Pitched Wyeast 3278. What should I expect?

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eddie

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On 4/23/10 I brewed my very first lambic-style. It's an unblended (straight) lambic using extract 70/30 pils/wheat currently fermenting at a constant 65F. Rather than fermenting first with US-05 or Notty, I pitched a pack of Wyeast #3278 Belgian Lambic Blend and it's been happily bubbling away ever since and things are looking pretty normal right now. I expect the krausen to fall tomorrow and the bugs to start taking over. My question to you is this; what should I expect to happen with my beer and what do you think the final result will be?
 
On 4/23/10 I brewed my very first lambic-style. It's an unblended (straight) lambic using extract 70/30 pils/wheat currently fermenting at a constant 65F. Rather than fermenting first with US-05 or Notty, I pitched a pack of Wyeast #3278 Belgian Lambic Blend and it's been happily bubbling away ever since and things are looking pretty normal right now. I expect the krausen to fall tomorrow and the bugs to start taking over. My question to you is this; what should I expect to happen with my beer and what do you think the final result will be?

The organisms that create the sour and funk in a Lambic take a long time to do their thing. At first you won't notice anything unusual. After a few months it should start to get sour and funky. A pellicle may grow on the top of the liquid during this time. The flavor and aroma will also change drastically. It's hard to say what the outcome will be since there are so many factors involved.
 
put it someplace dark for a couple years and forget about it. dont keep it where you can see it.
 
I highly suggest adding the dregs of commercial sours to add additional bugs for more complex flavors

Im glad you pitched the lambic blend from the start, if you ferment in a carboy and start with a clean yeast first the beer will never get sour/funky enough

I would suggest feeding the beer a bit of fresh wort in 6-8mos, this gives the brett a boost and will help make a better beer, Ive noticed that the first pitchings from a smack pack tend to be a bit tame so I usually suggest adding some maltodextrin as well to really give them something to eat
 
I agree with boxcar. Let it go for a couple of years and forget about it. That will be the easiest. I pitched 3278 and it took about 6-8 months to start creating a pellicle and I let it age for 2+ years. Hard to do, but well worth the wait in the end.
 
I highly suggest adding the dregs of commercial sours to add additional bugs for more complex flavors

Im glad you pitched the lambic blend from the start, if you ferment in a carboy and start with a clean yeast first the beer will never get sour/funky enough

I would suggest feeding the beer a bit of fresh wort in 6-8mos, this gives the brett a boost and will help make a better beer, Ive noticed that the first pitchings from a smack pack tend to be a bit tame so I usually suggest adding some maltodextrin as well to really give them something to eat

Thanks. I pitched the 3278 directly to the wort without first using other yeast because I want the funk and the sour to get as much oompf as possible. I figured prefermenting would lessen this so I skipped it. I was thinking of adding invert sugar (I've got about a pound of sugar-in-the-raw I converted a while back) at the 6 month mark to give the bugs a little treat. Would that be okay or should I use something like maltodextrin or lactose or DME or nothing where it's my first?
 
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