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  1. levifunk

    lacto soda

    I am a complete newbie to the soda world, so excuse my ignorance. I know quite a bit about fermentation and feel very comfortable with it. I got the idea to make lacto fermented soda for my pregnant wife since she can't enjoy any of the beers I'm making/drinking. The idea came partly from...
  2. levifunk

    100% Brett Cider

    We've got a couple commercial size batches going right now using the lessons learned in this experiment. They will be sold early 2014 in the Minneapolis area. In general it seems to be very hit or miss with brett in cider. I can see how people have attempted this is the past and concluded...
  3. levifunk

    Once acetobacter is a factor in a barrel, what's the remedy?

    You are going to want to clean it. Up to you how strong you want to clean it though. If left untouched, you may end up with straight vinegar next batch.
  4. levifunk

    Once acetobacter is a factor in a barrel, what's the remedy?

    You are kind of in a pickle here. You want to kill the aceto or it will continue wrecking your beer, but don't want to kill the rest of the bugs. I don't think the addition of boiling water will kill everything (though it will do a pretty good job). What it will do is lower the counts across...
  5. levifunk

    When to blend lambic to get gueuze

    In its inception, geuze was made by just using some young lambic to get the mature lambic to bottle condition. It was a reflection of the champagne method and learning how to carbonate beer. There really is no hard and fast rule as to the age of the young contribution or its percentage. Some...
  6. levifunk

    Once acetobacter is a factor in a barrel, what's the remedy?

    Its just a 5 gallon barrel, so I would boil 5 gallons of water and dump it in there. Let the really hot water soak in there for a day. I might even repeat that process once or twice. Also, yea, I'd recommend waxing the outside of the barrel. These small barrels have more surface area and...
  7. levifunk

    Fermenting cider with its must?

    Has anyone tried adding back a portion of the must after pressing to the juice? Would the addition of skins do anything?
  8. levifunk

    Aging lambic

    oh wow, yea, keep an airlock on it. At a year it won't be overly sour, just tart. Let it keep going. Also, you should wait until the base is ready before adding fruit.
  9. levifunk

    Brett Cider Experiment panel (round 2)

    We have thought about fruiting some of the fermented ciders, but that is something we can experiment with using some of our final product. ECY has a couple brett strains we didn't use last year, so: 6 - Brett anomala 7 - Brett brux (ECY) 4 more to go...
  10. levifunk

    Aging lambic

    Actually, after a year, there likely isn't going to be much CO2 activity to speak of. I would think you would be fine sealing it. What is the gravity at? There is still activity going on, but nothing that kicks off CO2.
  11. levifunk

    Brett Cider Experiment panel (round 2)

    Last year's brett cider panel was a great success. We learned a ton about how the different strains perform in cider and are using that information to produce 1,000 gallons of 100% brett ciders this year! (which I believe will be the first 100% brett cider commercially produced). We still have...
  12. levifunk

    Aged hops really needed?

    I've got a bit of experience with this and I would say yes, you want to use aged hops. People don't realize it, but lambic wort is heavily hopped. More than some IPA recipes! I scaled Cantillon's recipe to a 10 gallon batch here...
  13. levifunk

    Lacto + Pedio vs Pedio Only

    I think the Rodenbach GC bottle was a '94. One thought on the lacto and pedio pitch. It seems lacto creates acidity much faster, so it could be seen beneficial to get the ph down quickly and then let the pedio take over and continue dropping it over the long haul.
  14. levifunk

    Lacto + Pedio vs Pedio Only

    Brewers keep using lacto because its the best souring bacteria for quick brews. Pedio produces diacetyl that requires Brett and time to clean up. Pedio can also go through sick stages. So, while pedio is more resilient and, I believe, produces a stronger/cleaner acidity, lacto still has its...
  15. levifunk

    100% Brett Cider

    Not a whole lot more I can say really. WY Brux and Fantome have been the crowd favorites. Custer is very good, but seems to be somewhat polarizing. Still working with the orchard and trying to get ready to do a couple larger commercial batches this fall. I'm really hopeful for the results...
  16. levifunk

    100% Brett Cider

    Not a whole lot more I can say really. WY Brux and Fantome have been the crowd favorites. Custer is very good, but seems to be somewhat polarizing. Still working with the orchard and trying to get ready to do a couple larger commercial batches this fall. I'm really hopeful for the results...
  17. levifunk

    Lambic Primary vs Secondary Question

    Not that they quit, but that they will have a fresh source of simple sugars (fructose). Sacc probably picks up again as well as Brett and they ferment those out. After the sugars are gone, the brett will continue its slow work, but you are going to bottle the beer before any noticeable...
  18. levifunk

    Lambic Primary vs Secondary Question

    I'm not a microbiologist, so I don't understand the technicalities of all this, but my understanding is that, while there are some strains of lacto that can produce acetic acid in certain environments, the lacto strains common in brewing do not produce acetic acid or at least not in quantities...
  19. levifunk

    Lambic Primary vs Secondary Question

    Sacc and Lacto act quickly, Brett and Pedio take time. If you only wait a few months, you will have very little influence coming from the brett/pedio side and the beer basically tastes like a berliner weisse. On a homebrew scale, you want to wait at least 9 months before adding fruit. Best...
  20. levifunk

    100% Brett Cider

    Here is an update: http://www.funkfactorygeuzeria.com/2013/06/cider-fermentation-panel-bottling.html Brux and Fantome have been the crowd favorites, with Custer close behind.
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