Consecration kit from MoreBeer

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Buying those bottles is a lot cheaper than buying a bunch of RR to get the bottles. Plus I've found that the RR bottles I have from the european manufacturer he sourced the bottles through had a weird mouth. So when I would go to cork them using my champagne floor corker sometimes the corks would get cut. The bottles have a sharp mouth compared to the UBP bottles that homebrew stores have now. I've bought myself a bunch of the 375s because I wanted bottles in that size. I have tons of champagne bottles but 375ml bottles are exactly a common size. The brewpub I used to work at had lindeman's and I picked up quite a lot 375s through them but they still weren't exactly stacking up.
 
This is my first time posting, but it seemed like a good time to jump in. I recently picked up this kit and brewed a handful of weeks ago (it already dropped to about 1.018 and i moved to secondary and dropped in the currants and brett). So far so good......except one odd part. After the brew and cool I took a sample and got an OG of 1.093. It seemed really high. I noticed a lot of what looked like hop sludge in the test tube so I'm wondering.....is that to be expected, with lots of particulates in the wort, should I expect to get an especially high OG? Is my original sample likely just artificially inflated or am I in for an especially boozy concoction (not really a complaint i guess)?
 
I brewed up the extract kit (my first sour) last week and have a few questions. My OG was 1.076 and I was happy with that. It's now been in the primary for 5 days now at about 70degrees. Will take a reading tonight. So here's my questions:
If my gravity reading is in the teens, do I have to cold crash around 60degrees for two days? OR can I just rack to the secondary? I will be adding Brett and my currants to the secondary for 7 to 8 weeks, then pitch my Roeselare. Also, do I pitch the Brett into the primary, then rack to the secondary? Or rack into the secondary, then pitch the Brett into that. I ask because I've seen some posts about avoiding too much oxygen when pitching the Brett. Should I put my racking can far into the carboy to avoid too much oxygen?

Lastly do I have to rack to a tertiary, then pitch the Roeselare? Or do I just pitch the Roeselare into the same secondary, leaving currants and all in there, and let it sour with the currents for the many months? Should i rack out the currants?
Thanks everyone
 
Ok. Next step. 2 weeks ago, I Pitched the roeselare (after beligian primary and 2 months of brett head start) and flushed the headspace with co2. It seemed like the one of the yeasts (brett/sherry/belgian) inside the roeselare blend was working for several days. Not much in Krausen, or even a pellicle. In fact none at all. Just some movement in the carboy- producing co2 bubbles. Then nothing. Been over 2 weeks. I am new to sour/brett fermentations. I keep looking for some sick sh*t to start growing inside- but there are the black currants floating up top of a nice cherry red-brown beer. I am aware of the patience rule to brewing, but am curious as to the timing pattern of the pellicle formation. How long does it take to start forming? Does it in fact have to form? I know I need to wait 6-9 months (or 12-18 according to some) for the level of sourness produced by the bugs.
 
It should form but it is a function of oxygen exposure usually. I've had pellicles never form and I've had some pretty funky looking ones rather quickly. So the answer to your question isn't much of an answer......it depends.
 
I've also had the same results as smokinghole. Some times I'll get a pellicle within 2-3 weeks, other times it can take up to 3 months for it to even start. What temperature is it where you're fermenting?
 
Back down to room temp. Which in this case is 60* right now in the basement during late winter/early spring. I guess I'm gonna hear I need to jack up the temp?
 
:) Good guess! Yeah the Roeselare will function best between 65°F - 85°F. I would recommend fermenting this one up around 75°F if possible. One of my good buddies ferments in his basement / storage space under his house, which is around 55-60 in the winter. He wraps his carboys with a Fermwrap Heater and covers it all with a sweatshirt. The sweatshirt helps to keep the heat in, and he's able to keep his fermentation temperature up around 70-75F.

It should still ferment at 60°F, but it will definitely take a little longer, and might not be as funky in the end. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Cheers!
 
I already have towels and big puffy down-winter jacket wrapped around it- just to make sure it doesn't drop in temp. Looks like I will put it back on heating pads which is stuck onto a 12x12ceramic tile. Usually get my temp up 10-15*. Thanks
 
This is my Consecration clone. I bottled it one month ago and added a half a vial of WL Brett C at bottling. For the first 2 weeks after bottling it had NO carbonation and is now sitting at light-ish (probably 1 1/2 volumes or so, I primed for 2.5)

I didn't use Roeselare blend on this. I pitched a clean abbey yeast, cold crashed and racked @ 1.016. I then added Brett L and B , and the oak and wine and let it go for 4 weeks, then added the currants (3 pounds), and the Lacto and pedio. It also got dregs from a couple of Jolly Pumpkins, Lindemans Cuvee Rene Gueuze, and monks café. I brewed it july 3rd.
I can honestly say it is definitely, by far, the sourest sour I have had. It is Marvelously sour. The night I was bottling I pulled myself a 6 or so ounce sample, put it in a tulip, and was sipping as I bottled. So my wife walks into the room and says "Is this a sample of what you are bottling?" "Yes", I say. She sniffs it: "That smells GOOD". Me: "taste if you like". Her: "Oh my god, this is GOOD!"...she then proceeded to abscond with my sample, and drink the whole thing. I took that as a vote of confidence.:mug:

IMG_3808.jpg
 
This is my infection so far with just the roeselar blend. I brewed this starting in December. I pitched the roes at the end of January beginning of February.

image-3405154958.jpg


image-3174557506.jpg
 
passedpawn said:
I just added oak and got pretty close with my clone. Roeselare. I'll probably give it another try in the fall (I've got a ton of it that needs drinking... )

Pardon if this is answered later in the thread:

Where did you obtain the commercial consecration in Florida? I can only assume you either traded with a HBT member or have a source in a distribution state that mails it to you?

Is that a 12oz bottle in the photo?

Anecdotal rambling ....

Visited CA in 2008 I think it was and stopped at the RR brewpub after a morning of wine tasting. I didn't think I was intoxicated at all when I sat down for dinner (from the wine tasting). I ordered 3 beers. I've since forgotten the particular beer, one was Pliny I believe, and one was a regular strength IPA, and another was a sour beer, but was served in smaller portion. I think it was consecration. Split a pizza with my wife and had a salad. After we left the restaurant, we went o get a few sundries at Target somewhere and I am starting to stagger. I think later on that the Brett and bugs are fermenting stuff in my belly? I don't know but it seemed the effect on my body was out of proportion to the volume of beer (and wine) I had consumed that day...by a LONGSHOT. I take PPIs everyday for reflux, and that decreased the acidity in my stomach, possibly to the point that the Brett survives... Just a theory.

TD
 
Pardon if this is answered later in the thread:

Where did you obtain the commercial consecration in Florida? I can only assume you either traded with a HBT member or have a source in a distribution state that mails it to you?

Is that a 12oz bottle in the photo?

Anecdotal rambling ....

Visited CA in 2008 I think it was and stopped at the RR brewpub after a morning of wine tasting. I didn't think I was intoxicated at all when I sat down for dinner (from the wine tasting). I ordered 3 beers. I've since forgotten the particular beer, one was Pliny I believe, and one was a regular strength IPA, and another was a sour beer, but was served in smaller portion. I think it was consecration. Split a pizza with my wife and had a salad. After we left the restaurant, we went o get a few sundries at Target somewhere and I am starting to stagger. I think later on that the Brett and bugs are fermenting stuff in my belly? I don't know but it seemed the effect on my body was out of proportion to the volume of beer (and wine) I had consumed that day...by a LONGSHOT. I take PPIs everyday for reflux, and that decreased the acidity in my stomach, possibly to the point that the Brett survives... Just a theory.

TD

12.68 oz (375ml). I bought them in Philly. RR distributes there and Denver and California.

I get to the RR pub in Santa Rosa every year or two. Love that place. They do have great pizza and entertainment.
 
Ok, read the whole thread.


Thanks for info on Denver, going there over summer vacation with the family!

Where did you get those bottles? The small champagne split bottles are the only 375ers I've been able to find. Maybe haven't been looking too hard eh?
I think for a 10% beer smaller bottles would be preferable. Are those bottles easy to cork? Standard Belgian cork or different?

One question I had while reading this is about the currants. Some dried fruits are preserved with sulfite or sulfur dioxides. Are those currants preservative free?
Sounds like folks have been dumping them in with the initial Brett addition with no preparation of the currants, just dump them in eh?

Last question to I think Jiffy? Where did you get a 15 gallon Cabernet barrel? Where can I get one?

Thanks. Really thinking about brewing this one. It's going into my "to brew" list..

Oh yeah, couple final questions.

What is the consensus on the Brett strain to use for initial pitch and at what temperature?
I've never used Brett or Bugs before. Do you just get a smack pack and pitch that or do you need a starter like with regular yeast?
Will I be able to get the Brett and bugs out of fermenter (and other equipment/hoses etc)with regular PBW soak and star San spray (will I need soak?)

TD
Edit- found bottles. Wow are they pricey! Think I'll stick with regular bottles. Was there a consensus on the carbonation level for this beer?

Edit 2- which "carafa" malt is being used for this? It seems there are like 6 different kinds

Edit 3- pitch rate for the Brett cultures? Somewhere in here I read 1million/ml. That's 37854 ml in a 10 gal brew, so 37 billion cells. What is the cell count on these Brett vials/smack packs? Is it the same as for regular yeasts? Also viability, is that the same as for yeast?
 
Pardon if this is answered later in the thread:

Where did you obtain the commercial consecration in Florida? I can only assume you either traded with a HBT member or have a source in a distribution state that mails it to you?

There are places to order it online, too. Liqour stores in Cali that ship.
 
What might be the effects of higher temps during the souring phase? I've made it through to the point of adding the bugs. I added roselaire (excuse the spelling, i'm on a mobile device) about 2 months ago, and i've just been waiting and being patient. We are going through a bit of a heat wave in california, and i've noticed my brew up around 80 degrees (the brewmometer on the side of the carboy is topped out, so it may be going higher too). I haven't had a chance to rig up a cooler/frozen bottle cooling apparatus, so i'm wondering....how sensative to temperature are the creatures in the roselaire mix (pedo and lacto I think?) and what should i be expecting or worried about after this heat passes? My starting gravity was a bit high 1.093 i think, but as of adding the roselaire it was tasting pretty good (maybe a bit boozy, but i'm not complaining about that). Im planning to not worry and just keep drinking my tripel through the heat, but curious as to how this may affect the beer.
 
The yeast strain guide says 65°F - 85°F. I just brewed Northwest's Oud Bruin and pitched the dregs from a bottle of Consecration then 48 hours later a pack of Roselare I had. I let it go in the garage where the ambient temp was in the upper 80°s and the concoction smells amazing. The initial fermentation wasn't extremely active, but that's been the case every time I've used Roselare. The batch only started out around 1.042 so I didn't really expect it to blow up anyway. A bit off topic, but I'm considering adding some currants to this too.

As for my Consecration kit I'm about 10 months in and have been thinking about adding the oak sometime soon. I picked up an assortment of west coast brews while in San Diego recently including a few bottles of Consecration. I think once I get mine oaked, and carbed it's going to be reasonably close to the real thing. If that holds true I'm going to be happy!
 
Not to be "that guy" but does anyone have a written out recipe for this or is it one of those all the grains in one bag kits?
 
I've read this whole thread, and I don't see any info on what to do with the wine yeast at bottling time. Do I just transfer beer from my carboy to the bottling bucket, add in some dry wine yeast (recipe doesn't say which kind), stir it slowly to combine, and then bottle? Do you add any priming sugar, or just 1 small packet of wine yeast? Is this wine yeast ok? (this is what I can get locally):

http://www.defalcos.com/virtuemart....ge=flypage.tpl&product_id=1223&category_id=81

http://www.defalcos.com/virtuemart....ge=flypage.tpl&product_id=1222&category_id=81


Another question I have, is what is the best way to transfer from my carboy to my bottling bucket? Right now there is all kinds of stuff in the carboy, like the floating currants, all the white bubbly stuff on the surface, etc etc. I'm not sure how to transfer to the bottling bucket, and then to the bottles, without getting that stuff in the bottling bucket or bottles.

Thanks!

PS - I brewed this Consecration kit 1 year ago.... July 2012.
 
Hey nikolausp,

Good questions! You will want to use 4oz of priming sugar for bottling, and you'll want to rehydrate the wine yeast prior to pitching that. When you're ready to bottle, boil two cups of water with your priming sugar for 5-10 minutes, and cool that down to the temperature of your beer. While that's boiling, rehydrate the wine yeast (you can follow the instructions on how to do so here). Pitch the yeast into the sugar water, then rack your beer on top of that in the bottling bucket.

I would recommend a normal racking cane, but you can get a screen for it to prevent the cane from clogging up. The screen can be found by clicking here. It will only fit 3/8" racking canes however, so please make sure you have the right size cane prior to purchasing. The white bubbly stuff is your pelicle, and that may or may not fall back into the beer. Your best bet to avoid that from getting into your bottling bucket is insert the racking cane carefully, so as not to disturb the pelicle. Rack from near the bottom, but not all the way down at the bottom (to avoid clogging as much as possible).

When giving us the recipe Vinnie didn't specify which wine yeast to use. The main reason for using wine yeast is because the pH will be too low for any beer yeast to ferment in. Since it will only be fermenting 4oz. of corn sugar I don't think you'd notice a difference between different wine yeasts used to bottle condition, so I would think either of those links you mentioned would work just fine. Just make sure it's capable of fermenting in a low pH environment (all wine yeasts that I know of can do this just fine).

If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask! Good luck, and I hope it turns out well for you. I just hooked up my keg that was brewed last June and it came fairly close. A little too much oak, added more currants than the recipe suggested which was a mistake, and not quite the same sour (more brett, less lacto than the real deal). The aroma however is almost identical, and the alcohol content is almost spot on (calculated mine to 9.92% - real deal is 10.00%).

Enjoy!
 
Hey nikolausp,

Good questions! You will want to use 4oz of priming sugar for bottling, and you'll want to rehydrate the wine yeast prior to pitching that. When you're ready to bottle, boil two cups of water with your priming sugar for 5-10 minutes, and cool that down to the temperature of your beer. While that's boiling, rehydrate the wine yeast (you can follow the instructions on how to do so here). Pitch the yeast into the sugar water, then rack your beer on top of that in the bottling bucket.

Isn't 4oz of priming sugar in a year old beer going to end up being under 2 volumes of co2?
 
Hmmm. Not certain exactly how many volumes that will put the beer at, but I'm not sure why the age of the beer would change how much CO2 4oz. of sugar will put off. Not the best at calculating volumes by any means though, so that could be correct. Does anyone else have a good idea of how to calculate volumes / amounts of corn sugar to add?
 
Hmmm. Not certain exactly how many volumes that will put the beer at, but I'm not sure why the age of the beer would change how much CO2 4oz. of sugar will put off. Not the best at calculating volumes by any means though, so that could be correct. Does anyone else have a good idea of how to calculate volumes / amounts of corn sugar to add?

I can't remember how to do the math, I just use one of the many online calculators. 4 oz of table sugar will give around 2.4 in a beer that fermented at 68 recently. The longer a beer ages, the more CO2 it releases from solution, eventually it will be completely still.

Duh, I should have known to check Kai's page.
 
Another suggestion for racking the beer off the crud...

use your normal racking cane, but slip a sanitized hop sack on the end with plenty of slack (think reservoir tip) that should keep out most of the large particles. The rest of the fine particles should settle out in the bottle anyway.

TD
 
I just hooked up my keg that was brewed last June and it came fairly close. A little too much oak, added more currants than the recipe suggested which was a mistake, and not quite the same sour (more brett, less lacto than the real deal). The aroma however is almost identical, and the alcohol content is almost spot on (calculated mine to 9.92% - real deal is 10.00%).

Enjoy!

With that in mind, how did you do your oak? I thought about racking mine to a clean pail (or maybe a keg) before adding the oak to clear out some of the crud in the final product.
 
In general when you oak these types of beer, if its the first time you use the oak (I know this kit isn't that way and the oak has been used before), do you let the oak sit in sanitized water or I have heard beer or something for a week or so to get a lot of the tannins and stuff out. Is that correct? Anything else you need to do to it? How long do you keep the oak in the beer if its virgin toasted oak?
 
Has anyone tried using dried black currants in this (or any other) beer? I know the original uses zante currants, but I have access to large amounts of black currants and I thought I might try them.

The.fresh berries are pretty tart, I don't know how much that will carry over once they're dried. I have to dry them if I want to use them, as I won't be able to transport them otherwise.
 
Black currants are delicious in mead. Never used them in a beer though... but I don't see why they would not be good.... Perhaps aim for something with a bit of residual sweetness to offset the acidity of the berries.
 
Has anyone tried using dried black currants in this (or any other) beer? I know the original uses zante currants, but I have access to large amounts of black currants and I thought I might try them.

The.fresh berries are pretty tart, I don't know how much that will carry over once they're dried. I have to dry them if I want to use them, as I won't be able to transport them otherwise.

The packages in my kit stated they were black currants... I wouldn't have called them tart at all though, richly sweet when I tasted them.
 
the kits def came with Zante Currants which are actually Corinthian Raisins. A very different beast than a black currant. There was def confusion in the labeling though ;-)
 
leolee86 said:
They have a kit for this beer up, and are saying the oak pieces are from actual barrels from the brewery, does anyone have any experience on this clone

Ok, so I started this thread a little over a year ago. So long in fact I can't remember the log in info for the other account. My beer has aged long and hard. It came out great!! My only regret is only brewing 10 gallons.. Pictures will come soon
 
I am at the 7 month mark right now- belg yeast 2 weeks, Brett 2 months with currants, then roeselare for last 4+ months......smells good, but never saw any activity after adding roselare. I plan on going another 4 months then adding the oak for a month. Hopefully I get enough sourness. But if not, it still smells like a great belgian
 
The sourness I attained was very present but still palatable to people who have never tasted a sour. It seems like the currants added a really nice sweet/tangy note. Kind of helps keep the pucker face at bay
 
Back
Top