Sour Thing (AP)

An attempt to make a simple, extract red sour.

Brewed 5.0 gallons on 2016-09-25

Preboil gravity: 1.032

Original gravity: 1.038

Final gravity: 1.005

ABV: 4.3%

Apparent Attenuation: 86.8%

Process notes

2016-09-27

Nighttime. Decent krausen + airlock activity. 70°.

2016-10-01

Extremely vigorous fermentation for ~5 days. Should've used blow off.

2017-04-02

Kegged. Little-to-no pellicle. Dark copper/amber color. Ripe stonefruit, sour apple aroma. Not very tart. Dry. Not a bad base, but not a ton of complexity and the sourness could be increased. Jim W. did a similar process and pitched dregs from a Cascade beer. Stonefruit or adjuncts could be decent in this.

Boil for 90 minutes

Glacier water. Nothing else was added to the water.

8 ounces of Honey Malt (GambrinusMalting)

8 ounces of Château Special Belgium (CastleMalting)

At 90 minutes

6 pounds of Ultralight Malt Extract (LME) (Brewmaster)

At 60 minutes

0.25 ounces of 4.8% Alpha Acid Willamette pellets

Yeast

2016-09-26

Pitch 1 pack of WLP655 Belgian Sour Mix (WhiteLabs) at 74°. (Pitched in the morning the day after doing the boil.)

Tasting notes (5.00/10; 2 ratings)

2018-02-19

[5/10] Great clarity. Ruby red. The appearance is the best part of this beer. Slightly off-white layer of bubbles persists. Some lacing. Not tart, interesting fruitiness. Low body. Semi-dry. Nutty. Unique beer, but not a fan.

2018-03-13

[5/10] The character hasn't changed much over time, but this has grown on me. I wouldn't do it again, but there's a fruitiness that isn't too bad, and the color is wonderful.