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FAQ
,added FAQ "How do I clone beer xyz?"
A: The book "American Sour Beers" by Michael Tonsmeire has a great section on recipes. Also, we maintain a member-driven recipe database on Brewtoad: https://www.brewtoad.com/groups/milk-the-funk. We have a few recipes [http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Category:Recipes here] as well.
==How do I clone commercial beer XYZ?==
Q: How do I clone commercial beer XYZ?
A: Cloning these beers is next to impossible or impossible. So many variables play into how these beers come out, like types of barrels, oxygen exposure, strain selection, pitching rates, pitching timing, blending, etc. You can't usually know all of these variables or even what techniques a brewery used. Using their dregs might get you somewhere in the ballpark, but so many other variables come into play other than what microbes are still alive in the bottle. Instead, focus on learning about the microbes you are using. Learn what they do and how to best utilize them for your equipment and environment/equipment. Learning how to make good wild/Brett/sour beer takes a lot of time and practice. Every beer in this category is unique. Create your own techniques and make your own unique beers, and learn how to steer them in the direction that you want them to go. Making these types of beers is not about cloning commercial examples, it's about finding your own route and your own voice to make something unique to you.
==Do I need separate equipment==