DannPM

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I would exnay the use of any fresh hops period. Fresh American hops in a wild ale? Even the hop heads I know who brew think that is a sick and disgusting combination. I would used aged hops only, or a very very small amount of noble for slight bittering.

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Ovidsmuse

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Statseeker, I've done starters from many sources, including fruits but I wanted to get a lambic like blend and let the lacto have a chance to drop the ph some. That is part of the reason I let the wort cool slowly and stay between 100 and 80 so long, so lacto could start working.

As DannPM mentioned, aged hops is the preferred and traditional choice when producing 'Wild Ale' or lambic, they have the needed anti-bacterial properties but do not have the perceived bitterness. 1oz of Chinook at 60 and .5oz at 15 was part of the experiment, this is very low IBU's but enough to provide some buffer to unwanted bacteria, and to limit and slow both lacto and pedio. Any bitterness was gone after the second month, and I believed that the soap flavor I was tasting was a leftover from the hops. If it is, then it is also a leftover from aged hops because I have now tasted two young lambics from respected breweries that had the same flavor, but I suspect it is a fermentation by product. From what I am tasting now, I suspect that the large amounts of aged hops may have been more about convenience than need, and that regular dried hops can be used in smaller amounts to achieve the same goal. The hop plant can be prolific, and what would you do with all those unused hops in the days before refrigeration? I suspect, and I wish I had more resources to explore this topic, that aged hops were chosen for lambic brewing because they were cheap and available. Overtime it became practice, and larger quantities with less effect tend to be easier to measure because there is also more room for error.

But Fall will be upon us soon, and there will be a window of opportunity for capturing yeast from the air, I plan to take advantage and will share my experience with all of you. I hope the rest of you plan to do the same!

Ovidsmuse

Recipes 

jtakacs - If Brett really was the primary yeast you caught, it will act a lot like Sac when it is dominant, and won't produce nearly as many of the flavors associated with it when it is under pressure.

statseeker

Recipes 

Ovidsmuse- Edited my post. I thought the OP was jtakacs and not you. Wrong response to wrong post. I got you two mixed up. My fault.

If it was my wild, I'd probably do what you did only I would get a starter going first to make sure the properties were what I was after. As long as you've got a firm control over the properties of the wort (pH, IBUs, yeast/bacteria growth, etc) you should be able to get the profile you're after...in so much as you can control the taste properties of the wild yeast/bacteria, which is a throw of the dice. One day when I have 20 or 30 bucks burning a hole in my pocket I might end up brewing a true wild/coolshipped plambic.

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jtakacs

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i'll find out shortly as it goes in bottles soon..

Ovidsmuse

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As I'm approaching the year mark, and getting ready to brew some more Wild Ales, I thought I'd make an update. There hasn't been much to add since last September, PH stabilized and flavors started to change very slowly. I just tasted it and though the PH is the same it seems less sour but more fruity. Apricot is the predominate flavor, and I can't wait to get this into bottles and carbonated.

SPLASTiK

Recipes 

I thought Cantillon's Cuvee des Champions was pretty good... though that might have only been dry hopped with fresh hops...

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Sebas83

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Yeah, what about dry/wet-hopping, or passing thru a hop back? Could be delightful. The sour mixed with a citrusy or floral hop could rock socks.