About using goodbelly for kettle souring?

[dkilday2]

Thanks for the reply @porkchop ! So what I will plan on doing is mashing like normal increasing temp to around 160 or so then chilling to pitch a Fourth or half carton of goodbelly which is roughly 4 to 8 oz? I will let it sour for 24 hours and reheat it to kill lacto before again chilling and pitching yeast of choice. I think I will go with sacc trois.

[porkchop]

Sounds perfect! 644 is a good choice. Any yeast will work, but 644 or a kolsch yeast really adds some character.

[deadwolfbones]

To back up what @porkchop said, I accidentally pitched a full carton into a 5 gal batch and the results were great. Probably more than I needed, but ultimately a very tasty beer!

[dkilday2]

Sounds good thanks for the replies! Just to be clear is the carton a 16 0z or 32 oz ? Also has anyone used the omega tropical IPA it seems like it is the same strain as 644 and looks like it will not require a starter based on the cell count. I will be fermenting at ambient temps on my basement around 66 degrees do you think with the increase in temp from fermentation that will be fine with this particular strain?

[loopie_beer]

The Omega Tropical IPA is similar to wlp644. 66° is pretty restrained for this strain. You could wrap your fermenter in a towel to help raise the temps.

Due to the low pH level you need more active healthy yeast. I re-read that you're only making 2gals so one package should be sufficient.

[dkilday2]

Ok that sounds like a good plan. I guess I could still make a starter but I was afraid that would technically be overpitching if I used the whole packet for 2 gallons. I wasn't really sure how to go about cutting it down for a smaller batch. I've also read that the fermwrap increases temperatures by around 10 degrees so would there be harm in using this without a controller and leaving it on? I have several of the thermometers that you stick on the sides of the bucket.

[deadwolfbones]

A Goodbelly carton is 32oz.

[mlclapp]

I see the no hops instructions ... If you are killing the lacto can you dryhop?

[voltron]

Yes. I've had some very tasty dry hopped kettle sours.

Edit: After you've killed the lacto, that is.

[porkchop]

Yep, works great. You can dry-hop regardless of whether you kill the lacto or not, as typically you sour the wort before fermentation and dry hop after fermentation. Hops inhibit the lactobacillus, so as long as souring is complete you can introduce any hops that you want. Just avoid high bitterness in a sour beer, as bitter and sour are usually not so awesome together.

[dkilday2]

So I am finally getting around to making this now that it is starting to warm up. Does anyone know around about how much lactic acid to use in a 2 gallon batch? In using dry extract and distilled water if that helps.
Thanks again

[dkilday2]

So I made this last night and wen to check it by taste this evening and their is a slight tartness but not much at all and I was wondering if this is normal or should I let it go longer? Was gonna wait and recheck it in the morning. I've probably used 3/4 of a container of goodbelly at this point so hoping that didn't mess it up. @porkchop seems to be the expert ha.

[porkchop]

Sorry, I missed your post the other day! I'd go to with 2ml lactic acid as a rough estimate to drop the pH before pitching, but it's completely optional.

Once the lacto drops the pH of the wort, it's not going to taste sour. Coke has a ridiculously low pH, but it's not sour because of all the sugar in it. Same thing with your wort at this point. It's acidic, but full of sugar. Think of it as a lemonade. Slightly tart is just right, by the time the yeast eat the sugar it'll be nice and sour. If you let it go too long, goodbelly can make it unpalatably sour, so you're probably just fine.

[dkilday2]

@porkchop thanks for the quick reply. I went ahead pitched my yeast. I didn't pre acidify I just opted for the 5 minute boil last night. I ended up adding three fourths a carton because I had added a little more before reading your comment so hopefully that want be too much since we should be fermenting soon. I plan on adding fruit and don't have a secondary vessel do you have any experience with fruit in the primary after fermentation?

[porkchop]

Sure, go ahead and add whatever fruit you want. Primary or secondary, both work just fine. Chopped, purée, juice, whatever you have. I'm a big fan of stone fruit and citrus in a basic lacto sour. Or add some cucumber and mint, or whatever strikes you with your favorite mixed drink. All kinds of options!

[dkilday2]

My primary fermentation has been going since Thursday and is starting to slow. I was going to try and bottle in about a week so my question is can I add the raspberries as fermentation slows or will this increase the abv quite a bit ? Is there an advantage over the Oregon fruit purée vs frozen thawed fruit ? @porkchop

[porkchop]

You can add raspberries now or wait until fermentation is done and rack it over the berries in secondary. Just be aware that raspberries tend to trap a lot of CO2 in them during refermentation, which can cause a big mess if you don't leave enough headspace.

I prefer frozen thawed fruit over the canned stuff as it just tastes better in my opinion. I've had the Oregon puree come out just fine, and sometimes there's a metallic, flat taste to it. Just smash the berries up a bit if you're using whole fruit. A week might be a little quick, though, and there will probably be a lot of fruit floating around assuming the yeast can get to all the sugars in them. I wait for them to turn white and start to fall, which can take around a month. Maybe quicker with a good cold crash. Puree should go faster, if you're ok with the flavor. Some people swear by it.

[dkilday2]

Ok thanks for the feedback! I may go the whole fruit route and add it to a sanitized Muslin bag. I was thinking a week so there would be a mild raspberry flavor but is there a concern for bottle bombs with just waiting a week?

[porkchop]

Probably not, but it's hard to say. Adding fruit won't really increase the ABV unless you use concentrate, but with the low pH it might take a bit longer for the sugars to ferment. If you want to package it as quickly as possible, wait a week, take a hydro reading, and take another a few days later. It'll probably be done, but you're running the risk of overcarbonation.

[dkilday2]

Ok that sounds like a good plan. I appreciate your help with this. Fermentation seemed to have stopped tomorrow I'm anxious to taste and see where we're at sourness wise.