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jtakacs · 01-02-2013, 11:45 PM

i'm not sure mine was... brewed mine on 1/23/11 and just bottled half of it yesterday, almost two years to the day.

it is off the chart sour (too sour), not as dry as i thought it would be but it has a little acetic quality to it which i'm not a huge fan of...

i dropped the other half on some peaches for my GF and we'll see - that will get bottled in a few months...

not sure i would do it again although it was a fun project - i'll stick to oud bruins, flanders and sour saisons to get my fix for sours.

**smokinghole** · 01-03-2013, 12:59 AM

So what was the culture, mash technique, and all that jazz? I'm just curious because I have one going that I did a turbid mash on and it's pretty fricken awesome I think. I used aged hops and ECY20 Bug County for a culture. It hasn't even been a year but it tastes awesome, sour, funky, and slightly tannic from the mash.

Sebas83 · 01-03-2013, 05:49 AM

1-black saison with brett and figs. Kinda worth it. Seriously funky with little body left... Really dusty. Interesting but not sure if ill do it again. Decoction mash.

2- saison with ecy brett blend #9. Friggin terrific. Infusion mash with a protein rest.

3- brett'd porter with smoked malt. Also very very very good. Incredibly happy with that. Single infusion at 154. Dark malts added late.

And then there is 4...

A gueuze. Turbid mash of pils, wheat and flaked wheat. 6mos in racked on top of vanilla and pear. Bottled with honey. Holy hell. If you're going to do a sour/lambic/gueuze, do this mash technique. Difficult to organize but damn is it worth it.

Normal mashing/brewing techniques just don't do these styles justice in many instances. Going to ramp up to 5.5gal size with the same recipe. Will document.

**AmandaK** · 01-03-2013, 12:24 PM

My lambics are DEFINITELY worth it. Granted, I also have a large pipeline going so it one doesn't turn out, I only have another 6 months until the next one comes out to play.

Embracethefunk · 01-03-2013, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtakacs

i'm not sure mine was... brewed mine on 1/23/11 and just bottled half of it yesterday, almost two years to the day.

it is off the chart sour (too sour), not as dry as i thought it would be but it has a little acetic quality to it which i'm not a huge fan of...

i dropped the other half on some peaches for my GF and we'll see - that will get bottled in a few months...

not sure i would do it again although it was a fun project - i'll stick to oud bruins, flanders and sour saisons to get my fix for sours.

I think mine are definitely wort it...

What yeast/bacteria blend did you use?

levifunk · 01-03-2013, 07:05 PM

my oldest one is 12mo old, but tastes amazing, so i'd say its worth it. Especially considering its 60 gallons, so when I go to bottle this, I'll have a **** ton.

Sounds like you had a bit too much O2 permeation? or some very active pedio. I think that its somewhat a shot in the dark when you only do 1 because you have nothing to blend with.

I've got 14 barrels at a brewery (about to double that). I might have a barrel come out really sour like your's did, but I also might have a barrel come out really funky with little sour. I wouldn't say Lambic requires blending, but it certainly helps even out the uncontrollable factor the inherent to the style.

Also, It might have been better to fruit with cherries. Peaches aren't going to do much to cut that sour flavor.

**Bobby_M** · 01-03-2013, 08:43 PM

One thing you didn't mention was whether you actually like commercial Lambics. It's a relatively small style as far as sours go and I know plenty of people who like funk but just can't get past the enamel melting acidity of lambic.

pohldogg · 01-03-2013, 10:58 PM

Yes, all of my sours/funky except one have turned out decent or better. Currently have 11 in the pipe and am only concerned about one. My first lambic style took BOS. Couldn't believe that an 8 month old flat lambic beat out 500 entries. Actually wine thiefed the three bottles the day before the comp.

If you like sour beers keep at it. Best advice I've heard is in the beginning be thrilled if you get something drinkable. Maybe instead of going full lambic try something that's not so time consuming, such as souring a saison with some JP dregs. They turn around much faster and you'll get feedback on what worked/didn't quicker. Then after you get some experience try out the ones that age for years not months.

Sebas83 · 01-04-2013, 12:16 AM

+1 on souring saisons. Also, think about splitting a batch amount several fermenters with different strains in them. Also consider sacch primaries THEN adding your culture(s). That was the way I began to hone in on what I liked/worked.

Another thing that helped was to build colonies over time. I have several strains and blends going. These guys really do different things at different times. Like when they turn on trub and start eating their fallen brethren. My lambic and sour saison both were pretty gnarly at different times but when left alone (rising/falling pellicles, etc) they really changed into something drinkable and delicious.

jtakacs · 01-04-2013, 04:26 PM

i do a bunch of sours and they're all worth it, except for the lambic - the lambic was standard mash (pretty newbie at sours at that point so no turbid) and was knocked up with lacto, brett-b, brett-c, sac and pedio... (a home yeast that has turned out some pretty fun and funky sours)

was pretty standard pils/wheat grist with aged cheesy hops... it's not horrible, but i'm thinking i just don't dig on straight lambics.. probably should have experimented with blending it with some other sours i have, but too late now. very little funk to it, and just mostly sour - very boring and not complex. i think the O2 comment is probably spot on...

and as far as sour saisons go, i love 'em... i have two in bottles right now that should last me a while - those are fun and funky - and they don't take two years!