Belgian Lambics

So I went to the Belgian beer fest this weekend up in Boston MA. I had a great time but to be honest I didn't go crazy over many of the beers there. I am a little disapointed that I didn't like more, but it was still a great time and worth every penny.

My biggest hope was that my girlfreind would find a brew that she would like, and you know what? She did

She decided that she likes Lambics.

OK I will get to the point... I want to make one, and I don't know anything about them. Does anyone have some good recipes for like a rasberry or strawbarry lambic? Is there anything I need to know about the yeast or anything else?

I do extract brewing with a full boil. Thanks guys.

I think Evan! was doing a cherry Lambic? Something like that. And the main thing you need to know is that it's going to be well over a year before you ever taste it.

I just bottled my Sour Peach ale...which is a controlled lactic infection to sour the mash before the boil...I am hoping to have something tangy and fruity in the near future, as I am not willing to tie up a carboy for a year in the beer lineup.

Thanks BK. After reading up on the process for brewing these it sounds pretty weird and a little complicated but maybe someone with some good experience will chime in and let me know.

It's true that traditional sour beers take a long time to age / ripen. But like BK mentioned, it's possible to kind of "fake" the process through the use of a sour mash.

Basically, you prepare a small mash using plain 2-row grain, that you let sit out and intentionally sour - usually a couple days. Then you blend the sour wort with the full-size batch of regular wort.

Such a soured beer would probably do OK with strawberries or raspberries! I think it shows promise.

Here are some links to get you started. I've never done this, myself, but am interested in doing it sometime this winter, once my To-Brew backlog gets a little shorter.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/long-mash-sour-mash-75928/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/recipe-sour-mash-question-1138/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f68/sour-mash-dry-stout-81589/

Chriso said:

usually a couple days.

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for my Sour Peach, I did a full wort volume, and added 1 # of 2 row back to the sweet wort in a steeping bag once the wort had cooled. It sat for 18 hours, the got cooked.
Mine sat for 18 hours and was pretty rancid smelling...I'm not sure I could handle a few days.

Thanks, that's the other thread I was still looking for. I knew you and jds discussed it somewhere... was just trying to get there in between the distractions.

"couple days" refers specifically to souring a small culture (1/2 lb in 3c water, in jds' recipe), then adding the sour mash TO the regular mash. You're right, sour a full mash for more than a day, and you're looking at a stink bomb.

Our homebrew club, Cascade Brewers Society, just brewed up 70 gals of lambic yesterday that will be aged in a pinot noir barrel for the next year or so.
We followed the Cantillon/Boon traditional turbid mash schedule. It makes for a very long brew day, but also preoduces a very nice beer. (I make a lambic every year that gets blended into gueze once they reach proper age)
You can go with a lambic blend, such as the Wyeast blend, or do a schedule Sacch., then add Peddiococcu, then add Brettanomyces. More details on that if you want...
Or, can do what I do, and leave the fermenting bucket open over night, after chilling, and let nature do her work. Not sure this will work for all areas, but in Eugene, OR it works jes fine.

Here is a good website with alot of great information for brewing/fermenting lambics. A Liddil Lambic Lesson: The Cult of the Biohazard Lambic Brewers

BK any particular reason why you let added the lactic bugs before boil?

phissionkorps said:

BK any particular reason why you let added the lactic bugs before boil?

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Cause the boil Kills them....thus giving me controll over how sour the beer gets. Lactic infections after the boil will continue on until the beer is completely rancid, but added before the boil...it kills any further progression, but does not cook off the sour taste.

How much of an advantage is it to brew it that way as opposed to adding lactic acid itself? Or can you even make a mock lambic style by simply adding lactic acid?

It's easy...it's fun it's easy...it's definitely interresting...but I'm not sure there is any advantage.