Revolution Brewing Co.’s Freedom of Speach clone

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.040  FG = 1.006
IBU =  7  SRM = 4  ABV = 4.5%

Revolution’s Freedom Series of fruited sour beers brings together the tartness of a lower-ABV kettle sour beer with a wide range of fruit flavors — in this case peach.

Ingredients
5.5 lbs. (2.5 kg) North American 2-row pale malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) red wheat malt 
9.5 oz. (269 g) acidulated malt
10 fl. oz. (296 mL) peach concentrate (60 °Brix)
1.5 AAU Herkules hops (80 min.) (0.1 oz./3 g at 15.1% alpha acids)
3 AAU Crystal hops (10 min.) (0.6 oz./17 g at 5% alpha acids)
1 Whirlfloc tablet
1⁄2 tsp. yeast nutrients
Omega Yeast Labs OYL-605 (Lacto) or favorite strain of Lactobacillus
Wyeast 1968 (London ESB Ale), White Labs WLP002 (English Ale), or Mangrove Jack’s M15 (Empire Ale) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by step
Prepare a 1-quart (1-L) Lactobacillus starter with unhopped 1.040 SG wort. After boiling, cool starter wort to 85 °F (30 °C) and pitch the Lacto. Allow this to incubate 24 hours prior to pitching it in your brew kettle. This will increase the Lacto population and get it ready to get to work souring your wort.

This recipe uses a single-infusion mash at a ratio of 3:1 water-to-grain. Add 2.3 gallons (8.8 L) of water at 160 °F (71 °C) to the mash/lauter tun and stir in 1⁄2 tsp. gypsum and 1⁄4 tsp. calcium chloride. Mash in grains targeting a temperature of 150 °F (66 °C) and rest there for 50 minutes. Vorlauf slowly for 10 minutes to complete starch conversion and clarify wort before collecting in the brew kettle.

Collect first runnings in brew kettle. Start sparging 170 °F (77 °C) water when the grain bed is beginning to become exposed. Fill your kettle to 7 gallons (26.5 L) of wort, cutting your sparge at about 6 gallons (23 L) to allow the sparge water to pull through the grain bed. 

Bring wort to a boil and add 1 fluid oz. (30 mL) of food-grade phosphoric acid to the kettle. Target pre-souring pH of 4.8–5. 

Cool wort to 85 °F (30 °C) while minimizing any splashing of wort. Add Lacto starter to kettle and blanket souring wort with CO₂. Give your Lacto about 24 hours at 85 °F (29.5 °C) to drop the pH of your wort down to 3.3–3.5. 

When it reaches the desired pH, bring wort to a boil for 30 minutes. Add finings and hops as indicated. At end of boil, use a spoon or paddle to get your wort spinning and rest for 20 minutes to allow trub pile to form.

After your whirlpool, cool wort to 66 °F (19 °C) and pitch yeast. If using a liquid strain and you have an oxygen tank and regulator, Revolution targets their oxygen flow at 12 L/min. during the entire transfer of wort to the fermentation tank. Transfer as much clean wort away from your trub as possible to maximize the volume in your fermenter. 

Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C) and follow the fermentation timeline: 

Day 4: Dump thick yeast that has settled to the bottom of the fermenting vessel (or rack to another carboy). Raise the temperature to 70 °F (21 °C) to begin the diacetyl rest. 

Day 8: Fermentation should be complete. Dump the trub that has settled to the bottom of your fermenter or rack to another carboy. Set temperature to 32 °F (0 °C) to further drop yeast and hop matter.

Day 10: Add fining agent then gently swirl (or CO₂ rouse your fermentation vessel from the bottom if using a conical) to ensure good mixing. After fining your beer it should take a few days to see a major improvement in clarity.

Day 12: Transfer to a keg and add peach concentrate, keeping the temperature at or as close to 32 °F (0 °C) as possible. Gently CO₂ rouse the vessel to make sure peach concentrate mixes evenly. Keep constant CO₂ pressure on the headspace of the keg (8–10 psi) to gently force carbonate up to 2.5–2.6 volumes of CO₂ for serving via draft. 

Extract only option: 
Replace the pale, red wheat, and acidulated malts with 4 lbs. (1.8 kg) extra light dried malt extract and 0.5 lb. (230 g) wheat dried malt extract. Add 1 tsp. 88% lactic acid to 5 gallons (19 L) of water and heat to ~170 °F (77 °C). Remove from heat and stir in the dried malt extract. Once fully dissolved, turn the heat back on and bring to a boil. 

Follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe instructions, being sure to top up the fermenter to 5.25 gallons (20 L) before starting fermentation.

Tips For Success: 
Revolution flash pasteurizes their fruited kettle sours before canning to avert the risk of secondary fermentation in the can. Homebrewers should only keg this beer. Adding fruit to the primary or secondary fermentation tends to drive off a great deal of fruit aroma and flavor, especially with a delicate fruit like peach. 

Revolution brewers state that “using fruit concentrates for our Freedom-series kettle sours is easier and more efficient than aseptic fruit purees, which tend to carry high levels of solids. If you use puree, you will require extra steps to strain or settle fruit solids out, so expect some loss.”

With your Lacto culture, it is crucial to use unhopped wort for propagation and souring. The OYL-605 Lacto blend is very hop-sensitive. If you have a lid with a spray ball, that is a great place to hook up a CO₂ line for blanketing your wort during wort souring in the kettle.