Sweet-Tart Sour?

[wolfej50]

My son is interested in making a sweet-tart sour, possibly with some fruit, e.g., raspberries. The research he's done indicates that one can't have a sweet-sour since the yeast converts all of the available sugars. However, I was wondering if mashing at a higher temperature (creating more complex sugars) might do the trick. Comments? Suggestions?

 

[Arrheinous]

There's a few ways to do it. You can blend a sour beer with a clean beer but unless the sour beer is pasteurized it'll sour everything. Mashing a beer at a higher temperature and using lactobacillus early on should get you sourness without sacrificing body - Brett and pedio will be the major players in drying out a thicker beer but there's sour blends without them.

 

[pdxal]

Another option would be a sour mash, then boiling to fix the level of sour and kill the souring bacteria. From there it can be made as sweet as you like.

 

[TastyAdventure]

Another option would be a sour mash, then boiling to fix the level of sour and kill the souring bacteria. From there it can be made as sweet as you like.

This is exactly what I was thinking. Sounds like a good idea. I need to try that. Never done a sour mash before though...

 

[Bosh]

Or be lazy and just use aciduated malt.

 

[Arrheinous]

You could just add lactic acid, even lazier than acidulated malt.

Adding raspberries/sour cherries and maybe using a Belgian yeast would amp up the complexity a bit since just acid malt or lactic acid tend to be a bit one-note.

But yeah, sour mash is probably the best way.

 

[TastyAdventure]

What's a good starting point for an amount of lactic acid to add straight to a 12 oz beer for taste testing?

 

[stpug]

What's a good starting point for an amount of lactic acid to add straight to a 12 oz beer for taste testing?

Drop, stir, taste
Drop, stir, taste
Drop, stir, taste

or you could try

Drop, drop, stir, taste

 

[Arrheinous]

Something like a gueueze will come in at a few tenths of a % lactic acid according to the Mad Fermentationist blog. My berliner weisse got 0.5 - 1% lactic acid IIRC to buff up a weak sour mash.

For 5 gallons:
(Fl. Oz. of 88% Lactic Acid to Add) = (Desired % Lactic Acid by Volume) x 640 fl. oz. / 88%