Wild/sour brew pipeline plan - Any advice?

**kds1398** · 05-18-2011, 04:23 PM

Currently doing 1x 5 gallon AG batch per month. My plan is to buy a 10gal barrel from here:
http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/TuthilltownSpirits/-strse-Barrels/Categories.bok

Initially I'll probably do a ~1.080 sour porter... something like this one: http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2010/03/sour-bourbon-barrel-porter.html

To fill a 10 gallon batch I'll need to do 2 separate brews on the same day. I planned on pitching some sort of neutral yeast, waiting 2-4 weeks & then dumping both batches in the barrel with a pack of Roeselare blend & whatever dregs I can get locally in Northern Delaware/South East PA. I know that the Roeselare blend has saccharomyces in it & could be used from the start, but I don't have a bunch of extra primary's laying around that I would be willing to risk infecting.

After it's been in the barrel for ~6 months, split it out into 2 carboys (probably adding fruit to 1 & leaving 1 plain) & age for another 6-12 months before bottling.

2-4 weeks before I plan on transferring from barrel to carboys, I would start the next 10 gallons of brew, again with neutral yeast so I can just siphon it straight into the barrel & repeat the barrel aging/carboy aging process.

1. Does this seem like a reasonable way to establish a sour pipeline?
2. Do I need to add anything else to the barrel for the 2nd pitch onward or can I just add the next ten gallons on top of whatever bugs are hanging out in the barrel after racking?
3. Should I expect a pellicle/additional work from the brett/bugs in the carboys after the beer leaves the barrel?
4. Do I need to add anything to the carboys when I siphon the beer from the barrel?
5. I planned on buying this additional equipment to use exclusively with the sours: autosiphon/tubing, bottling bucket/bottling wand, 5 gallon better bottles (initially just 2, then more as needed depending on how long the beers sit in secondary before bottling).
6. Is 1 Roeselare pack enough or should I start with 2 in the barrel?
7. Should I start with ~11gallons of beer & set aside 1 gallon to top off the barrel with?
8. Any obvious flaws or anything I'm overlooking with this?

weremichael · 05-19-2011, 09:36 PM

Why not brew like Russian River, Jolly Pumpkin and others and do a primary fermentation until your beer reaches 1.020 or so with sacc. and then transfer into your barrel with the bugs (dregs, roeselare etc.). That way you will not be getting the cold break and all the yeast dropped out of suspension etc that is typically associated with a lambic.

As far as one smack pack of roeselare being enough, I would say no. It is barely enough for a five gallon batch.

The barrel will develop it's own cultural balance based off of many factors, so you shouldn't have to do anything with the barrel after your initial inoculation, unless you wanted to add different bugs.

**kds1398** · 05-19-2011, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weremichael

Why not brew like Russian River, Jolly Pumpkin and others and do a primary fermentation until your beer reaches 1.020 or so with sacc. and then transfer into your barrel with the bugs (dregs, roeselare etc.). That way you will not be getting the cold break and all the yeast dropped out of suspension etc that is typically associated with a lambic.

As far as one smack pack of roeselare being enough, I would say no. It is barely enough for a five gallon batch.

The barrel will develop it's own cultural balance based off of many factors, so you shouldn't have to do anything with the barrel after your initial inoculation, unless you wanted to add different bugs.

I was going to mash fairly high 155-156 to leave extra sugars for the bugs and primary with just sacc for just those reasons. I was going to rack it off of primary as soon as the beer loses it's cloudy suspended yeast type appearance.

2 smack packs seems more reasonable than 1 anyway.

Any idea on what I should expect when I rack out of the barrel? Pellicle? Anything need to be done at that point other than 6-12 more months in the secondary?

stblindtiger · 09-05-2011, 02:55 PM

Good find with the oak barrels. They definitely have some decent prices there. They seem to be out of the 10 gallon barrels now though.

Any updates on how you decided to use them?

tasq · 09-05-2011, 07:07 PM

A 10gal barrel will expose the beer to a lot more oxygen than a larger barrel. 6 months may be too long, and you might want to consider a shorter time in there.

**kds1398** · 09-05-2011, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stblindtiger

Good find with the oak barrels. They definitely have some decent prices there. They seem to be out of the 10 gallon barrels now though.

Any updates on how you decided to use them?

I called and they actually had the 10 gallon ones in stock. I measured volume, and it held 13 gallons. I went with the original plan. It's been in the barrel for almost a month now.