I wanna make fruited sour beer, but I don’t wanna make it to hoppy because I’m not into the bitter notes it brings to the table. However I did get some hops that have a milder flavor when it comes to the bitter side. Is there any ingredients you can recommend a first time home brewer So I can make a really good super sour, not funky, not bitter, super fruity, Beer? I really like slushy xl, I enjoyed cranthrax ale I’m pretty new to beer since I hated it for a while until I had my first sour then I liked everything basically. I want something for the summer so it’s fruity and nice and reallllly sour but not funky as hell. Also it’s a 1 gallon batch. Any tips and tricks. I’m thinking 1 month maybe. And using probiotics to make it sour, I saw a pro brewer use good belly so I was thinking that.
Welcome to home brewing. Sounds like your talking kettle sour. Berries work nice. Kettle souring is easy once you know how to make beer. There are a few extra steps. @squeegeethree could probably find you a link with the process.
Kettle souring extract is easy! Bring your water to a boil and add the extract and get it dissolved. Boil it for 45 mins WITHOUT adding any hops. Chill wort to 100°-105° and pitch 1/2 container of Good Belly and wait about 12-18 hours. Once you hit your desired pH then bring it back to a boil for the remaining 15 mins to kill off the lacto. During this time you can add hops for flavor and aroma while avoiding bitterness. Chill and pitch 1.5 times the amount of yeast you normally would. The lower pH can prohibit fermentation.
I am a big fan of using fruit to sour. Every fruit is different and they are all sour when the sugar is fermented out. Most are pretty boring unless you go with a lot of fruit. I think the blood orange purée that our host sells is a good value in that 1 can will be tasted in 5 gallons.
I think that starting with a neutral malt base that is not roasted and keeping the hops on the very low bitterness side is an easy way to begin.
The best and most complex sours IMO come from active fermentation with mixed cultures and post bottling/kegging aging.
You can safely experiment with levels of sour by adding lactic acid to your finished beer.
