Vital Statistics:
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Recipe: 9 lb 2-row pale malt 8 oz Crystal 60° 8 oz rye malt 5 AAU Apollo (8g @ 17.8% AA) @ 60 Wyeast 1214 - Belgian Abbey Soured by adding 5 oz of acidophilus probiotic culture, a blend of Lactobacillus acidophilus and other strains. Kept kettle between 97°-120° for about 5 days to try to let it sour. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General Notes: Had to add a second smack pack of yeast after a couple days of no visible activity. Ended up dumping this batch because it just wasn't very good. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tasting Notes: Dispensed from keg into a dimpled mug. Tasting notes taken 16 May 2017, 85 days after kegging. Appearance: rich golden hue with a little touch of haze and a thin layer of tan foam that didn't have a ton of retention. Color is great, but head is limited; I maybe could have conditioned it a little bit better. (3.5) Smell: very lightly sour and a little bit fruity; there's a definite apple cider thing going on here that qualifies as an off-aroma in my book (it reminds me a bit of batch #18). Not exactly what I was going for; I would have preferred a bit more bite and a little less blah. (3) Taste: a little bit sour, a bit funky, a bit cidery, and, surprisingly, kind of light and bland. It's not terrible, and though maybe it's mildly offensive, it's light enough not to be a huge disaster. (2.75) Mouthfeel: medium to medium-light body with a low carbonation and an uninspiring texture. (2.75) Drinkability: it is not the worst thing I've ever made, but it's really not great. I intended to brew a beer that would leave you wanting more, but this definitely does not fill the bill. (2.5) Overall score 2.93 (C). This experiment was a failure. Leaving a beer in primary for 261 days leads to an oxidized mess. Also, I believe the kettle souring itself did not go well; pH did not drop as expected during the 4-5 days it spent on the stovetop with L. acidophilus culture present. Lastly, having to pitch a second smack-pack of yeast was also probably not a great sign that this beer would be successful. All of that said, I would like to try a kettle sour experiment again in the future, and maybe the next time I will take proper care of my beer and it might even turn out OK. Ideas for next time: better kettle souring temp control, more L. acidophilus culture, maybe a saison yeast, and significantly less time in the primary. I would like to nail down a basic sour before I go for adding fruit or the like. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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