I’ve brewed a kettle sour orange gose that I’ll mix half and half with a pale ale. Really tasty. Sorta reminds me of a lagunitas Aunt Sally. Kind of a hoppy shandy without the sweet.
Cheers,
Ron
Do you think you could brew it as a single beer
I’ve been digging kettle sours, especially with the Omega Lacto blend.
I have been brewing for a long time and never tried a kettle sour. Read up a little on it and it sure sounds easy, how I like brewing. A couple of questions. Seems like there would be no reason not to split off 5 gallons of my usual 20 to try a kettle sour. Are they good enough I would want 20 gallons? Second what is everyone’s favorite? A Flemish ale sounded good to me but I see all kinds of sour IPAs and stuff.
You could split off a small portion to get your feet wet. I bottle them since its not something I drink all the time. Fin to brew though . I have lots o people to share them with.
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I kind of leaned toward the Flemish ale thinking it’s supposed to be sour so I could just do the entire batch. I tried some sours the traditional way years ago and was disappointed after the long wait. Over the winter I tried a Gose (wish I could remember the name) and it was great.
Friends helping wise, it depends on who and timing. Had a bunch of takers last weekend for Irish red and blew through five gallons. Sometimes it’s all me. The nice part about big batches is you can always set some aside and break out a keg later.
Another question. So you just short boil, cool a little then add the bugs. Just put the lid on your kettle?
EDIT: OK two questions. The lacto or whatever can be built up in a starter or will one pack sour more than five gallons?
One pack is plenty. There are some folks who use yogurt or Good Belly (pro-biotic juice) as well.
I pitch the bugs at about 100° and let it free fall; usually it’s tart enough after 36-48 hours. Some people will wrap their kettle with a heat wrap and keep it warm for a faster turn around.
If you’re splitting off from a 20 gallon batch, make sure you split off the wort before you add hops. Hops will kill the lacto.
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Good belly all the way no Ned for starters. Nok the pH down a bit with lactic acid pitch the good belly around body temperature. I tape the lid of my kettle and lid
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Probably could. Just kill the lacto (which I did anyway)and figure out a good hop schedule. Course the hops will stop the lacto anyway. If I kegged I’d just keep both separate and mix the pour; that way you can go more or less tart depending on your mood. I’ll betcha @porkchop would have some good ideas on this. Hopefully he’ll chime in.
Cheers,
Ron
I think porkchop hates us all. 
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Your harsh Unc… mean spirited…
Sneezles61
Nah he’s just sour
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Can’t speak for @porkchop but he helped me awhile back on a kettle sour. @hd4mark your process is how I did it via his help. I used good belly. Add some lactic acid to get to 4.5pH to avoid other bacteria that can grow and cause off flavors. Once tart enough (I waited 30 hours) boil it to kill lactic and add whatever hops you want. You’ll need a large healthy pitch due to the lower pH.
Here’s the original thread, with lots of information about Goodbelly:
I’ve been meaning to try this, as I’m slowly dipping my toe into sours (not literally… although that might even work).
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This place in my town got me interested in sours Every Beer OEC Brews is Absolutely Bonkers - Paste We got a private tour when doing some work for them the place is insane. They always have at least eight on tap along with 1/2 dozen guest beers. Sours cider and Mead exclusively
OEC brews… hhhmmm, are they the ones that Zwiller posted the address? If it was, they also have a shed/small barn for eis brews too? Sneezles61
Yes they do. It’s just a prefab storage unit that they pack with barrels over the winter. We built their greenhouse. B united imports beer in milk tankers from breweries all over the world and then fill wooden barrels for secondary fermentation and aging. The beer cellar is huge. OEC is the brewery and brews their own beers and also blends with some of the imported stock. Quit unique. Worth a stop if your out east. Bunch of breweries nearby.
That does sound very inviting. Sneezles61
Been neglecting this forum, but it sounds like y’all are on the right path anyways. But yeah, it’s a nice way to get a batch going to split off 3 or 5 gallons after you run off the wort, get it up to 170F or so, and then chill to 100 and add your goodbelly. The lab cultures are nice and all, but goodbelly is just way too convenient.
Regarding brett pale ales, go the 100% brett route and it won’t take much longer than a sacch fermentation. Lag phase is a bit longer, but you can be bottling or kegging in around a month if you start with a healthy pitch of yeast. Just watch the IBU, as brett can make a beer pretty tart and is usually a bit phenolic, neither of which go great with bitterness. I’m not a fan of the brett strains that make your beer smell like a goat’s arse, but Bootleg Biology has a couple strains that are pretty friggin’ incredible.
We’ve been waiting for Sour King PC to return, even for a brief posting! 
Sneezles61
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