I’m planning on doing a citrus saison and I would like it to be a little tart. I was wondering how I might be able to do that. I have brewed a few sour beers that all came out well but I’m looking for less sourness. Just a little tartness. How could I do that? Pitch less lacto? Pitch it later? Is sour mashing probably the best way? Any input is appreciated.
Best Saison I’ve ever made was a traditional Saison fermented with Belle Saison at 80+° with no citrus or spices added, but with Brett-like Trois yeast pitched in secondary with a scooch of maltodextose added for it to eat. It’s tart, and dry, and tropical.
Your could sour a small portion of your wort and then combine with whole.
Belle Saison gives a nice tartness all by itself. You can also aim for a 5.2 mash pH and even lower it in the kettle or even at packageing with a bit more lactic acid to taste.
Kettle sour is also an option. then you can taste and boil when you reach your desired tartness.
post fermentation blending with an “acid beer”? There was a very good presentation at NHC by jeff crane which demonstrated how you could add a very sour (acid) beer fermented using lacto and brett to a saison. The results were very interesting, showing how you could tightly control the desired sourness using this approach. Jeff describes it as the seasoning of the beer world.
I’ve just fermented my own sour beer using L. brevis and Brett B Trois and will be trying it with a saison soon…
cheers
steve
That won’t work under these circumstances because the acid beer will unleash lactic acid bacteria and brett on the clean portion of the beer and result in more acidity and more carbonation.
Lactic acid to taste post-fermentation.