So, I've decided to get a sour in a fermenter for my wife. Here's a Lindeman's clone recipe I found, but I want some advice on a couple aspects of it.
First, I was going to do it BIAB so as not to have as much stuff to clean up for only 6 lb's of grain. My wife is not a connoisseur, so as long as it is fruity, gets her a glow, and doesn't have a lot more horse blanket funk than Lindeman's she'll love it. On that note, I could just do it extract and not care, but I like that stuff too.. so.. BIAB, all extract (partial mash), or all grain?
Secondly, could I use a different yeast strain and not have to ferment at 50? My outside temps are getting down to that, but where I ferment in my basement will stay around 66, lower in winter if I don't run my pellet stove, but I want to get it going now..
Thirdly.. I want to make it with cherries due to our location and history here.. I know the cherries used in kriek are sour and not available here. With that being said, I live in Traverse City and I can get incredibly fresh pitted and frozen Montmorency cherries that are locally grown. I worry it might be too sour. Should I make two smaller batches, one with raspberries and mix, or just mix the fruit in the secondary. I don't care about it being a gueuze. I'm figuring going heavy to the 9lb side of the fruit and doing 5-6 raspberry, 3-4 cherry.
Here's their recipe.. I'm getting impatient.. I would be nice to pop a couple bottles for Valentine's Day.
Ingredients:
3 lbs. pilsner malt
2 lbs. malted wheat
1 lb. flaked wheat
2 lbs. unhopped light dry malt extract (DME)
4 AAU well-aged aroma hops: such as Saaz, East Kent Goldings or Tettnang (1 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
Belgian ale yeast slurry (White Labs WLP550 or Wyeast 1762)
Lambic yeast or bacteria culture (recultured yeast from commercial lambic, Wyeast 3278 or both)
6 to 9 lbs. cherries, raspberries, peaches or other fruit (picked fresh, washed, cut up and frozen until ready to use)
1 cup unhopped light dry malt extract (DME) to prime
Step by Step:
Heat 9 quarts water to 163° F. Crush whole grains and add, with flaked wheat, to liquor. Hold mash at 152° F for 75 minutes. Runoff and sparge with 12 quarts water at 170° F. Add DME, stir well, bring to a boil. Add hops, boil 60 minutes. Remove from heat. Add to fermenter along with enough pre-boiled and chilled water to make up 5.25 gallons.
Cool to 70° F, pitch ale yeast. Ferment at 68° F for two weeks, rack onto fruit in your secondary and add lambic culture. Condition cool (50° F) for three to four weeks. Rack into third vessel to clarify at 50° F for two weeks. Prime with DME, bottle and age at least three to four weeks at 45° to 50° F. Serve at 40° F in either a heavy glass tumbler or a champagne-style flute.
All-grain option:
Replace the DME with another 1.5 lbs. each pilsner and wheat malt. Increase mash water to 13 quarts and sparge water to 16 quarts. Mash time and temperatures will be the same. Proceed as above from boiling.
All-extract option:
Omit pilsner and wheat malts. Steep flaked wheat in 3 gallons at 150° F for 30 minutes. Remove grains. Increase DME to 5.5 lbs., proceed as above from boiling.
First, I was going to do it BIAB so as not to have as much stuff to clean up for only 6 lb's of grain. My wife is not a connoisseur, so as long as it is fruity, gets her a glow, and doesn't have a lot more horse blanket funk than Lindeman's she'll love it. On that note, I could just do it extract and not care, but I like that stuff too.. so.. BIAB, all extract (partial mash), or all grain?
Secondly, could I use a different yeast strain and not have to ferment at 50? My outside temps are getting down to that, but where I ferment in my basement will stay around 66, lower in winter if I don't run my pellet stove, but I want to get it going now..
Thirdly.. I want to make it with cherries due to our location and history here.. I know the cherries used in kriek are sour and not available here. With that being said, I live in Traverse City and I can get incredibly fresh pitted and frozen Montmorency cherries that are locally grown. I worry it might be too sour. Should I make two smaller batches, one with raspberries and mix, or just mix the fruit in the secondary. I don't care about it being a gueuze. I'm figuring going heavy to the 9lb side of the fruit and doing 5-6 raspberry, 3-4 cherry.
Here's their recipe.. I'm getting impatient.. I would be nice to pop a couple bottles for Valentine's Day.
Ingredients:
3 lbs. pilsner malt
2 lbs. malted wheat
1 lb. flaked wheat
2 lbs. unhopped light dry malt extract (DME)
4 AAU well-aged aroma hops: such as Saaz, East Kent Goldings or Tettnang (1 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
Belgian ale yeast slurry (White Labs WLP550 or Wyeast 1762)
Lambic yeast or bacteria culture (recultured yeast from commercial lambic, Wyeast 3278 or both)
6 to 9 lbs. cherries, raspberries, peaches or other fruit (picked fresh, washed, cut up and frozen until ready to use)
1 cup unhopped light dry malt extract (DME) to prime
Step by Step:
Heat 9 quarts water to 163° F. Crush whole grains and add, with flaked wheat, to liquor. Hold mash at 152° F for 75 minutes. Runoff and sparge with 12 quarts water at 170° F. Add DME, stir well, bring to a boil. Add hops, boil 60 minutes. Remove from heat. Add to fermenter along with enough pre-boiled and chilled water to make up 5.25 gallons.
Cool to 70° F, pitch ale yeast. Ferment at 68° F for two weeks, rack onto fruit in your secondary and add lambic culture. Condition cool (50° F) for three to four weeks. Rack into third vessel to clarify at 50° F for two weeks. Prime with DME, bottle and age at least three to four weeks at 45° to 50° F. Serve at 40° F in either a heavy glass tumbler or a champagne-style flute.
All-grain option:
Replace the DME with another 1.5 lbs. each pilsner and wheat malt. Increase mash water to 13 quarts and sparge water to 16 quarts. Mash time and temperatures will be the same. Proceed as above from boiling.
All-extract option:
Omit pilsner and wheat malts. Steep flaked wheat in 3 gallons at 150° F for 30 minutes. Remove grains. Increase DME to 5.5 lbs., proceed as above from boiling.