Wood Barrel Sours - Updates

The wood barrel sours have been aging on fruit - or not - for the past month and I wanted to take a hydrometer reading to see where we are.  Of course it was time to taste a few to see how they were coming along as well.

Straight:

This is the smallest of the group with just under a gallon.  As you can see in the photo there is a nice dusty pellicle.  When I cracked it open it smelled more like "funk" than sour.  It had a lot of oak coming off of it too.  It was reading 1.010 or maybe 1.009.  When I tasted the sample from the hydrometer there was a big oak presence.  A little bit of Brett funk was hiding back there.  It was a very clean/light sour flavor.  Would not describe it as tart. Since this beer was made with the soured wort method the straight version will probably be a bit one-dimensional like previous tests.



Cherry:

This is a 2 gallon batch.  As you can see in the photo.  A big bubble like pellicle with the cherries floating in there. This measured in at 1.010 or maybe even 1.009. This one had very little oak flavor and smell.  This one has a nice tart taste to it.  The biggest sour flavor of the group.  It has a nice fruitiness to it as well.  The cherries are definitly doing there job in this one.  The extra sugar might of kicked up more production out of the Brett and other bacteria.  Only concern on this one is that it smells very strong.  Next week I will determine if I need to mix in some straight before bottling.



Currants:

Again, this is a two gallon batch and again this measured in at 1.010 or 1.009.  Its probably somewhere in between. Strange thing about this one is that the currant version has zero pellicle.  This has a medium tartness or sour flavor profile.  This batch also exhibited the most "wine" flavor from the barrel.  Very little to no oak flavor as well.  This is probably the most balanced.  The currants are not as in your face as the cherries are either.  They are more in the background.  You can tell there is something going on but not quit sure.




Next Steps:
I will measure again next week and more importantly check up on the cherry version.  I am concerned ascetic acid may be working a bit too hard in this one. Overall I am pretty excited.  Keep in mind these are still "quick sours".  They only aged for 4 months after a week of primary fermentation.  Most of these beers take 12-18 months.  Anything rated 6 or above on a scale of 1-10 would be pretty impressive in just 6 months (by the time they are ready to drink after bottling).