[Jarrett Case]

So about 6 months ago I gave kettle souring my 1st go. Ended up definitely getting a wild yeast takeover as my gravity after pitching goodbelly dropped in 72hrs from 1.046 to 1.022. Not normal for just lacto. Ended up being decent and just rode with it for a somewhat mediocre sour. I settled on the fact I messed up by 1) not pre-acidifying the wort to 4.5 or less and 2) did the laying seran wrap on top of wort to try to prevent O2 as much as possible. Deciding to try again now. My main question revolves around something I noticed from the first attempt and not sure if that’s just what lacto does or of that was the yeast contributing. About maybe 16 hours into the souring of the wort you could hear some major like sizzling going on. Wasn’t a strong bubbling sound. Literally sounded like steak sizzling on a grill, but not real loud. Just if you put your ear maybe within a foot or less you could hear it well. Is that normal? I should also add I never achieved any kind of Krausen with the previous attempt either. Thanks in advance for any help. Much appreciated.

[willm85]

I don't think pre-acidifying the wort does anything other than inhibit enteric bacteria. That said are you suggesting placing the plastic over the wort inoculated it with the yeast?

The hissing sound you heard is not normal for a lacto fermentation.

Do you have a pH meter/are you sure the goodbelly you used wasn't out of date? I've seen a lot of goodbelly past date in my area which is why I rely of probiotic capsules instead. I'm wondering if the viability on the goodbelly laco was poor at best and a yeast infection took hold over the long (72hr) souring time. L Planterum shouldn't take that long to sour.

[Jarrett Case]

I just assumed that the seran wrap wasn’t fully sterile (i did spray it down with StarSan solution) and introduced some other stuff that took hold. I did measure pH. Final was 3.32. It was 72 hours because I didn’t use a heat belt and the area it sat in was around 75F so it took a bit longer. I wanted it in the lower 3s. It hit 3.51 after hour 42. The best by date on the carton was 4 to 5 weeks away.

[willm85]

I generally place a layer of aluminum foil over the top of the pot that I then set my kettle lid on but that foil is straight off the roll I don't sanitize it. I haven't run into anything like this myself but I also have an electric system so it's easy for me to keep the temperature where the lacto likes it.

Give it another shot and hopefully the next one is much more to your liking.

[Jarrett Case]

Good news: No wild yeast took over this time during the souring. Omitted the saran wrap this time. Soured very quickly this time (4.45 to 3.32 in 18 hours). Took a bit for the S-04 to get going (expected in such an acidic environment) but they are now happily chugging away.