1 lb vienna). mashed at 152'ish for an hour, chilled to 85F, transferred to a bucket, and pitched a 1 liter start of Omega lacto blend. Initial pH was 4.8-5. After 24 hours pH was 3.2. But it didn't taste sour at all. Kind of grainy and sweet. I'm going to check again tonight and probably boil it up regardless. But was hoping someone had experience or ideas.

 

[Agate]

It won't taste sour, as it's chock full of sugar. Kind of like how soda doesn't taste sour, even though the pH is really really low. It should taste like a lemonade at this point. Once the yeast ferments the sugar, it'll be nice and tart.

 

[WI_Wino]

Ok, that's a good point. Didn't think about all the sugar in there. Gravity was 1.044 after the mash.

 

[Agate]

Perfect! Should be delicious. Just think about how sweet wine must is, despite the low pH.

 

[CA_Mouse]

After fermentation it will be tart/sour. Also after carbonation it will pop on the tartness a little as well.

 

[WI_Wino]

Measured again, still around 3.2 pH. SG still at 1.042-1.044. Taste this time though was definitely sweet and sour. Bringing to a boil! Smells like apple cider actually.

 

[SanPancho]

how long did you let the starter go for before pitching? just normal DME starter or any special mix?

 

[redllama]

We use Omega Lacto blend at our brewery and you really do not get the "sour" notes until after fermentation and carbonation. I will say that it comes out as more of a tart flavor to me as opposed to sour but it makes a damn good berlinner type beer. We generally stop at a ph of around 3.4 so you should expect some good things.

 

[rnm410]

Measured again, still around 3.2 pH. SG still at 1.042-1.044. Taste this time though was definitely sweet and sour. Bringing to a boil! Smells like apple cider actually.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=acetobacter

 

[WI_Wino]

how long did you let the starter go for before pitching? just normal DME starter or any special mix?

About 24 hours. Standard starter, used 100 grams of DME for a 1 liter starter. Kept in a warm closet.

I mashed late Saturday evening and pitched the lacto then. So it ran about 48 hours before I started to boil.

 

[WI_Wino]

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=acetobacter

Are you implying apple cider smell is from acetobacter? Not being a jerk, curious.

Definitely doesn't smell like vinegar. My wife thought peach cobbler when she came into the garage.

 

[CA_Mouse]

Are you implying apple cider smell is from acetobacter? Not being a jerk, curious.

Definitely doesn't smell like vinegar. My wife thought peach cobbler when she came into the garage.

The Kettle Sour that I did last week smelled like Brisk lemon tea. It tasted slightly of black pepper, tea and mango. pH was 3.7 before I boiled. I just took the first post fermentation gravity reading today, but didn't take a pH reading. It tasted like tart mandarin oranges and had an aroma of fresh tangerine peel. 90/10 2-Row/Flaked Barley, pitched 80B cells of Lacto P at 100*F and maintained about 95*F for 48 hours. I boiled with Belma hops that smelled of lemon tea and pepper.

 

[WI_Wino]

Post boil it is very sour. I added a half ounce of hallertau at 60 minutes. estimated ibus at 7.

 

[mitchard]

Interesting. I haven't had the perceivable tartness become more apparent after the boil before. Usually it doesn't start becoming more noticeable until the sugar begins fermenting out. Even then, carbonation makes it feel even more pronounced.

 

[WI_Wino]

I did a full sixty minute boil so reduced the water volume by 15% or so. I'm assuming the acid doesn't boil off so it got more concentrated. I should have taken a pH reading after the boil.

 

[mitchard]

I started reading into it last night. Boiling drives off co2, reducing carbonic acid, which raises the pH. I've seen a slight increase in pH after short boiling my kettle sours, but i'll need to check my notes later for the exacts. I'm not sure about the effects of concentrating the wort when it comes to pH... looks like I need to keep reading.