re: Homebrewing Thread: Volume II

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I'd suggest, rather than finding a clone recipe of Covington, to rather create a good cream ale recipe, then add strawberries to the secondary.

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This is exactly what I was thinking. I just got nervous because I keep reading that cream ales can have a corn flavor which I didn’t think would mix well with strawberry. I’ve actually never had a cream ale so I don’t know.

Would I do better with a blonde ale?

I was thinking about a very small amount of Belma whirlpool and dry hops for some added strawberry aroma.

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cream ale

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I think most strawberry beers are in the style of a wheat ale but, I can see how a cream ale would be a good base.

Depends on the fruit. The more acidic the fruit, the tarter it will be. Strawberries are mild to medium. But you won’t get sour beer level acidity. You can go extract if you want, but IMO, nothing beats the real thing.

Kettle (quick) sour or mixed fermentation (long aged) sour?

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I’m open to either.

ETA this is my first sour so maybe a kettle sour is the way to go.

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Honestly, a mixed ferm is easier, in terms of the brew day process. It's all about time. With a mixed ferm you brew the beer then add the sach (clean) yeast. Then add the brett and lactic acid bacteria (LABS). Or, you can pitch all at one time. I have a saison grain bill that is very simple.

60% Pilsen
35% Wheat
5% Carapils
total of 8-10 IBU's of hops

Hops are optional. You could not add hops at all, but by doing so, the beer COULD get more tart. Hops restrain the LAB's, especially Pediococcus. Lactobacillus is more tolerant of hops, however. So you can even up your total IBU's to 15, or maybe even higher to restrain the acidity.

But keep in mind, with a mixed ferm sour, once you pitch, forget. Keep a good seal on your fermenter and keep your airlock full. I typically only open the fermenter every 3 months or so to do measurements. And if you open, it is a good idea to purge with CO2 if you have the equipment to do so. I have an extra line on my CO2 manifold that I use for purging. If you open it at month 3 and its at the gravity you want and you like the taste, then go ahead and bottle. IMO, longer aging is better, but if you really want to get at it, then go ahead.

Kettle sour, on the other hand, you will have a much quicker product. The only "tricky" part is keeping your wort warm. You typically brew the beer. I don't do a full boil on brew day, usually only boil for about 15 minutes. Cool down the wort to around 95 degrees. Pre-acidify your wort to 4.2 to 4.5 ph. Pitch your desired LAB (typically a lacto strain), push a blanket of CO2 into your brew pot, put the lid on and seal it (i use tape to keep it down) and keep it somewhere warm for 24 - 36 hours. Some LAB's can acidify much quicker (bootleg biology sour weapon P. and Sour Weapon L. for example). Next day, assuming you are at the acidity you are pleased with (i'm happy at 3.5 pH), bring the wort back up to a boil for about 15-20 minutes, to pasteurize (kill the bacteria). Then rack to a fermenter and pitch your yeast. Key here, is get a good yeast that can withstand the low acidity.

This link should help you LINK

Total hops or 2 charges of 10-12

Thanks Bug... I’ve been researching the shite out if sours. I think the first one will be a kettle sour just because it’s a quick.
Mixed fermentation is definitely in my future. I’m going to order a SS Brew bucket just for sours. I swear this hobby is starting to get out of hand, lol.

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This I did not know. That's pretty awesome. I wonder what the threshold is for amount of dry hops/yeast needed to kick off this reaction.

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I didn't know it either, but don't you think it's odd this is the first time we're hearing about that? There's got to be more to it than just yeast and hops or otherwise we'd be seeing this a ton it seems.

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2 to 3 lbs/gallon ought to do.

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10-15 lbs for a 5 gal batch?

Have you tried that much before? Seems like a lot