Can I add raspberries to this?

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msharki

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Chateau Northern Lambic Grand Cru Partial Mash Kit : Northern Brewer

This is a Lambic kit from Northern Brewer, and yes it specifically says it's meant to be a pure lambic without fruit, but I'm having trouble finding a lambic recipe easier to brew and ferment. I'm wondering if I did add say 10 pounds of raspberries to the secondary would I have to add a second yeast? I've seen many Lambic recipes that utilize 2 different yeasts. Or, does someone have a good Framboise recipe and procedure they would be willing to share with me. I'm looking for one that is much higher alcohol than Lindman's Framboise.
 
I would say yes you can. I have never done a lambic, but I do alot of golden Belgium ales and I add raspberries all of the time. I also would not add any more yeast after the initial fermentation is over. You can do a secondary or I just add the raspberries and cold crash in the primary after fermentation.
 
Thanks man. I wasn't sure if that particular yeast could handle fermenting the amount of raspberries after it had already fermented the regular wort.
 
What Secondary? It's a Lambic! Lambics are normally fermented on the yeast cake. The cake is food for the brett during the long fermentation. If you do rack to secondary, do it early to ensure you get a lot of the active sacc yeast going over to provide food for the Brett.

If you want to add fruit, wait until it is at least 6 months old, and then leave it on the fruit for at least 6 months. If you add the fruit too early the sacc yeast will still be around, and eat up the sugars really quickly. Adding the fruit later gives the bugs a chance at it to help develop the flavors.

Don't worry about having organisms to devour any sugars. The Brett will stick around for at least 18 months, probably longer, and so will many of the bugs. Most of them don't come into their own until the 8 to 10 months period.
 
Or, does someone have a good Framboise recipe and procedure they would be willing to share with me. I'm looking for one that is much higher alcohol than Lindman's Framboise.

Lambic is a low alcohol style. Part of the reason is that the souring critters only tolerate so much alcohol, although you might be able to get around 6% without sacrificing too much souring. Part of the reason is also that some of the sugars that would become alcohol become acids that create the desired sourness.

If you're looking for a raspberry beer of greater ABV, why not just make a non-sour beer? Alternatively, if you are after the sourness and the higher ABV, you could let the lambic run its course and after 12-18 months of aging blend it with a very high ABV beer to get in the 8-10% range.
 
Lambic is a low alcohol style. Part of the reason is that the souring critters only tolerate so much alcohol, although you might be able to get around 6% without sacrificing too much souring. Part of the reason is also that some of the sugars that would become alcohol become acids that create the desired sourness.

If you're looking for a raspberry beer of greater ABV, why not just make a non-sour beer? Alternatively, if you are after the sourness and the higher ABV, you could let the lambic run its course and after 12-18 months of aging blend it with a very high ABV beer to get in the 8-10% range.

6% would be fine Lindman's Framboise is listed as having around 2.5% and that's just too low for me to wait 2 years for. I do like the taste of Lambic and Lambic style beers are the only ones I have found that I like fruit in. All the other fruit beers just taste wrong to me (except for Troegs: The Mad Elf), but I don't think they use an overabundance of cherries. As long as I'll still be able to get the thing carbonated in the end, I think I'm just going to buy the kit from Northern brewer and add the raspberries after a year goes by.
 
What Secondary? It's a Lambic! Lambics are normally fermented on the yeast cake. The cake is food for the brett during the long fermentation. If you do rack to secondary, do it early to ensure you get a lot of the active sacc yeast going over to provide food for the Brett.

Will the 3278 create a blow-off type fermentation or a more moderate type? Do you need a lot of head space in the carboy? I have a 5, 6, and 6.5 all glass and would think 2-3 yrs of aging should be done with little air space. Any thoughts on which to use if keeping all primary?
 
I have a 6 gallon lambic in a 6.5 gallon fermenter with 3278. The primary sacc strains include Belgian ale strains which will definitely push a thick krausen. I used an airlock from the start but the krausen pushed into the airlock, so I'd probably go with a blow off tube just in case. As long as the fermenter isn't disturbed during the aging period the CO2 should limit the contact with oxygen and should not be an issue.
 
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