Advice on bottling my plambic and starting the next

[emory]

I have a lambic style ale that I think is about ready to bottle. I brewed it over a year ago and it now has a very nice tart green apple flavor with a bready finish. I used dregs from a number of sours as well as roselare. I'm planning on racking a gallon onto lychee. I see some evidence of people trying lychee sours but have not had one myself. I also will keep aside a gallon with a bit of trub to keep aging to blend into the next batch. I'm planning on bottling with some dry yeast.

For the next sour I'd like to do something with a darker grist with the hopes of getting something along the lines of supplication. Would racking on top of the yeast cake from the lambic work or should I use a different set of bugs? My plan right now is to just rack and pour some fresh RR dregs in.

 

[Calder]

I'm no expert, but from what I have read, re-use of sour cakes produces beers that are more sour. Something to do with the balance of the 'bugs' being in too high a numbers that they start souring early. If that is what you are after; go for it.

I would only use about a quarter of the cake, to give the Sacc and Brett a chance to get ahead of the bugs. I would also add some new dregs to ensure there is a full complement of bugs in the mix. That's what I've been doing with my batches, and it seems to work fine.

 

[emory]

Sounds good. The current batch was very sour at 6 months but has mellowed well since so I would not mind something with more bite in the next batch.

 

[bovineblitz]

plambic?

 

[suprchunk]

Pseudo Lambic.

I've repitched on sour cakes, or starters built up from dregs, and the beers have been no more sour than the previous batch.

I've heard both sides of the coin, or three or four sides, about what you can expect. You really can't predict which strain will dominate and take over. Just hope for the best. If you want the same proportion each time, you are going to have to start with a known amount each time.