Sour Blonde Wheat Ale

I figured there's no better way to start off a homebrewing blog than with a brand new beer. 


I know that I will be relocating in the next few months, so I tried to get rid of all the excess ingredients. Hence, this was what I came up with. The wort is basically the same as a Belgian white ale--akin to Allagash or Hoegaarden--but I pitched a yeast concoction I cultivated off the dregs of a Jolly Pumpkin La Roja and Russian River's Consecration ale. The gravity is a bit high for a white ale, but like I said before, I wanted to get rid of some weight. 


I almost called this a Berliner Weisse, since traditionally that's what a sour wheat ale is, but I understand that the Berliner Weisse has a distinct partial boil (some say 15 minutes, others say five), which I didn't use, nor do I think it would matter with an extract batch. The Berliner Weisse also is soured with lactobacillus yeast, whereas my yeast starter most definitely contains brettanomyces, pediococcus, as well as lactobacillus. Which means this might pack quite a pucker. Finally, the BW is quite sessionable, sometimes around 3-4% ABV. So, sour blonde wheat ale it is. 


Sour Blonde Wheat


4 lbs Wheat DME
3 lbs Extra Light DME


.75 oz Tettnanger -- 60 min
.25 oz crushed coriander -- flameout
.25 oz orange bitter -- flameout


Pitched Dregs of JP La Roja and RR Consecration.


OG-- 1.045


The boil was interrupted for ten minutes because I ran out of propane. Learn a new lesson everyday in this hobby.

Krausen but not much air lock activity

I'm hoping this beer will lighten up a little bit as the yeast metabolizes all the sugars.
I'm not sure why it's so dark.