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==Welcome!==
The goal of this page is to welcome the new brewer to the world of sour beer and get started! This page looks at sour beer basics and what flavor progressions to expect along the fermentation timeline. We will (1) go over a few basics about sour beer, (2) look at how time affects wild beers, and (3) analyze some strategies for attaining certain flavor profiles. This page is targeted at the “beginner sour brewer", who shall be assumed as someone who has the basic “standard” brewing processes down and is interested in diversifying their fermentation process. Because this is an introductory page and links directly to the rest of the wiki, citations will be omitted.
===Pediococcus===
''Pediococcus'' is a bacteria that also produces lactic acid, although generally slower than ''lactobacillus''. The sourness tends to be thought of as more aggressive than ''Lactobacillus''and is often thought to produce more of a complex sourness. It also produces off flavors (diacetyl) so it needs to have something to help clean up any unwanted flavors – like ''Brettanomyces'', which converts it to other compounds with less aggressive flavors. There is some discussion that ''Pediococcus'' thought of “complexity” is merely perceived by brewers because it works longer than ''Lactobacillus''does. This “complexity” could be simply because ''Pediococcus'' can lower the pH more than ''Lactobacillus''.
==Sourness vs. Funk==
The flavors produced by some wild beers when using non-souring mechanisms are described as ‘funk’. Keep in mind that if you are choosing to use a wild yeast or bacteria, you want to have an idea of whether you’re looking for sourness or funk, and how much of each.
===Funk===
“Funk”, isn’t a common term for most of us in the food we eat. Descriptors of funk can be found in stinky blue/green cheeses, dank basements, some molds, and “on the farm.” When looking to achieve the funk, we’re going to be including ''Brettanomyces''. When using ''Brettanomyces'', we have two main species to pick from currently, and two very generalized flavor categories.
''B. Bruxellensis'' tends to produce a more funky beer, with emphasis on the “barnyard” characteristics Brett is commonly known for. Some flavor descriptors include horsey, smoky, spicy, barnyard, and the classic “sweaty horse blanket.”
''B. Anomala'', on the other hand tends to lend fruity characteristics – pineapple, mango, and a low intensity “funk.” (although with time this can be more aggressive.) It is important to note ''Brettanomyces'' is capable of producing fruitier notes without the typical funk as well. However it can produce a lighter, fruitier funk that comes out as a delicate barnyard flavor with some varying notes of overripe tropical fruit.
===Sour===
Higher acid levels will give you sourness. Sourness is pretty easy to describe, as it is a flavor common to most of us in the acidic foods you keep in your fridge or pantry – lemons, limes, yogurt, sour patch kids, vinegar, etc. Most of us have probably tried sour foods with different levels of sourness and complexity from acidic fruit to lactic fermented vegetables. When we say complex, we're talking about layered acidity. Imagine drinking lime juice as simple sourness. A complex sourness would be lemon, lime, grapefruit, and pineapple juice combined.
==See Also==