From the brewing of traditional sours last week, we try our hand at brewing a kettle sour. This technique allows you to brew a beer with a sour profile without the wait and the variables that go into brewing a beer that takes many months to become great. Learn more about brewing kettle sours from our Gose Brew Day:

First, The Recipe

Shout out to Elliott at Oregon Fruit Products and Justin at Country Malt Group for helping put this recipe together:

Grain Bill

6 pounds of Great Western Malting Pure Idaho Malt
3.5 pounds of Canada Malting White Wheat Malt

Hops and Other Ingredients

4 grams of Cascade hops added at 60 minutes left in the boil
22 grams of Citra hops added at 10 minutes left in the boil
20 grams of crushed coriander added at 10 minutes left in the boil
17 grams of sea salt added at 10 minutes left in the boil

Pre-Boil Instructions

Mill and mash the grains with 4 gallons of water at a temperature of 149 degrees Fahrenheit. Extract enough wort for a 6.5 gallon boil size and add to your kettle. Let the wort cool down to 90 degrees Fahrenheit and then pitch one packet of Lallemand Sour Pitch into your kettle. Maintain that temperature for a day and a half. I used my unfinished basement in the summer along with a heating pad. At the end of a day and a half, taste the wort. If you like the sourness, proceed to the boil. If you want it more sour, let it sit for longer until the flavor matches your preference.

Post Souring Instructions

Boil the wort for 60 minutes and add the hops and other ingredients at the times noted. Chill the wort to 68 degrees Fahrenheit and pitch one packet of US-05 yeast. After 10 days of fermentation, add 49 ounces of Peach puree and 24 oz Passionfruit puree into your fermentor. Let it ferment for another 4 to 6 days until all activity is done. Then, package as normal.

The kettle souring part was the most fun. It was amazing to wake up the next morning to taste the wort and see that the sour pitch had worked to make something that was sweet become sour.

Stay Tuned

We will be recapping this brew day with a tasting soon. Brew ON!