When to secondary a Flanders Red?

CornyKegs 728
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.
G

g-star

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2010
Messages
869
Reaction score
163
Location
PA
I just brewed a Flanders Red with ECY02 and it is fermenting away in a plastic bucket. This strain contains Belgian sacch yeast, in addition to several strains of brett, pedio, and lacto.

My question is when should I transfer this to a better bottle for long term aging? I've never done a sour before, but from what I've read, the plastic buckets allow in too much O2, and I don't want excessive acetic acid character, though some would certainly be more than appropraite.

Anybody have experience or advice to offer?
 
I'm no expert but based on the input from a few experienced brewers, I transferred to glass after the initial sacc. ferment, around two weeks. Apparently leaving it long term on the dregs from the sacc. ferment will significantly enhance the funk beer, and as you mention having it longterm in plastic will really drive the acetobacter. My first flanders is about four months old now, so thats about all i can contribute. Good luck.
 
McCheese352 said:
I'm no expert but based on the input from a few experienced brewers, I transferred to glass after the initial sacc. ferment, around two weeks. Apparently leaving it long term on the dregs from the sacc. ferment will significantly enhance the funk beer, and as you mention having it longterm in plastic will really drive the acetobacter. My first flanders is about four months old now, so thats about all i can contribute. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Just out of curiosity, what culture did you use? Did you ferment with a neutral strain first, then add the bugs? Or did you just toss it in all at once?
 
I used the Wyeast Roselare straight up. My concern with using a neutral strain prior to the bugs was, it wouldn't be sour enough. I also added oak when i went to secondary, 1oz medium toast french.
 
just racked my flanders to a barrel the other day - it spent three months in a bucket and i went by taste - it was ready to go. very sour, which is what i was going for - hoping it picks up a little body in the barrel, but i'll likely blend some of it with a newer version before bottling.
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I'm thinking I will go three months in the bucket, then transfer to a better bottle with 1oz oak for long term aging (another 6+ months).

Any worries about disturbing a pellicle if it forms while still in the bucket?
 
I think that Sparrow's Wild Brews says even one week is fine, though I might wait longer than that. Anytime after Sacc is done seems fine, since the idea from what I've read is just to get it off of the dead yeast to prevent autolysis. This is in distinction to lambics where you want the dead yeast around for (I think) Brett to eat.
 
The problem is that we are talking about comparing professional brewing to home brewing. Sparrow does talk about pulling it off the yeast, but that primary is done is stainless. Also it is transferred into a barrel. The barrel allows more O2 transmission than glass/better bottle but less than a plastic bucket. So we are comparing apples and crabapples really. You are fine to transfer off whenever you want, but you could also leave it on the sacc. (if it's in glass/better bottle) without any real problems.

You might want to purge your better bottle with CO2 before you transfer to prevent acetobacter from taking over.
 
weremichael said:
The problem is that we are talking about comparing professional brewing to home brewing. Sparrow does talk about pulling it off the yeast, but that primary is done is stainless. Also it is transferred into a barrel. The barrel allows more O2 transmission than glass/better bottle but less than a plastic bucket. So we are comparing apples and crabapples really. You are fine to transfer off whenever you want, but you could also leave it on the sacc. (if it's in glass/better bottle) without any real problems.

You might want to purge your better bottle with CO2 before you transfer to prevent acetobacter from taking over.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...thanks, all good points. I don't keg at the moment, so I don't know how I would be able to purge the better bottle with CO2. I guess I could always blend it with a new brew down the road if it ends up getting too sour.
 

Similar threads

Lucky_Tart
Flanders red + ??? = Sour Stout (Developing a recipe for blending)
Replies
10
Views
2K
Lucky_Tart
Lucky_Tart
J_Flint
First Flanders Red - Not "Bretty" Enough?
Replies
15
Views
2K
AMessenger
AMessenger
S
(Relatively) Quick Flanders Red with Philly Sour & Brett only...done before?
Replies
13
Views
4K
sykesey
S
B
Thin, Watery, Flavorless Aged Beer... Help!
Replies
11
Views
3K
sweetcell
sweetcell
Beer666
Advice using WLP661 &WLP672?
Replies
6
Views
1K
Beer666
Beer666

Latest posts

Back
Top