REVIEW: RE: Fresh (Mango Berlinerweisse)

A hot Summer's day, sweat, labor, dirt, lawn, shovel, gardening, building, deck, scorching sun, heat stroke.  A far cry from the blustery weather in Oregon this December.  But thus is the way of the sour beer brewer.  It's ready when it's ready and no sooner.  I wanted my Mango Berlinerweisse in the heat of August when I was mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, Barbecuing fish, and preparing to pick some hops.  A week before Winter is officially here is not when I wanted it.  But when you work with Lacto as a souring agent post boil, that is what you get.  I am finding that the Cascade Lacto strain is best used with patience.  It does not sour quickly, that is for sure.  Still a tasty beer, and will be great in another 6-7 months when the heat hits again and yard work is in full swing.

Look:

Pours stunningly clear with a thick, moussy, brilliantly white head that drops harder than a Ghavi beat.  Bubbles continue to rocket up from the bottom of the glass like an aquarium stone.

Aroma:

Mild barnyard funk jumps first with fruity yogurt following.  The fruit is kind of dull and nondescript, can't tell it is Mango.  Light crackery malt back note.

Taste:

Sourness washes over the tongue first with a fruity pop.  Subtle tropical fruit note, but like the nose, can't discern Mango.  Crackery malt.  Light sharpness to the acid, acetic isn't part of the style, but it isn't overpowering at all, very light.

Mouthfeel:

Puckering tartness pulls on the tongue and sides of the throat.  Dry finish with a very prickly carbonation.  Effervescent, light, crisp, refreshing.

Overall:

Clean lactic kick with a mild fruitiness and faint Brett notes.  Not a super complex beer, but the style isn't known for that.  Easy drinker, and will be wonderful when the heat hits next year.  Definitely needs more Mango.

#67 RE: Fresh (Mango Berlinerweisse)

Another beer my wife really enjoys is a tart, light, spritzy, wheaty Berlinerweisse.  As do I.  And since the grists for my Hefeweisse I made for her and this Berliner are so close, why not make one of each at the same time.  Last time I did this I had a bad sour mash.  This time I opted for a single boil of both beers to 8.5 gallons, and then split them for fermentation.  I topped off the Berliner to dilute it to the proper strength, and the IBUs were perfect for both.  I have the Cascade Lacto strain, and decided to let it have fun all on its own for a week before introducing any Sacc to encourage good acid development in a short time.  I pitched big too, 1L starter of a very fierce bacteria, then hit it with some Kolsch yeast to finish the work, lower the gravity, and drop the pH even more.

After primary was done it was yogurty, and tart, but not as tart as I wanted.  I also had a few pounds of Mango chopped up in the freezer.  I added the beer to the fruit to age for a few weeks, and also fermented some pure Mango juice with the Lacto for some more fruit flavor and sourness.  On bottling I added a little food grade Lactic Acid to make it pop just a little more.

Recipe #45: Not So Quick & Easy Extract + Yogurt Berlinerweisse

Inspired by some recent discussions over on BeerAdvocate in the homebrew forum, I decided on a whim to do an easy and quick Berlinerweisse for later this Summer.  There were actually a few things that converged on this idea.  The BA talk was around how White Labs Lacto strain refuses to sour beers no matter how long it is left to work it's magic (even when used alone like the Mad Fermentationist did).  Wyeast seems to be better, but I am not wanting to wait until next Summer for this beer.  I had some success culturing Lacto from Greek yogurt in the past, and I had mentioned this in the BA thread about the WL Lacto fails to a fellow brewer who was going to be doing a few experiments with 20+ gallons of Berlinerweisse.  I have also been working on getting some soda syrups made that can be added to carbonated water (keep my kegs free from the syrupy residue), and I thought, you know, a Key Lime Ginger syrup would go great with a Berliner instead of bubbly water.  Add to this that I am still a few weeks out from an open Saturday after the move to the new house and I am left with an easy and quick extract batch.  The plan is to go back to the roots of beginning homebrewers.  Stove top batch at one gallon, dry malt extract, small addition of hops, chill the pot in the sink, transfer through a strainer, top off with cool water, pitch yeast packet (yogurt), put it in the garage, and let it ferment at ambient temps (had 1 gallon starter that was high on sugar content turn into nail polish at 95*F so I am avoiding super high temps).

UPDATE: Hops, Lagers, Experiments

It has been awhile since I last posted, and wanted to get something up here, including a few things that don't need there own individual posts.  After transplanting the hops after the move and installing irrigation for them, only 3 have any growth: Santiam, Chinook, and Blisk.  The growth is very little, maybe a foot or two max, and very thin.  The rest of the hops aren't producing anything at all.  My understanding is that the late move and time out of the ground shocked the plants and they are going to be fine next year.  Keeping them watered to ensure good roots for the next season.

I haven't posted a recipe in awhile now.  The reason for this is because I have brewed 3 batches that take longer to ferment.  I did an extract Berlinerwiesse fermented with only yogurt.  This beer was intended to be a quick sour.  It was quick, only 4 weeks and it was down to 1.003, but it never really soured.  The Lacto strains in the yogurt created CO2 and alcohol instead of acid, and lots of DMS.  I am still debating what to do with this batch.  I have a few strains of Brett right now that I am thinking of adding to it for a few months, then adding fruit to it as well for next summer.

I also brewed 2 American Pilsners, 1 classic with Saaz, Liberty, and Sterling, the other is New School with Simcoe, Mosaic, and Calypso.  They are just starting to lager now and should be kegged by the weekend.  I have found that brewing lagers isn't really my cup of tea.  I can enjoy them when I finally get to drink them, but they just take so long.  My fermentation fridge is locked up for 5 weeks, then I have to clear kegs for them, and then I have to wait another couple weeks for them to lager before I have 2 kegs to drink through before I can put anything else on.  I also find that by the time they are done fermenting and ready to drink I have had a shift in tastes and don't really want to drink 5 gallons of American Pils.

I am also trying to culture up some Lacto off of grains.  I will have a full write up of the process in a few weeks when it is done, but for now, I am using grains and apple juice in a heating blanket set on high to get a culture going and have had success so far.  I will be stepping it up tonight to get more and hopefully with multiple steps should be able to kill off any enterobacter as the pH drops and some alcohol is produced.