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==Brewing Methods==
(in progress)
The traditional production of spontaneously fermented beer employs a few main processes and goals including the production of a dextrinous wort, high hopping rates (usually with aged hops), and inoculation of the wort with a [[coolship]]. Not all breweries producing spontaneously fermented beer employ these three techniques, but they are generally common among producers.
On a homebrew scale a fair amount of attention has been paid to the topic of O2 permeability in different fermentation vessels and closures (---apte, better bottle, dan, etc.--).
Regarding fermentation temperature, commercial producers looking for balanced acidity and flavor/aroma complexity prefer cooler fermentation temperatures in the range of the high 50s to low 60s F (Fermentation temps~13----------------- to do. 18 C) <ref name="Spontaneous Sour Hour">[http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/membersarchive/sourhour2015_05_wildfriendship.mp3 The Sour Hour Episode 11 with Rob Tod and Jason Perkins from Allagash, Jean Van Roy from Cantillon, and Vinnie Cilurzo from Russian River]</ref> (~1:14 in), -----Armand ref. This temperature range allows slow and balanced fermentation by the diverse array of microbes present. Warming the fermentation too much results in enhanced production of acidity which is out of line with what the lambic producer is aiming for. This can be used to the advantage of the brewer when producing certain non-lambic inspired spontaneously fermented beers (see below, Alternative applications of spontaneous fermentation).
Some more industrial producers of Belgian lambic as well as smaller North American brewers employing spontaneous fermentation acidify their wort before primary fermentation. This may eliminate the enteric bacteria step <ref name="Spitaels et al., 2015">[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074000201500012X/ Spitaels et al., 2015]</ref> (see below, Microbial Succession During Fermentation). In addition it may act as a safeguard against botulism in the beer, which can grow at the typical pH range of unfermented and unacidified wort and whose spores can survive the boiling process <ref name="James Howat presentation at NHC 2015">[http://www.ahaconference.org/seminars/wild-and-spontaneous-fermentation-at-home James Howat presentation at NHC 2015]</ref>. The degree of botulism risk is not known, though if any reported cases of botulism poisoning from beer exist they are not known to us. Traditional lambic producers have been fermenting unacidified and spontaneously inoculated wort for decades to centuries, which suggests that the risk, if it does exist at all, is very small when following traditional lambic production methods. Furthermore, hops have antimicrobial properties against gram positive bacteria <ref>[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168160503001533/ Sakamoto and Konings, 2003. Beer spoilage bacteria and hop resistance.]</ref> and ''Clostridium botulinum'', the bacterium responsible for botulism, is gram positive <ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_botulinum/ Clostridium botulinum Wikipedia page]</ref>. The degree to which ''Clostridium botulinum'' might be resistant to the antimicrobial properties of hops is unknown. Some suggest eliminating any potential worry of botulism by acidifying your wort before inoculation <ref name="James Howat presentation at NHC 2015">[http://www.ahaconference.org/seminars/wild-and-spontaneous-fermentation-at-home James Howat presentation at NHC 2015]</ref>. Whether or not this protects from botulism, it will influence the final beer by preventing enteric bacteria growth. In addition, acidifying may influence the activity of Pediococcus in a spontaneously fermented beer, including the development of "sick" beer, and may therefore alter the final beer <ref name="Spontaneous Sour Hour">[http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/membersarchive/sourhour2015_05_wildfriendship.mp3 The Sour Hour Episode 11 with Rob Tod and Jason Perkins from Allagash, Jean Van Roy from Cantillon, and Vinnie Cilurzo from Russian River]</ref> (~1:10 in).