Brian's Bawdy Berliner Batch 1

[jivex5k]

Ok, yes, I adore alliteration, it always assuages annoying afflictions. Anyway...
I'm going to review my own beer here because:
1. I'm bored
2. I want to show off a bit
3. Um...reasons?

So here is batch 1:

Appearance:
Very light golden color. Head is effervesent, very lively. Slightly hazy but not fully opaque. Very slight lacing, doesn't stay long and slides down glass, though it constantly stays at a 1 finger level.

Aroma:
Slight aroma of blue cheese. Lacto tartness very present. Subtle sweetness on the back end, as you get used to the tartness however the aroma seems to disappear entirely.

Taste:
Initially sweet taste on the tip of tongue followed by a huge sourness immediately afterward. Finish is slightly tart and a hint of sweetness.

Mouthfeel:
Pretty thick, definitely a full body on this. Maybe a bit too thick for the style but it seems to fit in nicely.

Overall:
Solid first attempt I'd say, though a bit too full in body and plain on the finish. This should serve well as a base for racking to fruit, especially if it is a bit thinner.

[Inkleg]

Man-o-Man, that sounds great. I can't wait for these to be on the local shelves.

Still trying to find a way to hold high temps so I can sour mash one.

[jivex5k]

Man-o-Man, that sounds great. I can't wait for these to be on the local shelves.

Still trying to find a way to hold high temps so I can sour mash one.

You don't need to worry about the heat according to the big thread about them on BA. Just takes a bit longer to sour is all.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/t ... st-2438124

[BigPapaG]

Man-o-Man, that sounds great. I can't wait for these to be on the local shelves.

Still trying to find a way to hold high temps so I can sour mash one.

You don't need to worry about the heat according to the big thread about them on BA. Just takes a bit longer to sour is all.
http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/t ... st-2438124

Well, I would caution that Clostridum and Acetobacter can be an issue if your temps are below 112°F... at least according to BYO Magazine. Just an F.Y.I.

http://byo.com/stories/item/889-how-to- ... techniques

[mashani]

The acetobacter you might just interpret as "moar sour!" for the duration of the sour mash, and as long as you then KILL IT in the boil you might be ok. As long as you like "moar sour!" and don't let the mash go too long, and you don't mind a vinegary kind of sour note. How much of that you would notice would depends on how often you keep checking the mash and notice that it's gotten mighty sour and kill it before it really gets going.

If too long then the "moar sour!" could become "blistering your tongue" vinegar sour. If it lives in your final product and eats all the alcohol then especially so, as in literally blistering our tongue due to the amount of acid it can make. It does not have the inherent PH limit that lacto does and alcohol doesn't kill it - alcohol is food for it. Live lacto is good in a bottle conditioned beer, but live acetobacter never is.

[philm00x]

That looks like a fantastic beer. Not so sure I could deal w/ the blue cheese aroma you described though. Prob why I'd rather have some fruit in a sour beer, but I'd def try it without.

[jivex5k]

Interesting....I see that limiting oxygen exposure helps inhibit Acetobacter, but can't find much info on inhibiting Clostridum besides keeping it warm.
I found an interview from crooked stave saying he did a wild sour and there was a lot of buytric acid in it (vomit smell/taste), and he did a full Brett fermentation and it cleared it up in 6 months or so: https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/ ... ic=12011.0

I've only done two sour mash beers so far, both under a heat lamp, but the temp gradually lowered to around 80F. Both of them tasted absolutely great with no vomit smell or taste at all, and no vinegar notes either. I think the key is sanitizing everything first since you aren't going to boil it that day, and keeping oxygen exposure to a minimum. Hell, the first one I didn't have saran wrap so I just used foil over the mash, but both times I sanitized everything that touched the sweet wort.

I dread the day I smell vomit from my sour mash, but at least now I know I can just turn it into a brett and save it if that ever does happen.

[jivex5k]

That looks like a fantastic beer. Not so sure I could deal w/ the blue cheese aroma you described though. Prob why I'd rather have some fruit in a sour beer, but I'd def try it without.

Strange enough, I'm the only one who thinks it has that aroma. None of my friends agreed haha. They say it smells like sourness and wheat.

[philm00x]

Haha, fair enough. Maybe you're a super smeller?

[Inkleg]

I ran an experiment with one of my reptile heat pads, no go. Then I used my reptile heat tape and was able to keep it at 115* overnight. Then I did some reading that the max temp for the tape was 105*.
Inspected and noted that it had warped a little. So it's good for keeping the fridge warm, not so good for sour mashing.

May be time to look into a large smoker.

[BigPapaG]

I ran an experiment with one of my reptile heat pads, no go. Then I used my reptile heat tape and was able to keep it at 115* overnight. Then I did some reading that the max temp for the tape was 105*.
Inspected and noted that it had warped a little. So it's good for keeping the fridge warm, not so good for sour mashing.

May be time to look into a large smoker.

Bummer on the heat tape...

Yeah, I was thinking of adding a small 900 watt solid top electric burner for cheap like the one below...

What I don't know is: Can I set it low enough to hold 4 ish gallons of wort that is already at 112*F, at 112*F or so... Might have to whip out a Johnson...

Anyone on the Borg own one of these or similar?



http://www.walmart.com/ip/Oster-Single- ... ct+Reviews

[Inkleg]

That plugged into your Johnson or STC-1000 in my case, may just be what the doctor ordered. Way to think outside the box BPG.