Janx
Well-Known Member
I thought I'd start a thread to talk about this lambic project I'm undertaking. There were some questions in another thread, so I figure a single thread to discuss all things lambic and see what everyone knows would be good.
I'm going to use a very traditional method as much as possible. The grain bill will be at least half unmalted wheat and I'll do a traditional turbid mash, which involves many steps and is basically like a complicated decoction. The turbid mash is very important to developing complex lambic flavors. The long-fermenting Brett strains need all the complex sugars and starches for their long fermenting process. There's no way to shortchange this part of the process if you want real lambic.
I'm going to ferment in 4 stainless steel kegs for about a week and then pitch in Wyeast Lambic blend in each of them to let it get started. Then I'm going to rack it all into a 60 gallon French Oak Barrel that has been used for about 6 batches of wine and has lost much of its oaky character.
As far as hops, I have been aging some...whenever I have just a bit left, I throw them in a bag and leave them out to get aged. But for this project, I'm going to buy some of the 10 year old hops from morebeer.com because lambics use a LOT of hops for preservative qualities, but they need to be aged so they don't have any bitterness.
I plan to age it for a year or more in the barrel, then possibly blend some with fruit for a secondary ferment, and then I'll bottle it and let it sit a while longer.
I'm hoping for the best. Anyone have any thoughts
I'm really excited about fermenting in a barrel.
Cheers
I'm going to use a very traditional method as much as possible. The grain bill will be at least half unmalted wheat and I'll do a traditional turbid mash, which involves many steps and is basically like a complicated decoction. The turbid mash is very important to developing complex lambic flavors. The long-fermenting Brett strains need all the complex sugars and starches for their long fermenting process. There's no way to shortchange this part of the process if you want real lambic.
I'm going to ferment in 4 stainless steel kegs for about a week and then pitch in Wyeast Lambic blend in each of them to let it get started. Then I'm going to rack it all into a 60 gallon French Oak Barrel that has been used for about 6 batches of wine and has lost much of its oaky character.
As far as hops, I have been aging some...whenever I have just a bit left, I throw them in a bag and leave them out to get aged. But for this project, I'm going to buy some of the 10 year old hops from morebeer.com because lambics use a LOT of hops for preservative qualities, but they need to be aged so they don't have any bitterness.
I plan to age it for a year or more in the barrel, then possibly blend some with fruit for a secondary ferment, and then I'll bottle it and let it sit a while longer.
I'm hoping for the best. Anyone have any thoughts
I'm really excited about fermenting in a barrel.
Cheers