Hello everyone and thanks in advance for any help you might be able to supply.
I’m in the process of trying to formulate a recipe for a Kettle Soured Brown Ale. I’ve brewed a Kentucky Common in the past where after mashing in about 70% of the grain bill through a protein rest, I brought the mashtun to about 100-110 degrees, and left it around that temperature overnight to allow it to sour. I then mashed in the remaining malt the following morning (I was on a German system, and so did a partial decoction on the remaining mash in order to bring the whole mash up to Sac. Temp) and then lautered/brewed like normal. Well, the lauter was a nightmare as was the gravity (the beer had a significant amount of rye, which only added to the lautering issues). I was allowing for a lower gravity due to some strange temp issues sure to happen, but even after a hellish day and a successful fermentation I wasn’t very pleased with the outcome. Not undrinkable by any means, not even bad, but a little too light/mild/bland, and the sourness, while okay, was too much in the background, and too one-note. I’m looking for a simpler route to a beer that’s soured outside the fermenter (I’m a little leery to allow anything ‘wild,’ tamed as it may have been by WYeast, into my fermenters for fear I won’t be able to get it out).
I have a new plan for a similar beer (sans rye) based on a beer that I tried at Wyncoop brewery in Denver this summer (I’ve already tried emailing them, and they haven’t responded). They brewed a Saison that was described as being soured in the kettle with the addition of Yogurt. So, my plan is to take my pretty standard brown (at a little over 16 Plato) through the mashing/lautering process as usual, and then chill it in the boil kettle with my wort chiller until it is about 105, and then add some yogurt, stir, and then leave it overnight, and start the following day by heating into the boil, and then continue as if it were a normal beer.
I am looking for advice on several points. First, is this simply insane (in a bad way)? Second, can anyone speculate on the amount of Yogurt I should be using to get some souring, but not to make it a full blown pucker-inducing beer (I have a 3bbl system)? Third, I am debating whether to use standard plain yogurt or Greek. The Greek is concentrated, so it should have a higher cell count, but it also has a higher amount of fat. I think sour cream would also be a good option, and that should be lighter in fat than either of the yogurts. Can you advise? And that leads me to my forth question – how should/might the fat in the boil kettle effect the resulting beer? Is it enough to get in the way when, right now, I’m thinking that I’ll probably add about 1-2 quarts of yogurt to the 100 gallons of wort? I’m especially worried about the possibility of emulsion, and have no idea whether that emulsion will break as the beer ferments. When making stock, if you don’t skim enough and boil it too rapidly, and it emulsifies, after it is chilled, you can bring it up to boiling temp and it will separate, but obviously I don’t have that option with fermented beer.
Does anyone have any experience with something like this, or am I out in left field all alone?
Cheers,
Brian
I’m in the process of trying to formulate a recipe for a Kettle Soured Brown Ale. I’ve brewed a Kentucky Common in the past where after mashing in about 70% of the grain bill through a protein rest, I brought the mashtun to about 100-110 degrees, and left it around that temperature overnight to allow it to sour. I then mashed in the remaining malt the following morning (I was on a German system, and so did a partial decoction on the remaining mash in order to bring the whole mash up to Sac. Temp) and then lautered/brewed like normal. Well, the lauter was a nightmare as was the gravity (the beer had a significant amount of rye, which only added to the lautering issues). I was allowing for a lower gravity due to some strange temp issues sure to happen, but even after a hellish day and a successful fermentation I wasn’t very pleased with the outcome. Not undrinkable by any means, not even bad, but a little too light/mild/bland, and the sourness, while okay, was too much in the background, and too one-note. I’m looking for a simpler route to a beer that’s soured outside the fermenter (I’m a little leery to allow anything ‘wild,’ tamed as it may have been by WYeast, into my fermenters for fear I won’t be able to get it out).
I have a new plan for a similar beer (sans rye) based on a beer that I tried at Wyncoop brewery in Denver this summer (I’ve already tried emailing them, and they haven’t responded). They brewed a Saison that was described as being soured in the kettle with the addition of Yogurt. So, my plan is to take my pretty standard brown (at a little over 16 Plato) through the mashing/lautering process as usual, and then chill it in the boil kettle with my wort chiller until it is about 105, and then add some yogurt, stir, and then leave it overnight, and start the following day by heating into the boil, and then continue as if it were a normal beer.
I am looking for advice on several points. First, is this simply insane (in a bad way)? Second, can anyone speculate on the amount of Yogurt I should be using to get some souring, but not to make it a full blown pucker-inducing beer (I have a 3bbl system)? Third, I am debating whether to use standard plain yogurt or Greek. The Greek is concentrated, so it should have a higher cell count, but it also has a higher amount of fat. I think sour cream would also be a good option, and that should be lighter in fat than either of the yogurts. Can you advise? And that leads me to my forth question – how should/might the fat in the boil kettle effect the resulting beer? Is it enough to get in the way when, right now, I’m thinking that I’ll probably add about 1-2 quarts of yogurt to the 100 gallons of wort? I’m especially worried about the possibility of emulsion, and have no idea whether that emulsion will break as the beer ferments. When making stock, if you don’t skim enough and boil it too rapidly, and it emulsifies, after it is chilled, you can bring it up to boiling temp and it will separate, but obviously I don’t have that option with fermented beer.
Does anyone have any experience with something like this, or am I out in left field all alone?
Cheers,
Brian
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