CortexBomb
Well-Known Member
I'm a big fan of Bam Biere. For those who don't live in the JP distribution range (which I'm assuming is small), it's a Farmhouse ale with sourness created by reused wine barrels that JP uses for all of their beers. I recently found this clone recipe:
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Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere Clone (6 Gallons)
Grain Bill:
4.38 lb Pilsner Malt
2.19 lb 2-row Malt
1.19 lb White Wheat
.56 lb Flaked Barley
.25 lb Crystal 80
.02 lb Black Patent Malt
Hop Schedule:
1.19 oz Crystal (3.8% aa) 60 min
.82 oz Crystal (3.8% aa) 30 min
.55 oz Crystal (3.8% aa) 0 min
.25-.50 oz Crystal (3.8% aa) Dry hop in secondary [you can personalize this to your liking]
Recommended yeast:
WLP550 Belgian Ale Yeast for primary fermentation
WLP650 Brettanomyces bruxellensis for secondary
WLP653 Brettanomyces lambicus for secondary
Other:
.15 oz American Oak Cubes in secondary (2 weeks)
.15 oz French Oak Cubes in secondary (2 weeks)
*To prepare, mix cubes in .5 oz of water and microwave until the water boils off
Preparation notations:
Recommended primary fermentation with WLP550 at 64 degrees initially and let ramp uncontrolled afterward
Use a thin mash: 1.4 qt/lb @ 149 degrees F
After 2 weeks in secondary, rack off hops and oak cubes into tertiary for 6 weeks
Alternatives:
Fermenting completely with dregs of a Bam Biere will create a much funkier, not accurate clone
Fermenting in secondary with dregs of a Bam Biere might create a good alternative to WLP650 and WLP653 in secondary
If using dregs, make sure to use a starter at 1.020 and step it up every time thereafter
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Now, I haven't brewed sour before. I have access to bombers of Bam here, so I was planning on harvesting some dregs and making a starter for the secondary conditioning. (Incidentally: what does the "1.020 starter, step it up every time thereafter" mean...do I need to do multiple starters to increase my bug count from the dregs?)
Here's the thing though, this recipe calls for secondary with oak, dry hopping, and then a long tertiary. I am willing to brew it mainly because I have a glass carboy that I'm planning on replacing with a Better Bottle. In theory, I can just use the glass one for sour batches so I don't have to worry about the stray bug or two not getting sanitized into oblivion. Well and good, but I don't want to have to have TWO vessels reserved for this, it's bad enough having to have dedicated siphoning equipment and a fermenter, let alone two fermenters.
My thought is that I can just reduce the oak down to, say, .1 ounces and dispense with the dry hopping in favour of more flameout hops. This would allow me to get the aromatic oils without having to move the beer again after secondary is complete. Bam has a subtle oak in the real form. I want some of that character, but I'm concerned that the long conditioning period will bring out too much of that from even a light dollop of oak.
Does anyone have experience with stuff like this? I am really gung-ho to try doing sours, but I want to make sure that I'm not spending 2 months on a beer that ends up being over-oaked/&c.
=================
Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere Clone (6 Gallons)
Grain Bill:
4.38 lb Pilsner Malt
2.19 lb 2-row Malt
1.19 lb White Wheat
.56 lb Flaked Barley
.25 lb Crystal 80
.02 lb Black Patent Malt
Hop Schedule:
1.19 oz Crystal (3.8% aa) 60 min
.82 oz Crystal (3.8% aa) 30 min
.55 oz Crystal (3.8% aa) 0 min
.25-.50 oz Crystal (3.8% aa) Dry hop in secondary [you can personalize this to your liking]
Recommended yeast:
WLP550 Belgian Ale Yeast for primary fermentation
WLP650 Brettanomyces bruxellensis for secondary
WLP653 Brettanomyces lambicus for secondary
Other:
.15 oz American Oak Cubes in secondary (2 weeks)
.15 oz French Oak Cubes in secondary (2 weeks)
*To prepare, mix cubes in .5 oz of water and microwave until the water boils off
Preparation notations:
Recommended primary fermentation with WLP550 at 64 degrees initially and let ramp uncontrolled afterward
Use a thin mash: 1.4 qt/lb @ 149 degrees F
After 2 weeks in secondary, rack off hops and oak cubes into tertiary for 6 weeks
Alternatives:
Fermenting completely with dregs of a Bam Biere will create a much funkier, not accurate clone
Fermenting in secondary with dregs of a Bam Biere might create a good alternative to WLP650 and WLP653 in secondary
If using dregs, make sure to use a starter at 1.020 and step it up every time thereafter
============
Now, I haven't brewed sour before. I have access to bombers of Bam here, so I was planning on harvesting some dregs and making a starter for the secondary conditioning. (Incidentally: what does the "1.020 starter, step it up every time thereafter" mean...do I need to do multiple starters to increase my bug count from the dregs?)
Here's the thing though, this recipe calls for secondary with oak, dry hopping, and then a long tertiary. I am willing to brew it mainly because I have a glass carboy that I'm planning on replacing with a Better Bottle. In theory, I can just use the glass one for sour batches so I don't have to worry about the stray bug or two not getting sanitized into oblivion. Well and good, but I don't want to have to have TWO vessels reserved for this, it's bad enough having to have dedicated siphoning equipment and a fermenter, let alone two fermenters.
My thought is that I can just reduce the oak down to, say, .1 ounces and dispense with the dry hopping in favour of more flameout hops. This would allow me to get the aromatic oils without having to move the beer again after secondary is complete. Bam has a subtle oak in the real form. I want some of that character, but I'm concerned that the long conditioning period will bring out too much of that from even a light dollop of oak.
Does anyone have experience with stuff like this? I am really gung-ho to try doing sours, but I want to make sure that I'm not spending 2 months on a beer that ends up being over-oaked/&c.