Sean White, cofounder of Athens, Ohio’s Little Fish, is committed to mixed culture sour beer. It’s not the only thing that they brew, but it’s part of the soul of the brewery and a founding pillar that they’ve continued to develop (and improve) over the past eight years. Over those years, they’ve been recognized a number of times for the beers from this program—gold and bronze World Beer Cup medals in 2016 and 2018, silver and gold GABF medals in 2020 and 2022—but if you ask White, he’ll tell you that they’re still figuring it out. They haven’t settled, and they’re 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:
maintaining multiple cultures via solera and brink
minimizing beer waste to promote sustainability by reducing failure
balancing acidity in award-winning beers
neutralizing aged hops to manage funky flavor components
sourcing and processing local fruit
fruiting in the barrel
bottle conditioning with an acid shock starter to reduce yeast stress
topping up barrels to prevent the development of off flavors
not drinking beer for the past eight months, while still brewing it
And more.
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