Sour Mash with WL655

[SmCranf]

I couldn't find much so I decided to post my experience sour mashing with 655. Yesterday around 5pm I made a starter and pitched 655 at about 90 degrees, kept it in the oven and when temps got low turned on the oven for a minute or two.

Updates to come, let me know if you have used this strain before!

 

[SmCranf]

This is the starter at about 12 hours, not much funk, smells a lot like an average fermentation.


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[SmCranf]

Still no funk, a week into the starter. I think the sach was the only thing multiplying. And after some research I think I messed up and wasted a yeast packet. Any help out there for still making a sour? I think I have come to terms with long term aging and dedicating equipment after this fail...

 

[TipsySaint]

it contains yeasties and beasties in it.....generally a starter isn't recommended for this type of yeast, because all these critters were added in a specific % to get an outcome. By making a starter you are favoring sacc...this mix could take 6 months to a year to finish up....IMHO a starter isn't needed or practical. Pitch what you have and see how it goes....

 

[Calder]

You made the sacc dominant when you made the starter. The blend will still work, but will take longer to sour, and may be less sour than it would be.

 

[SmCranf]

I brewed the old bruin today, pitched my starter. I think I will add some sour dregs in a weekish to help got my blend back even


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[DurtyChemist]

I brewed the old bruin today, pitched my starter. I think I will add some sour dregs in a weekish to help got my blend back even


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In two months buy a 6 gallon better bottle, rubber stopper and S type airlock and brew the same recipe ( or another) using the same bug blend (or another) and let it sit for at least six months before sampling. I brewed a Berliner Weiss using the Sour Mix 1 two months ago and it still isn't sour. I've decided it needs a year or more. Pelicle is just starting to form.

 

[SmCranf]

In two months buy a 6 gallon better bottle, rubber stopper and S type airlock and brew the same recipe ( or another) using the same bug blend (or another) and let it sit for at least six months before sampling. I brewed a Berliner Weiss using the Sour Mix 1 two months ago and it still isn't sour. I've decided it needs a year or more. Pelicle is just starting to form.

Thanks for this, I def think blending is in my future, not to mention maintaining my own house sour family now!



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[davejanssen]

Still no funk, a week into the starter. I think the sach was the only thing multiplying. And after some research I think I messed up and wasted a yeast packet. Any help out there for still making a sour? I think I have come to terms with long term aging and dedicating equipment after this fail...

Generally a sour mash is done with the intention of killing off/severely inhibiting everything other than lactobacillus so it is probably not a preferred thing to do with a mixed culture that you want to preserve. While 90F probably won't kill off your Sacch it will stress them out and may lead to some not-ideal flavor production and potential mutation/cellular expression changes. Perhaps you discovered this in your research, but I didn't see it mentioned anywhere in this thread so I thought I'd throw it in there.

I agree with others on here that growing up a mixed culture will differentially influence the various microbes in there. But using bottle dregs and/or ambient/wild starters would have a similar effect. I think it isn't awful to grow up mixed microbes and I have been happy with the results with my experience doing it. Letting the starter go a bit longer is probably a good call. Because these microbes are active at different parts of the fermentation and can metabolize different compounds, there is some forgiveness in changing the initial cell counts and ratios.

 

[SmCranf]

Thanks for all that info, it was my original plan to get a lacto only strain from my lhbs and use that but this was the closest they had at the time. I figured that the lacto would still grow at that temp, just like when people put unmilled grain in a sour mash, but it appears to only have ramped up the sach (kinda like when you turn up the temp on a saison and get those really yeasty notes) I wasn't too concerned with the taste of the starter so I figured it would be okay.


After pitching last night I have a solid krausen coming in!


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[SmCranf]

About 10 days later, still fermenting away. I also pitched some fermentable cider (OG 10.50) from a local cidery, in the starter container just because I can, and it is FUNKY.

I won't be tasting for awhile still, despite the urge to; guess I just need to brew more!

 

[SmCranf]

Update: Done fermenting with Sach, thinking about racking to secondary?

 

[SmCranf]

Update on update for those who maybe using the same yeast blend, starting to get some activity on topView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1418738639.556283.jpg


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[DurtyChemist]

Temps? Mine look nothing like yours.

 

[SmCranf]

Temps? Mine look nothing like yours.

Sitting around 64-72 on average, most the time in 66-70, maybe its the Wicked Weed dregs I tossed in. Any idea what that bacteria is? Its thickened up since I took the photo and there is ton of condensation on the inside.

 

[DurtyChemist]

Sitting around 64-72 on average, most the time in 66-70, maybe its the Wicked Weed dregs I tossed in. Any idea what that bacteria is? Its thickened up since I took the photo and there is ton of condensation on the inside.

I'd guess its the police forming. I just took another gravity reading and it's at 1.005 from October. I JUST got the same thin white layer on mine after sampling. Previously I had a couple white bubbles that were sitting on top. Mine is around 64-68 inside.

 

[SmCranf]

This is what it looks like now, its like an alien landscape haha View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1419792029.832963.jpg

 

[SmCranf]

Gotten thicker and grew some bumps since I last updated, photo coming soon.

 

[SmCranf]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1423799545.386604.jpg

 

[DurtyChemist]

Pitched in October. It's been sittin in the mid 60s in the guest room. The section in the middle was from pulling a sample a few weeks ago. 1.008 down from 1.032.

 

[SmCranf]

Thats some solid looking funk on top, hopefully mine grow up to look like that! When are you bottling?

 

[DurtyChemist]

Ummmm I was thinking around 8 months but Old Sock said once FG is stable I can bottle. I could keg then use my beer gun too. I'm just waiting for it to get sour.

 

[SmCranf]

Tasted mine this weekend, already tart, I'm kinda worried about letting it get too sour at this point, there is no funk however

 

[DurtyChemist]

Tasted mine this weekend, already tart, I'm kinda worried about letting it get too sour at this point, there is no funk however

I haven't tasted mine in a while. I'm letting it ride and I'm thinking of bottling it next month to use the carboy for another sour or quick turnover Weisse.