Blood Orange & Sage Sour Red

[italarican]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

Wyeast 1214 Belgian Abbey

Yeast Starter

Yep

Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter

Wyeast 3763 (Roeselare), WLP653 (Brett L)

Batch Size (Gallons)

5.25

Original Gravity

1.080

Final Gravity

1.020

Boiling Time (Minutes)

60

IBU

13

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

21 days @ 65F

Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

However long you need (Mine was 11 additional months) @ 68F

Tasting Notes

Really juicy berry & grapefruit, moderately acidic, w/ a delightful finish of citrus rind, funk, & subtle herbs

The idea: fruit & herb sour that's sort of a hybrid of a Flanders Red grain bill w/ the process of the RR Consecration Clone.

Quotes from some homebrew friends after trying:
"Up there with one of the best homebrews I've ever had."
"You should enter this in a competition."
"I've daydreamed about that beer all day."
"Can't get over how good this is."

Grain Bill (Shoot for 1.070-1.080)
43% Vienna (6 lbs)
21% Munich (3 lbs)
14% 2-Row (2 lbs)
7.5% Acidulated Malt (1 lb)
3.5% Cara 45 (0.5 lbs)
3.5% Special B (0.5 lbs)
7.5% Turbinado Sugar (1 lb)-- At boil

Hops
0.5 oz Sterling 60 min
0.5 oz Sterling 5 min

Extras for Secondary
4 oz French Oak Cubes
18 Blood Oranges (approx. 4 lbs)
1.5 oz sage leaves

Process
Mash @ 153, 60 min
Sparge @ 168, 15 min
60-minute boil
Chill to 65, pitch Abbey Yeast

After 3 weeks, add Roeselare and Brett L. I left it at basement temp (68F) rest of the way.
When base is soured & funky to your liking (for me was 6 months), add oak, blood oranges, and sage.

I prepped the fruit/herbs by zesting, peeling, & muddling the blood oranges (removing as much white/rind as possible) in a sanitized bowl w/ chiffonaded sage leaves. Both the blood oranges and their zest are going in this! Soaked the mixture overnight in vodka.

Taste until it's to your liking. For me, the blood orange dominated after 1 month, and the perfect balance of sour, funk, sweet berries, & mild savory herbal finish was there around 2.5 months.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Sounds good. Wish we were closer to each other so I could trade some hombrew to have some Although Indiana, PA isn't too far (recall seeing the huge nuclear exhaust towers in Indiana, PA while driving to Altoona).

A pound of acid malt in 5 gallons? Sorry, I'm not seeing the gallon size in the recipe.

I made a Blood Orange Wheat this past winter. Excellent...

 

[italarican]

Sounds good. Wish we were closer to each other so I could trade some hombrew to have some Although Indiana, PA isn't too far (recall seeing the huge nuclear exhaust towers in Indiana, PA while driving to Altoona).

A pound of acid malt in 5 gallons? Sorry, I'm not seeing the gallon size in the recipe.

I made a Blood Orange Wheat this past winter. Excellent...

This is for 5.25 gallons.

Good point about the acidulated malt: when I brewed this, I was in a rental with some funky water. I recently moved and haven't tested my new water yet.

Altoona is close relative to everything else!

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Is the brew overly acidic? I ask as I used 1 pound in a 12 gallon batch (final size 10 gallons) and, IMO, was a bit acidic. After several months of aging not so acidic as when first bottled.

 

[italarican]

It's definitely acidic but not "overly" acidic for a sour. I'd say a moderate level for a sour but if forced to go either way, more acidic than other sours than less acidic (maybe a 6/10 compared to aged American sours).

Roeselare tends to not get overly sour the first go-around, so that helps. You're really just letting it age until that flavor profile is to your liking. The tangy, sweet berry flavor of the blood oranges complements the acidity really well.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Sounds good!