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Many brewers prefer this process over [[Sour Mashing]] because it can be easier to control, and when implemented properly, it produces a clean sour beer in a short amount of time. However, the environment created provides an ideal situation for contaminations and great care should be taken to prevent contamination of both yeast and spoilage microbes (see [[Wort_Souring#Contamination_Concerns|Contamination Concerns]] below).
The possibility of pasteurizing the soured wort also makes this a good method for making sour beers with a lot of residual malt sweetness (e.g. sour barley wines), and also makes it an attractive process for brewers who are concerned about infection issues in their cold side equipment (equipment that is used post-boil) <ref>[http://sourbeerblog.com/fast-souring-lactobacillus/ Miller, Matt. Dec 20, 2014. "Fast Souring with ''Lactobacillus'' – Best Practices, Sensory, & Science". Sour Beer Blog.]</ref>. When souring wort, some brewers first [[Wort_Souring#How_to_Pre-Acidify|lower the pH of the wort to 4.0-4.3]] before pitching ''Lactobacillus''. This sometimes helps the head retention of the beer , and it sometimes helps to protect the wort from contaminating microorganisms. For more information preventing the loss of head retention in sour beers, see the [[Lactobacillus#Foam_Degradation|''Lactobacillus'' page section on Foam Degradation]].
Generally, ''[[Pediococcus]]'' is not used with this method (''Pediococcus'' is generally used in long aged [[Mixed Fermentation]] sours with ''[[Brettanomyces]]''); however, however [[Pediococcus#Commercial_Pediococcus_Cultures|Bootleg Biology]] has released a blend of ''Pediococcus'' strains that are reportedly good effective to use for all wort souring wortmethods.
Important note regarding aluminum pots: souring in an aluminum vessel may strip the aluminum of the protective oxide layer. The oxide layer is only stable at a pH of 4.5 - 8.5. Therefore, kettle souring in an aluminum pot is generally not recommended <ref>[http://www.pfonline.com/articles/aluminum-surface-finishing-corrosion-causes-and-troubleshooting Aluminum Surface Finishing Corrosion Causes and Troubleshooting. W. John Fullen, Boeing Research and Technology & Jennifer Deheck, Boeing, Seattle, Washington, USA. 10/17/2014.]</ref>. Stainless steel (304 and 316) vessels are safe for holding acidified wort or beer, as well as PET and HDPE plastics <ref>[http://www.plasticsintl.com/plastics_chemical_resistence_chart.html Chemical Resistance Chart. Plastics International. Retrieved 01/03/2017.]</ref>.