Bulk aging vs bottle aging for sours

[effigyoffaith]

All accounts say that sour beer needs a long time (years) of aging to develop desirable complex flavors and aromas and to allow the short chain organic acids to ester-ify.

My question: Is there an advantage to long aging in the carboy? or is it reasonable to go head and bottle, free up the carboy and age in the bottle for 12+ months?

Specifics: In june I brewed an oud bruin. I let fermentation go for a week with ale yeast then I pitched Wyeast's Roeselare blend and ~1/2 oz oak cubes. I delayed adding the bug because I'm not really a fan of the intense sour beers. I prefer a more gentle tartness and the complex funky aroma/flavor.

 

[dwarven_stout]

The primary advantage of bulk aging is that it allows low-hassle blending. I bulk age lambics, and bottle my other sours. I haven't done a flanders yet, though.

 

[maskednegator]

If you bottle, you will get bombs. 2 gravity points is sufficient to carb up most beers to style. Your Flanders will drop closer to 8 points.

 

[dwarven_stout]

If you bottle, you will get bombs. 2 gravity points is sufficient to carb up most beers to style. Your Flanders will drop closer to 8 points.

Kind of hard to say this if you don't know the gravity of the beer.

But... the funk will develop better if you don't rack it, and as the maskednegator points out, bottling too soon will give you bottle bombs..

 

[effigyoffaith]

I'm not worried about bottle bombs. I won't bottle until the SG stops falling. It's been three months so far and last I checked a couple of weeks ago it was ~1.005

I am more interested in the flavor development.

 

[mccann51]

I'm not worried about bottle bombs. I won't bottle until the SG stops falling. It's been three months so far and last I checked a couple of weeks ago it was ~1.005

I am more interested in the flavor development.

I'm interested in this as well. How about a necromantic 'bump'.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

Maybe he died from all the bottle bombs.

 

[BenjaminBier]

Maybe he died from all the bottle bombs.

:fro: