Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Mixed Fermentation?
Mixed fermentation refers to a style of brewing where multiple strains of yeast and (in some cases) lactic acid bacteria are used in a fermentation to provide a vastly different flavour profile to standard brewers yeast fermentations. The usual strains involved with this style of fermentation are brettanomyces, lactobacillus and pediococcus.
Does Mixed-Fermentation = Sour?
This is a thorny area where the terminology does catch people out. Sour beer has become an umbrella term for many different styles of beer, many of which we make here at Pastore. However mixed fermentation does not necessarily equal sour as a mixed fermentation beer could be fermented with just wild yeast (brettanomyces) and no lactic acid bacteria, in which case the beer will likely be funky but not sour.
Sour vs Wild?
At Pastore we prefer to group our two ranges by the terms Sour and Wild. We make fresh sours on one side of the brewery, you’ll find these in can & keg, they are made with Kveik and Lactobacillus (co-fermentation) and therefore are sour but not funky – as no wild yeast is involved. We make barrel aged blended wild ales on the other side of the brewery which are fermented with the full selection of wild yeast (brett), lactobacillus and pediococcus making them both funky and sour.
Funky?
Funk refers to some of the fun flavours / aromas you get from a brettanomyces (wild yeast) fermentation. These generally come from the phenols produced during a wild fermentation which give that goaty, horse blankety thing. Wild fermentations also produce incredible esters that you won’t get in a standard fermentation, imparting beautiful fruit notes to a wild beer, anything from pineapple to cherry pie.
Why Do Wild Ales Have Notes Of Acetic?
Vinegar notes in a sour beer come from acetic acid production which comes from wild yeast + oxygen. Therefore you will only find this flavour in our barrel aged wild beers and even then only in small quantities to complement the blend. The fresh sours are produced only with lactic acid bacteria so there should not be any vinegar note.
Where can I find Pastore in Cambridge and area?
Besides our brewery and taproom in Waterbeach, you can find us at Thirsty Cambridge, The Maypole, Bluemoon, Drayman’s Son, 3at3, Grain Culture (Ely), Bottle Bank (St.Ives), Shume (St.Neots).