I'm planning on brewing my first sour beer soon that will be aged in a 5-gallon ex-bourbon barrel that will be close to neutral once the beer goes in. The current plan is clean fermentation in stainless then secondary/sour fermentation in the barrel, as I really don't want to deal with mixing wild yeast and bacteria in my clean fermentation equipment. I'll be using the barrel as a souring vessel from then on.
I'm looking for general recommendations and tips for the wild yeast/bacteria combo that I'll pitch into the barrel. I've been looking at WLP655 Belgian Sour Mix 1, as I definitely want Brett but want that sourness from the Lacto and Pedio as well. Just a good, aged, sour farmhouse is the goal. Does anyone have experience with this mixed culture or general feedback on best practices when first inoculating a barrel for souring?
While I obviously want the first one to turn out well, I'm quite aware these kinds of beers can come with a steep and often unpredictable learning curve, so I'm more concerned about setting up the barrel for future microbial success than nailing a specific profile with this beer.
Thanks!