Lacto starter necessary?

I have a vial of White Labs lacto and was considering just pitching it in the wort without making a starter for a "fast sour" Berliner. I’ve seen where it may not sour quickly without creating a starter first. What’s the answer? My 2 liter starter flask is already tied up with the secondary ferment Brett so I’m hoping I don’t need another flask for the lacto starter.

The one time I threw a lacto smack pack without a starter (and fermented in the low 70s) took 4 months to produce any semblance on tartness. I’d definitely recommend a starter in this case.

The WLP lacto is notoriously slow and starts with pretty low cell counts (unless you get really lucky with a fresh culture).

TL:DR- use a starter.

I recommend multiple starters. Maybe start with 250ml and slowly step up to 2 liters? I used one omega blend lacto in a 1 liter starter and it was decent, but could have been better at souring after 4 days in the garage in the summer

I’ve done several lacto soured beers and had the best results pitching a mango flavored probiotic drink and keeping the wort at 100 degrees F for a couple days before pitching yeast. No starter needed, and the drink only cost about $3.25.

Just be sure to purge the carboy with CO2 and don’t oxygenate. You’ll get a really clean lactic sourness.

Originally posted by Homer321
I recommend multiple starters. Maybe start with 250ml and slowly step up to 2 liters? I used one omega blend lacto in a 1 liter starter and it was decent, but could have been better at souring after 4 days in the garage in the summer

This should help: http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Lactobacillus

Also, thanks for breaking the almost month long drought.

Originally posted by HornyDevil
This should help: http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Lactobacillus

Also, thanks for breaking the almost month long drought.

Originally posted by CLevar

Originally posted by HornyDevil
This should help: http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Lactobacillus

Also, thanks for breaking the almost month long drought.

I was interested to see how long it would last...

Well...the great experiment is not going well. I was able to hold the lacto at 115 degrees for 30 hours before boiling. But after cooling to about 75 and adding the Brett starter (24 hours) it is showing no life after about 2 days. I realize this is not unusual, but the fact that I bought Wyeast 5112 that was 7 months old is making me nervous. My question is...what if this doesn’t show signs of fermentation after another 4 or 5 days? Do I just toss in a fresh Brett and hope the sour ale isn’t adversely affected by the ridiculous lag time? I’m betting I’ll be dumping this puppy within a week or so.

Before doing anything, take a gravity.