"sour/infected?" heffeweizen?

[inkblots]

Hey everyone. New here and this would be my first post.

MY buddy and I have been brewing together for a few years now and have a pretty good grasp of what we are doing for the most part. Havent had too may problems with any of our process until the last batch we did.

We graduated to 10 gallon all grain batches a year or so ago and all has been well. Last month he brewed a 10 gallon heffeweizen and ahd a pretty tough time getting it to ferment in our location. He just could not get it warm enough to really get the yeast going. Of course I do not have his notes and I am not too sure what yeast he even used, so I know whatever answers I may get may not help me out. Anyway, he just kind of let it go and has been sitting in a secondary for 6 weeks or so after 2 weeks in the primary.

I went over to his house the other night and we actually did a gravity on it. The og was 10.49 and one carboy fermented out to just about 10.10 and the other was about 10.14.

We tasted them both and they both taste identically sour to us. Almost a lemony soury taste. There is no mold growing or any noticeable mold growing anywhere.

He wants to dump it, but I wouldnt mind trying to save or experiment with it a bit. Since it tastes sour, someone mentioned throwing the dregs of a sour that we both enjoy into the carboy and let it ride. It sounds like a good idea, but I never heard of anyone doing that before.

I figured if that it could possibly work, I would dump 2 different sours in there and see what they can do.

Anyone have any clue as to whether this could work or not?

Anyone else have any takes on what we could do?

Really looking forward to hearing any replies. Thanks in advance!

 

[JLeuck64]

The one time I had a sour tasting beer at the same stage you are in right now... it tasted sour to the end. Nothing I tried made it taste better. Probably picked up an infection (wild yeast). I ended up pitching it...

 

[secondbase]

Unintentionally sour beers rarely turn out well. If you have the space and don't need the fermentor you can pitch some dregs in there and come back in a few months to check on it.

 

[GuldTuborg]

Some witbier yeasts create a slightly tangy tastae that could come off as sour, especially if the beer is really green and uncarbonated. I'd let it ride and see how it progresses for the next week or two. There may be nothing wrong with it. Or, if there is, and you have the space, there's no harm in adding extra dregs. Jolly Pumpkin and other breweries make soured hefeweizens, so it's not unthinkable.

 

[MannyEdwards]

I'd experiment with it. Think of it as a rare opportunity. Put 3 lbs of blueberries in one, and 3 lbs of raspberries, blackberries, or currants in the other. Cook them briefly to pasteurized them before pitching. If you have a wild sour yeast, it will take several months to mellow, so count on tying up those car boys for awhile.