Quick Flanders Red

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mhenry41h

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Im going to be making a Flanders Red in the next few weeks but Im going to try and speed up the process a bit. If anybody is very familiar with my posts, they will know that I like to pitch Brett alongside my Saccro strains as I believe that when the Brett is forced to compete with the Saccro it will be more pronounced and evident in the flavors much faster. It also has something to do with having more sugars available to them. What will make this "quick" is that upon cooling of the wort (to approx 100 F) I will pitch a starter of Lactobacillus and allow it to work (tasting each day) until it reaches the level of sourness that I desire. Then I will pitch my mixed starter of Brett Lambicus and WLP500. I was able to make a Brett Saison this past summer in 6 weeks by pitching Brett B alongside the Dupont Strain and in 1 month had pronounced Brett character. Its easily the best beer I have ever made and sadly, I only have 3 750's left. Here is my recipe:

Draconian Libations': Drunk Monk Flemish Red

Est. OG: 1.056
Est. FG: 1.007
Est. SRM: 14.5
Est. IBU: 13.3
Est. ABV: 6.4%

6.00 gallons
68% Eff.

04 lbs 12 oz - Castle Pilsner
03 lbs 00 oz - Weyermann Vienna
02 lbs 08 oz - Weyermann Munich Type II
01 lbs 12 oz - Briess Flaked Corn
00 lbs 08 oz - Castle Aromatic
00 lbs 08 oz - Weyermann CaraAroma
00 lbs 08 oz - Weyerman CaraRed
00 lbs 03 oz - Crisp Pale Chocolate

1.000 oz - German Hallertauer 60 Min

1 Vial - White Labs Lactobacillus WLP677
1 Vial - White Labs Trappist Ale WLP500
1 Vial - White Labs Brettanomyces Lambicus WLP653

2.00 Oz Red Wine soaked oak cubes for secondary

flanders.jpg
 
I haven't brewed it for the first time yet. This is the next beer on my brew list. Im still waffling between sour mashing OR doing a lacto fermentation pre saccro pitch.
 
Ive brewed a completely finished and intense Brett beer in 6 weeks by pitching Brett at the same time as the Saccro. By quick, I think I can do a Lacto only fermentation for a week and then pitch Brett with WLP500 (simultaneously) and have a pleasantly good Flanders in 6-8 weeks, Mind you, I dont expect the bottles to "hit their stride" for months, but I think it will be quite drinkable in around 2 months. Experiments are grand!
 
I don't think with lacto alone you are going to get the sourness typical of flanders reds. I would expect it to be imbalanced towards more brett character.
 
ReverseApacheMaster said:
I don't think with lacto alone you are going to get the sourness typical of flanders reds. I would expect it to be imbalanced towards more brett character.

It's definitely a fear that I have. I've discussed this idea with several folks who think it could work, including JZ. I plan to let the Lacto run on it's own until it reaches the sourness I desire. Will a few weeks of only Lacto do it? I'm not so sure but hopeful to try.
 
Definitely keep us posted. I've been meaning to brew a Flanders Red, but haven't been in a situation where I know I can leave it undisturbed for more than a year. Now if this technique works, I'll have to give it a shot.
 
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