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Sean White, cofounder of Athens, Ohio\u2019s Little Fish, is committed to mixed culture sour beer. It\u2019s not the only thing that they brew, but it\u2019s part of the soul of the brewery and a founding pillar that they\u2019ve continued to develop (and improve) over the past eight years. Over those years, they\u2019ve been recognized a number of times for the beers from this program\u2014gold and bronze World Beer Cup medals in 2016 and 2018, silver and gold GABF medals in 2020 and 2022\u2014but if you ask White, he\u2019ll tell you that they\u2019re still figuring it out. They haven\u2019t settled, and they\u2019re still learning.

In this episode, White discusses how they brew these compelling beers, from timing ingredient additions to parameters around their spontaneous beer program. Along the way, he discusses:

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• maintaining multiple cultures via solera and brink
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• minimizing beer waste to promote sustainability by reducing failure
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• balancing acidity in award-winning beers
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• neutralizing aged hops to manage funky flavor components
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• sourcing and processing local fruit
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• fruiting in the barrel
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• bottle conditioning with an acid shock starter to reduce yeast stress
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• topping up barrels to prevent the development of off flavors
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• not drinking beer for the past eight months, while still brewing it
  
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And more.

This episode is brought to you by:

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Christian Hansen (https://www.chr-hansen.com): Christian Hansen are now bringing their knowledge of microbes to brewers with their SmartBev range of frozen liquid yeast and freeze-dried bacteria. Reimagine what your beer can be. Go to Chr-Hansen.com to learn more on the SmartBev line of products.

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