Evan!
Well-Known Member
I picked up a Propegator sachet of Wyeast Lambic Blend at my LHBS the other day because I didn't feel like waiting for an activator to come in the mail. As you might recall, my original Oude Kriek wort, inoculated with S-05, fermented down too much, to 1.010, so JZ recommended pitching the bugs and then waiting a few months till the yeast are all dead, then adding more sugar---that way, the bugs won't have to compete with yeast for the sugars.
Anyway, I had another thought. Pseudochef keeps harping on me about not having a "true" lambic because there's saccharomyces up in there. While I'm more concerned with making good Lambic than I am to religiously adhering to traditional methodologies, I'm concerned that my final result won't be sour enough (I just drank a bottle of Hanssen's Oude Kriek the other night and it was sour as hell, just so awesome). What I'm scheming on is, racking the original 1.010 wort into its glass secondary vessel, but withholding maybe a couple quarts of it. Then, in one of my gallon glass jugs, brewing up a mini-batch with DME, dextrose and aged styrian goldings.
I'll keep saccharomyces completely out of that batch and just pitch some lambic bugs on it and let it go for a year. Guaranteed it'll be as sour as can be! I'll pitch the rest of the bugs onto the main wort, wait a few months, add some more sugar per JZ's recommendations, and let them go until this time next year. Then I'll taste the main batch and see how the sourness level is. If it's not sour enough, I'll blend in the mini all-sour batch in to taste...then add the cherries and let the rest of it go.
So in that spirit (and the spirit of wanting to use my new stirplate), I mixed up a normal 2qt starter today and dumped in the Propegator sachet that I smacked yesterday, and got a nice whirlpool goin'.
So how long would you say it needs to go? I've never made a starter with bugs before. Also, my stirbar is coated in teflon...do you think a good long soak in hot PBW, then a good sanitizer soak, will eliminate the bugs on it from this starter? I mean, nothing sticks to teflon, right?
Anyway, I had another thought. Pseudochef keeps harping on me about not having a "true" lambic because there's saccharomyces up in there. While I'm more concerned with making good Lambic than I am to religiously adhering to traditional methodologies, I'm concerned that my final result won't be sour enough (I just drank a bottle of Hanssen's Oude Kriek the other night and it was sour as hell, just so awesome). What I'm scheming on is, racking the original 1.010 wort into its glass secondary vessel, but withholding maybe a couple quarts of it. Then, in one of my gallon glass jugs, brewing up a mini-batch with DME, dextrose and aged styrian goldings.
I'll keep saccharomyces completely out of that batch and just pitch some lambic bugs on it and let it go for a year. Guaranteed it'll be as sour as can be! I'll pitch the rest of the bugs onto the main wort, wait a few months, add some more sugar per JZ's recommendations, and let them go until this time next year. Then I'll taste the main batch and see how the sourness level is. If it's not sour enough, I'll blend in the mini all-sour batch in to taste...then add the cherries and let the rest of it go.
So in that spirit (and the spirit of wanting to use my new stirplate), I mixed up a normal 2qt starter today and dumped in the Propegator sachet that I smacked yesterday, and got a nice whirlpool goin'.
So how long would you say it needs to go? I've never made a starter with bugs before. Also, my stirbar is coated in teflon...do you think a good long soak in hot PBW, then a good sanitizer soak, will eliminate the bugs on it from this starter? I mean, nothing sticks to teflon, right?