Kettle Sour Base

Extract Kit for a kettle sour base. Style aligns with Berliner Weisse but is too high alcohol to be naturally considered one. Great base for kettle sours brewed to be fruited/spiced later.

Step 1: Add 3 gallons of Non-chlorinated water to kettle. Bring heat of water to 165F. At 165, add muslin bag full of steeping grains to water and shut off heat.

Step 2: Allow steeping bag to diffuse for 30 minutes, bobbing gently. After 30 minutes has passed, discard steeping grains and muslin bag. Remove kettle from burner.

Step 3: Stir in malt extracts. Be sure to fully diffuse malt extract into wort, otherwise scorching may occur when heat is reapplied. Once malt extract is fully dissolved, return kettle to burner.

Step 4: Reapply heat to kettle, bringing kettle to rolling boil.

NOTE: this is where the recipe will deviate from standard extract recipes. Please be aware of changes to methodology.

Step 5: Boil wort for 15 minutes. DO NOT add any hops.

Step 6: After 15 minutes has passed, cut heat to kettle and cool to 100F. Leave wort in kettle, do not transfer to fermenter.

(Optional, Recommended): Pre-acidify wort to 4.5pH. Can be done using small amounts of lactic or phosphoric acid sold at local homebrew store. Can use pH meter or strips, meter recommended.
(Optional, Recommended): Purge oxygen out of wort by running CO2 from CO2 tank through wort for a couple minutes. Prevents unwanted microbes from growing.

Step 7: Add vial of Lactobacillus or shot of GoodBelly probiotics to wort. Place lid on kettle & wrap kettle around lid with kitchen stretch-wrap to create air-tight seal in kettle.

Step 8: Allow kettle to sit in warm area of house for 48 to 72 hours. (Optional, Recommended: check pH of wort with pH meter or strips. pH should get to ~3.5pH)

Step 9: Once 48-72 hours has passed, remove stretch wrap and lid from kettle (wort will smell very funky, may show pellicle). Return kettle to burner. Heat back to boil.

Step 10: Once boil has begun, allow 15 minutes to pass. Once 15 minutes has passed, 1oz of Tettnanger (or whichever hop/hop amounts desired).

Step 11: Allow boil to continue for 55 minutes. With 5 minutes remaining, add tsp of Irish Moss (optional). Once boil has ran for a total of 75 minutes, shut off heat.

Step 12: Cool wort to 80F using ice-bath or wort chiller. Add non-chlorinated cold water to hit 5 gallons of post-boil volume (can be done before chilling if your kettle is large enough.

All lactobacillus has been boiled off; the wort is now safe to go into your fermenter.

(Optional, Recommended): Steal small sample of wort to check gravity using hydrometer.

Step 13: Transfer to fermenter, aerate by splashing wort or carefully shaking fermenter.

Allow to ferment as normal, bottle when beer hits final gravity.