Blackman Yeast recipe

[MaddBaggins]

I got 2 packs of Blackman Yeast sour blends and decided to brew a 10g batch and split it 5/5 with the 2 different yeasts. F4 Flemish and A4 American.

17# Domestic Pilsner 70%
2# German Melanoidan 8%
2# Belgian Caramunich 8%
1.5# Domestic Rye 6%
.5# English Pale Chocolate 2%
.5# rolled oats 2%
1# Mexican cane sugar 4%

1oz Saaz 2.4aa @ 40min

mashing at 157˚

I have a vial of WLP648 that I may drop in both after primary fermentation is done.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Not much room for the break. Eek!

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1432068832.154799.jpg

 

[MaddBaggins]

1.062 OG. Split into 2 6.5g carboys. Both put into my fermentation closet at 67.

 

[badlee]

Will you post fermentation pics?

 

[MaddBaggins]

14 hours in.
The Flemish is going off pretty good. The American is much slower but going.
I took a short video. If I get a chance I'll upload it to YouTube.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1432132903.493788.jpg

 

[badlee]

Wonderful,cheers

 

[chrilr]

Have you ever used trois after primary is finished before? I have not noticed any flavor contributions, only extra attenuation.

 

[MaddBaggins]

I've used 644 to finish out some beers that had T-58 as the primary. It brought just a touch of fruit and funk both times.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Krausen dropped on the Flemish already. The American is full krausen now.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Krausen is dropping on the American. I'm considering racking to a secondary carboy for long term conditioning. Any thoughts?

 

[burninator]

I've seen two schools of thought on this:

1. Racking to a smaller carboy reduces headspace, which lessens the risk of forming acetic acid.
2. Autolysis is not really am issue with a beer like this, as brett is able to use dead sacc cells as nutrients, which may increase the health of the culture and allow the development of more complex (or at least different) flavors.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Agree. These blends don't have Brett but I'm 75% sure I'm going to add Brett.

 

[youreanimpulse]

Why not do both? Bottle a gal or two "clean" (ha) then age the rest with Brett. Or do it that way from the start, dividing your pitches.

 

[badlee]

I was advised by Mr BMY himself that the American should go one week primary and two weeks in a warm secondary.
I am going to follow this on my first brew with his product

 

[MaddBaggins]

3 weeks start to finish is crazy. I'll take a gravity/taste sample and see what's up. It's one week in now.

 

[badlee]

That was only for A4. Not the Belgian

 

[MaddBaggins]

Took samples today. 3-1/2 weeks in. 2 weeks in the mid to hi 60's and now in the mid 70's.
A4 is 1.018 and very mellow sour.
F4 is 1.02 and has a nice tart going.
Both are pretty sweet.

I'm going to let them sit for a while longer. I may pitch some Brett in the A4.

 

[badlee]

Just posted a full write up on my blog

 

[MaddBaggins]

Took samples this morning. Appx 8-1/2 weeks. Both at 1.016
The A4 has a good sour, light body sweet finish
The F4 has a better sour profile with a light body, semi sweet

I like the Flemish better. I'll probably keg the American soon and let the Flemish ride till I have time to bottle in a month or two.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Still have both of these in carboys at nearly 5 months.
A4 is at 1.006 tastes sweet with a mild tart
F4 is at 1.014 with a cherry sweetness and mild tart.
Both look clean and smell pleasant. Minor pellicle formation.
Both are tasty but neither is really spectacular. Some fruit would have done them a lot of good I think.

 

[badlee]

I think that you have gotten all that you will get from the mix this time round.

 

[MaddBaggins]

I was thinking the same thing. The A4 went a lot lower than the F4 but I think it's about time to bottle.

 

[MaddBaggins]

I kegged the A4 today. It had some pellicle on top. Just a thin film. 1.006 FG. It has a mellow tart, slightly sweet finish. Nothing spectacular really. I added a medium toast American Oak spiral to the keg.
I dropped a spiral in the F4 last week and will bottle it soon.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1452455388.704489.jpg

 

[badlee]

I am on the 4th generation A4 now and have mixed it with Belle Saison.
It has started to produce a very noticable tartness that developes well in the bottle,even in a beer with 28IBUs