Sour Baby

The name started as a joke. Sour Baby. I was sharing my first Wild Beer brew with my friends on Facebook and I said that I was gonna post the developmental milestones of this beer in the same rabid way that STFU parents journal about every fart or bleep that comes out of their precious progeny.

It had to have a name, so Sour Baby was born.

Sour Baby is a version of a Rye Saison. I made it in collaboration with my buddy Will Avery. Will recently went "pro" and is the head brewer for Burnt Hickory Brewery in Kennesaw GA.
For those of you who dont know, Burnt Hickory is making some of the most mind blowing beer in Atlanta. They specialize in pushing the envelope of gravity and hops and put out amazing beer.

Anyways,  here is the recipe that we used for Sour Baby:

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: WLP655 Belgian Sour Mix
Yeast Starter: None
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1.061
Final Gravity: 1.002
IBU: 27.6
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 6.6
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 30 days at room temperature
Additional Fermentation: 6 months to a year (if it will last)

9.5 lb Belgian Pale Malt
2 lb Rye Malt
0.5lb Aromatic Malt
0.5 lb rice hulls

Mashed at 156 deg F for 60 min

60 min boil

0.5 oz Millenium at 60 min ( 22.7 IBU)
1 oz Hallertauer at 10 min (5 IBU)

1 lb sugar at 10 min

Cooled to room temperature
Pitched 1 vial of WLP655 Belgian Sour Mix


Brewed on 11/20/12
12/23/12 SG= 1.010
3/16/13 SG = 1.002 


We pulled 2, 1 gallon samples for entry into the Peach State Brew off.

1 gallon was carbed and bottled. We entered it into the Saison category. We knew it probably was in the wrong category as it wasnt hoppy enough to be a traditional saison and that it would be a little sour from the yeast mix.

1 gallon was dry hopped with 0.2 oz of Amarillo hops for 1 week carbed and bottled. It was entered into the Belgian Specialty category of the Peach State Brew Off