Solera Series Part 2 – Managing Your Solera
This is the second video in a short series on managing a beer solera in your home brewery. In this video we discuss how you plan for, brew, and manage each withdrawal/refill cycle of a solera, focusing on how we can adjust our recipe to push the character of the beer in the direction we want it to go. I couldn’t control my inner microbiologist, so there is a lot of science mixed into this episode.
As part of this series I have prepared some files to make planning and running your solera easier. The files generated for this video are linked to below.
- Tasting Worksheet (PDF): A sheet to perform a structured tasting of your solera (or any other sour beer)
- Solera Age Calculator (XLSX): A calculator (plus other tools) used to determine the convergent age of your solera.
Hi, Bryan
What a great series! I’m not sure why I’ve never considered using this technique for clean beers.
I see that you’re using a keg for your solera, but what are your thoughts on keeping it under 1-2 psi head pressure using a spunding valve. I’m not really looking to capture carbonation, but I am looking for a way to eliminate an airlock (that I might forget to refill) and allow for closed pressure transfers.
Thanks again for all of the great info you’ve provided.
I’d be worried about the valve leaking over time, but if you have one that’ll hold pressure for months after fermentation ceases, I see no reason why it wouldn’t work.