Advice on pitching Roselare

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Calder

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I've done a number of sours, but up to now I have fermented with a Belgian yeast and then added a bug mix (dregs from bottles, and cakes) to secondary.

I have a pak of Roselare that I plan to pitch into fresh wort next weekend. Any suggestions on what I should do?

- Should I aerate. Less O2 will help Lacto, and slow the sacc.
- Should I delay aeration?
- No aeration, and just add a drop of olive oil to provide sterols for the yeast?
 
I'm about to brew with Roeselare as well. Planning to pitch directly into primary with no other yeast and no starter from what i've read so far. What I haven't been able to determine is if I should just leave it in the primary for a year and let the bugs dine on the yeast, or transfer to secondary for extended aging. I'm leaning toward just leaving it in the primary.
I understand traditional flanders oud bruins use a secondary.... but this is my first, so if it even comes out drinkable next year I'll be happy.
 
I'm about to brew with Roeselare as well. Planning to pitch directly into primary with no other yeast and no starter from what i've read so far. What I haven't been able to determine is if I should just leave it in the primary for a year and let the bugs dine on the yeast, or transfer to secondary for extended aging. I'm leaning toward just leaving it in the primary.
I understand traditional flanders oud bruins use a secondary.... but this is my first, so if it even comes out drinkable next year I'll be happy.

It's up to you. If you leave it in primary it will be funkier.
 
I'm about to brew with Roeselare as well. Planning to pitch directly into primary with no other yeast and no starter from what i've read so far. What I haven't been able to determine is if I should just leave it in the primary for a year and let the bugs dine on the yeast, or transfer to secondary for extended aging. I'm leaning toward just leaving it in the primary.
I understand traditional flanders oud bruins use a secondary.... but this is my first, so if it even comes out drinkable next year I'll be happy.

points for spelling roeselare right, you have joined the hbt correct minority! i have a red ale w/ roeselare that is just over 6 months old, but started with neutral ale yeast. but i split it into 3 containers to age; 1 got the yeast cake, 1 got no yeast cake, and 1 i aerated the hell out of and left headspace. unfortunately i'm just not ready to sample them quite yet but i'll report back at some point!
 
I always pitch some healthy brewer’s yeast along with bug blends. Perfectly fresh you'd be fine with Roeselare alone, but I had an awful first batch when a pack of Wyeast Lambic Blend took four days to start fermenting. At least have some other yeast on hand to pitch if you don't see activity in a day or two.
 
I don't mind funk, but i don't want too much barnyard earthy funk. I'd like more of the sour notes to come through, but not be overly sour. I may just have to brew up a large batch and split it doing one each way. Long time to wait to figure out which one was right for my palate though.

Seems like all three options the OP outlined are likely to produce good results, just different profiles. Combined with secondary or not, and pitch in secondary vs primary... 27 possible different approaches. Guess you've got to just jump in and set the needle, then adjust one way or the other.... a year later.
 
My plan is to go with the third option:

- No aeration (but will not actively avoid splashing) + a drop of olive oil.

If anyone thinks I am doing something stupid, let me know. I'm brewing Sunday; my better half is out of the house then.
 
One drop of olive oil is way too much.

Agreed, it is more than needed. But when you say too much, it gives the indication that it is a problem. Please tell me what problem I should expect to have with 1 drop of olive oil?
 
Agreed, it is more than needed. But when you say too much, it gives the indication that it is a problem. Please tell me what problem I should expect to have with 1 drop of olive oil?

It doesn't take much oil to severely harm head retention. Is one drop enough to cause issues though? I don't know.

Another thought, over-oxygenation causes excess cell growth, could be another thing to watch for.
 
It doesn't take much oil to severely harm head retention. Is one drop enough to cause issues though? I don't know.

Another thought, over-oxygenation causes excess cell growth, could be another thing to watch for.

I would expect any excess oil would sit on the top, and when I rack to a secondary (which is the plan), most of it will be left behind. There is very little in there, just a few small spots on the surface.

It took 4 days for the yeast to get going. I hope the beer will be OK; everything was well sanitized, and airlock placed on and not disturbed. The intent was to try and get the Lacto going before the yeast. I guess it did as I planned, but I not sure if I want to do it again. I'll probably taste a sample when fermentation dies down to see what I have got, before putting it away for the next year
 
I would expect any excess oil would sit on the top, and when I rack to a secondary (which is the plan), most of it will be left behind. There is very little in there, just a few small spots on the surface.

I brewed a walnut brown ale, with toasted/ground walnuts in the mash. The was enough oil that the head retention on the finished beer was slightly worse than cocoa-cola. Significantly more oil, but I left a good 1/2 inch of beer behind to avoid taking the "floating" oil, and it still didn't work.
 
Oil is slightly soluble in ethanol due to the polarity of the molecules. Despite most of it floating, there is almost certainly an impact.
 
points for spelling roeselare right, you have joined the hbt correct minority! i have a red ale w/ roeselare that is just over 6 months old, but started with neutral ale yeast. but i split it into 3 containers to age; 1 got the yeast cake, 1 got no yeast cake, and 1 i aerated the hell out of and left headspace. unfortunately i'm just not ready to sample them quite yet but i'll report back at some point!

Ooh, be sure to make a thread about that.
 
I brewed a walnut brown ale, with toasted/ground walnuts in the mash. The was enough oil that the head retention on the finished beer was slightly worse than cocoa-cola. Significantly more oil, but I left a good 1/2 inch of beer behind to avoid taking the "floating" oil, and it still didn't work.

I brewed a 1gal beer with 2 pounds of peanuts, and head retention was pretty good.

I'm not convinced.
 
I did a batch the other day with the Roeselare blend. Primary fermentation pushed up gunk and hops in the neck of the carboy. The gunk is now stuck in the neck. Can I leave the beer in the carboy for 6-9 months or should I rack to secondary? I'm afraid the gunk/hops will get infected in the neck of the carboy.
 
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