What to do with 30Lbs. of grade A blueberries. Make a Fruit Lambic?

[PepeSylvia1]

Going to be looking into making a blueberry lambic style beer. I have done some sour ales that turned out pretty nice. But never a fruit lambic. I want this to have a blue tint and blue head if possible. And want to have a nice pronounced blueberry flavor, at least while its young.

Looking for some advice: I am thinking about doing 70% pilsner 30% wheat OG 1.056 Primary sacc fermentation stopping it around 1.025 Then adding Brett and Lacto or a mix of commercial dregs. Let that sit for about 6 months. Then add a ton of mashed up blueberries and let that sit for a month or so.

Any one have experience with this? These are some basic thoughts and haven't done much research yet. How am I looking?

 

[SourBrewer]

Going to be looking into making a blueberry lambic style beer. I have done some sour ales that turned out pretty nice. But never a fruit lambic. I want this to have a blue tint and blue head if possible. And want to have a nice pronounced blueberry flavor, at least while its young.

Looking for some advice: I am thinking about doing 70% pilsner 30% wheat OG 1.056 Primary sacc fermentation stopping it around 1.025 Then adding Brett and Lacto or a mix of commercial dregs. Let that sit for about 6 months. Then add a ton of mashed up blueberries and let that sit for a month or so.

Any one have experience with this? These are some basic thoughts and haven't done much research yet. How am I looking?

Do you plan to hop it?

 

[PepeSylvia1]

Yeah I want to... I have some old EKG hops only 1.5 oz and 2 oz of old sorachi ace

 

[SourBrewer]

The commercial Lactos seem to have a hard time souring in the presence of hops & ETOH. Commercial dregs with wild Pedio is better for late additions.

I would just go with flaked wheat and add the Brett up front. The Sacch will out compete it anyways.

Also, blueberries make purple beer.

 

[PepeSylvia1]

The commercial Lactos seem to have a hard time souring in the presence of hops & ETOH. Commercial dregs with wild Pedio is better for late additions.

I would just go with flaked wheat and add the Brett up front. The Sacch will out compete it anyways.

Also, blueberries make purple beer.

Purple is good Just want a fun color for some reason. Should I just add dregs up front also? Or wait till primary is close to complete?

 

[abawol01]

I would recommend doubling your time frame. A year in the carboy and then two months on the fruit at 2# per gallon or more. Blueberry can be a a pain in the ass to get flavor from.

 

[SourBrewer]

Purple is good Just want a fun color for some reason. Should I just add dregs up front also? Or wait till primary is close to complete?

If over 10 IBU I would just add everything up front, assuming you temps will be in the 60s.

 

[jmarsh123]

Your grain bill looks like what I normally use. I always use Wyeast 3278 as my primary yeast and supplement with dregs. I've had good results both adding them early and later in the process.

In general my base ages for ~6 months before it's fruited. I generally use around 2# of fruit per gallon especially if it's a less intense fruit like blueberry an d leave it on fruit anywhere from 3-6 months.. I've done two batches of blueberry lambic now and they tend to be on the high end of secondary time.

 

[PepeSylvia1]

Thanks All, for the feedback, hopefully I brew this in the next week or 2.

 

[PepeSylvia1]

Your grain bill looks like what I normally use. I always use Wyeast 3278 as my primary yeast and supplement with dregs. I've had good results both adding them early and later in the process.

In general my base ages for ~6 months before it's fruited. I generally use around 2# of fruit per gallon especially if it's a less intense fruit like blueberry an d leave it on fruit anywhere from 3-6 months.. I've done two batches of blueberry lambic now and they tend to be on the high end of secondary time.

Would you use a starter on Wyeast 3278? Or just pitch that into 5 G of 1.056 wort?

 

[SourBrewer]

Would you use a starter on Wyeast 3278? Or just pitch that into 5 G of 1.056 wort?

Wyeast 3278 is not intended for starters. You will end with a higher bacterial ratio.

 

[PepeSylvia1]

So another question... When adding the fruit after 6 month or so, will I need to sanitize it somehow? Was wondering about soaking in vodka or even boiling in a little water. Thoughts?

 

[abawol01]

So another question... When adding the fruit after 6 month or so, will I need to sanitize it somehow? Was wondering about soaking in vodka or even boiling in a little water. Thoughts?

Considering it's already a "wild" beer I wouldn't be too concerned. If you are though, I like to blend the fruit with a bit of vodka. That has worked with my fruited clean beers.

 

[jmarsh123]

So another question... When adding the fruit after 6 month or so, will I need to sanitize it somehow? Was wondering about soaking in vodka or even boiling in a little water. Thoughts?

I've never bothered with sanitizing since it's a wild beer anyway.

 

[PepeSylvia1]

I guess if my base was tasting really nice I wouldn't want any thing living in the skins changing that. But I'll probably wing it. Thanks again.

 

[skiofpinsk]

I guess if my base was tasting really nice I wouldn't want any thing living in the skins changing that. But I'll probably wing it. Thanks again.

I've read of others making wild beers using solely what's already on the fruit skins, and the results are positive. Adding unsanitized fruit to a beer that's already crawling with critters, you probably aren't taking a big risk. My first sour batch was a sour blond that I aged on plums. When I added them I simply chopped them up, added to the secondary, and racked the beer over.

 

[PepeSylvia1]

Gonna finally brew this tomorrow.... Will get some updated info once I get rolling with it.

 

[thefleshlight]

When you guys culture with commercial dregs, do you make a starter out of it or just toss them in as is/with some yeast energizer?

 

[PepeSylvia1]

When you guys culture with commercial dregs, do you make a starter out of it or just toss them in as is/with some yeast energizer?

Depends... If I were going to try and make a full pitch out if dregs you would have to step it up a few times to get the right amount. A lot of times I collect a bunch of dregs and just toss them in with my primary pitch. Probably would also be a good idea to add some fresh wort to your dregs to get them active a a day or so before pitching. I could be completely wrong...

 

[juanmalamunga]

Loving this thread. GL OP!

 

[thefleshlight]

Depends... If I were going to try and make a full pitch out if dregs you would have to step it up a few times to get the right amount. A lot of times I collect a bunch of dregs and just toss them in with my primary pitch. Probably would also be a good idea to add some fresh wort to your dregs to get them active a a day or so before pitching. I could be completely wrong...

Ya, I thought you needed to step up the dregs but I've not done a sour of any kind yet.

 

[TripleSixHoppia]

Always step up dregs. You want them to go in there rocking. Under pitching is retarded.