So we're thinking of doing this lambic braggot... and I have some questions on when to pitch and what. Everything I've read has said to do a fermentation with a clean ale yeast and then a week or so later add the bugs. Well I have a slightly unique situation here. What we had planned on doing it fermenting out the beer portion and adding the honey over the course of a few weeks to ensure that the yeast were up to the job. However, with mead we usually use a wine yeast, and according to what I've read the bugs don't like a high abv environment.
We were planning on using either wlp655 which is listed as having Brettanomyces, Saccharomyces, and the bacterial strains Lactobacillus and Pediococcus or the wyeast strain that is basically the same thing.
So since both of those list Saccharomyces could I just pitch the vial and let it all go while adding the honey over time to make sure the bacteria can be conditioned to the alcohol? Or do I need to still do a straight sacc feremntation and then add the bugs? I'm afraid that if I do it with sacc first then the bugs will never be able to really get going because a) the alcohol and b) the braggot will have much less high chain dextrins than a beer would.
We were planning on using either wlp655 which is listed as having Brettanomyces, Saccharomyces, and the bacterial strains Lactobacillus and Pediococcus or the wyeast strain that is basically the same thing.
So since both of those list Saccharomyces could I just pitch the vial and let it all go while adding the honey over time to make sure the bacteria can be conditioned to the alcohol? Or do I need to still do a straight sacc feremntation and then add the bugs? I'm afraid that if I do it with sacc first then the bugs will never be able to really get going because a) the alcohol and b) the braggot will have much less high chain dextrins than a beer would.