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The goal of this page is to welcome the new brewer to the world of sour beer and get started! This page looks at sour beer basics and what flavor progressions to expect along the fermentation timeline. We will (1) go over a few basics about sour beer, (2) look at how time affects wild beers, and (3) analyze some strategies for attaining certain flavor profiles. This page is targeted at the “beginner sour brewer", who shall be assumed as someone who has the basic “standard” brewing processes down and is interested in diversifying their fermentation process.
===Sub HeadingDefinitions==='''Sour beer''' is any beer inoculated with microbes other than traditional ale or lager yeast, whether you pitch with lab cultures, rely on microbes that have infiltrate your brewery, or add bottle dregs from a sour or wild beer. A '''wild beer''' is one that has been spontaneously inoculated “in the wild”. A '''clean beer''' is any beer that is not your wild beer; in other words your typical ale or lager. ==A Brief Yeast/Microbe Background==When brewing sour beer, there are a few more players to the “yeast” side of the ingredients list. In addition to ''Saccharomyces'' or “Sacch”, in wild beer brewing the brewer is often dealing with ''Brettanomyces'', which is another genus of yeast, and ''Lactobacillus'' and ''Pediococcus'', which are both bacteria. ''Acetobacter'' and ''enterobacter'' do play a part in some sour fermentations, however they are not often intentionally added. ===Brettanomyces===There are two major species of ''Brettanomyces''used in brewing: ''B. Bruxellensis'' and ''B. Anomala''. Despite other strains mentioned, there are only five species of Brett, with these two being the species most commonly used in brewing. ''Brettanomyces'' produces what we will later refer to as the “funk” when it comes to wild beers. While it is capable of producing some acetic acid when in the presence of oxygen (To dothink vinegar), funk is what is typically described. Despite providing desired funk and acetic acid, it is important to note that ''Brettanomyces'' can also be responsible for less desired flavors: feet, hard boiled egg, and some solvent-like nail polish flavors.Pure commercial cultures of Brettanomyces are available at most yeast suppliers. ''Brettanomyces''does NOT provide a universal flavor. Just like the various ''Saccharomyces'' strains most brewers are familiar with, each ''Brettanomyces'' strain can produce a vast array of different flavors, depending on the particular strain, temperature and time.
==See Also==