Hard to believe that it was a year ago that John brewed his first batch of sour beer, (a lambic styled beer), but 365 days have passed and now he’s got a bucket full of dregs and it’s time to brew again!

It was a pretty straightforward brew day; creating a wort using wheat dry malt extract and pilsner dry malt extract is a simple as it gets.

John used a dose of maltodextrin powder to ensure a little something extra for the microbes to chew on over the next several months. Using extracts in this manner is a great way to start exploring souring microbes without larger investments in brewing time. Making good sours is about managing that mixed fermentation schedule so why not make it a little easier on yourself. Besides, worts using extracts themselves often have higher finishing gravitie with even more dextrins for the microbes to munch on.

John went with a very mild hopping rate, using less than an ounce of Hallertau at 60 minutes. Most of the souring microbes tend to not like IBUs much plus sour beers don’t call for a lot of hoppiness so keeping your bittering in check is key to a good fermentation.

I predict that this one will sour much faster than his first attempt. From the first batch, he would have an impressive amount of microbes in the bucket from the last batch. Once they all wake up to the new wort, I am sure souring will proceed in far less time. I think 3-6 months or so… maybe sooner. The wild card is the addition of Safale 05. He added that to “help it” along, but I think there’s going to be plenty of activity already.

Time will tell. What say you? Let us know in the comments below or on the YouTube channel!
BREW ON!