MattTimBell
Well-Known Member
Hey folks,
I'm getting ready to brew my annual RIS, a project I took on starting 3 or 4 yrs ago with my father-in-law. Every year I try a variation (cold brewed coffee yr 1, toasted cherry wood + cocoa nibs + dried chipotles yr 2, last yr. chicory). This year, I'm thinking of drawing inspiration from Orval, doing toasted cherry wood + some species of brett, but I've read so much about brett's (mis)behavior (and had a bad experience myself with brett B) that I hoped to get some advice here.
The base recipe is:
15 lbs american 2-row
3 lbs toasted, flaked oats
.75 lbs black patent
.75 lbs chocolate malt
.5 lbs roasted barley
8 oz blackstrap molasses
Mash around 154 for one hr, split between two carboys with S-04 in each. Just as primary is slowing down, rack into one carboy, toss the yeast cake, then rack back. Add between 3-4 oz toasted cherry chips. Let sit between 1 and 2 months, dry hop with Chinook, then bottle condition. Every year, this turns out delicious.
As above, I hope to add some complexity this year using brett, drawing inspiration from Orval. I like the idea of the cherry flavor promised by lambicus, but wonder if it has other behaviors that could make for trouble. One other point: this year I've moved from conditioning in bottles to using party pigs, so I'm less concerned about bottle bombs and more concerned about over-carbonation and bad flavor combos.
Thanks in advance for advice!
-- Matt
I'm getting ready to brew my annual RIS, a project I took on starting 3 or 4 yrs ago with my father-in-law. Every year I try a variation (cold brewed coffee yr 1, toasted cherry wood + cocoa nibs + dried chipotles yr 2, last yr. chicory). This year, I'm thinking of drawing inspiration from Orval, doing toasted cherry wood + some species of brett, but I've read so much about brett's (mis)behavior (and had a bad experience myself with brett B) that I hoped to get some advice here.
The base recipe is:
15 lbs american 2-row
3 lbs toasted, flaked oats
.75 lbs black patent
.75 lbs chocolate malt
.5 lbs roasted barley
8 oz blackstrap molasses
Mash around 154 for one hr, split between two carboys with S-04 in each. Just as primary is slowing down, rack into one carboy, toss the yeast cake, then rack back. Add between 3-4 oz toasted cherry chips. Let sit between 1 and 2 months, dry hop with Chinook, then bottle condition. Every year, this turns out delicious.
As above, I hope to add some complexity this year using brett, drawing inspiration from Orval. I like the idea of the cherry flavor promised by lambicus, but wonder if it has other behaviors that could make for trouble. One other point: this year I've moved from conditioning in bottles to using party pigs, so I'm less concerned about bottle bombs and more concerned about over-carbonation and bad flavor combos.
Thanks in advance for advice!
-- Matt
