othellomcbane
Well-Known Member
Looking to get some thoughts / advice on this.
I'm thinking I'm going to try a Graff with Brett for my first sour. I'll probably do something similar to the original recipe in the Graff thread on this site, though I might go for a 50/50 split of cider / wort. My one caveat is that, every summer, there's a strong possibility I'll have to move. I live in Brooklyn currently, and after my next move, I'd like to be somewhere outside the city with more space for this kind of thing. But if that happens this summer, I'll have about ~7 months before I would need to bottle this sucker. Not drink just bottle.
So here are my hopes: since cider hits a really low FG with even normal ale yeast, I'm hoping the cider part of the recipe will help this concoction reach terminal gravity a bit sooner. I'm not sure if that's a safe assumption or not. I don't plan on doing anything with a particularly high ABV, for the same reasons.
I've also read, I believe, that the lower PH of cider helps Brett along.
There are two things I haven't decided yet. One, I've considered maybe using unpasteurized cider from a local farmer's market. I realize there's some inherent risk in this, even with a wild ale, but other ciders I've had with unpasteurized fruit had a really nice funk to them, even without a deliberate Brett / bug addition. Would unpasteurized cider maybe help me along there, or is it taking too many chances?
Regardless of the cider, I plan to cultivate a starter of Orval dregs (two or three bottles) over the next week or so and pitch that. Sound reasonable, or would something else work better? I'm also debating whether to pitch normal ale yeast (probably Belgian Ardennes, since I have that going in another batch) at the same time.
Thoughts in general? I think it sounds delicious, and I'm definitely going to try it at some point. Again, I don't plan to actually drink this for a year or two. I just would like to hopefully bottle it before June, and let it age from there.
I'm thinking I'm going to try a Graff with Brett for my first sour. I'll probably do something similar to the original recipe in the Graff thread on this site, though I might go for a 50/50 split of cider / wort. My one caveat is that, every summer, there's a strong possibility I'll have to move. I live in Brooklyn currently, and after my next move, I'd like to be somewhere outside the city with more space for this kind of thing. But if that happens this summer, I'll have about ~7 months before I would need to bottle this sucker. Not drink just bottle.
So here are my hopes: since cider hits a really low FG with even normal ale yeast, I'm hoping the cider part of the recipe will help this concoction reach terminal gravity a bit sooner. I'm not sure if that's a safe assumption or not. I don't plan on doing anything with a particularly high ABV, for the same reasons.
I've also read, I believe, that the lower PH of cider helps Brett along.
There are two things I haven't decided yet. One, I've considered maybe using unpasteurized cider from a local farmer's market. I realize there's some inherent risk in this, even with a wild ale, but other ciders I've had with unpasteurized fruit had a really nice funk to them, even without a deliberate Brett / bug addition. Would unpasteurized cider maybe help me along there, or is it taking too many chances?
Regardless of the cider, I plan to cultivate a starter of Orval dregs (two or three bottles) over the next week or so and pitch that. Sound reasonable, or would something else work better? I'm also debating whether to pitch normal ale yeast (probably Belgian Ardennes, since I have that going in another batch) at the same time.
Thoughts in general? I think it sounds delicious, and I'm definitely going to try it at some point. Again, I don't plan to actually drink this for a year or two. I just would like to hopefully bottle it before June, and let it age from there.