Consecration kit from MoreBeer

[ruger988]

Well I just took a sample of my consecration last night and it was Awesome. Perfect sourness to my liking. The last sample I did was back in June and it wasn't really close.

The beer is now about a year and 3 months old and I want to bottle, except I waited to add the oak until today, and now am reading this thread and realizing people have been aging on oak the entire time.

I'm cool with waiting another month, but wondering if I should add some additional oak in the process to make up for lost time.

More importantly, my gravity right now is 1.011, not the 1.008 that more beer says that Vinnie would never bottle above.

Maybe in a month I might lose another point, and I guess I will then use the priming calculator mentioned a few posts earlier. So I am just wondering what other people are having for gravity at bottling. Some other info, I did the extract beer with roselaire and belgian yeast at the start, and then added several bottles of allagash coolship and cantillon dregs over the course of the first couple months.

Let it ride until you can't stand waiting anymore, its only getting better.

My understanding is that most people are leaving it on the oak the whole time to get the most out of the "Russian River Bugs" in the oak that's included in the kit.

 

[user 141939]

Let it ride until you can't stand waiting anymore, its only getting better.

My understanding is that most people are leaving it on the oak the whole time to get the most out of the "Russian River Bugs" in the oak that's included in the kit.

I've been reading through all the thread since I posted. I guess I'm just going to taste for oak periodically and assess as I go. Hopefully I can let it sit for a month or two and retest and see if the gravity moves.

The thing is for me, I don't like REALLY sour beers. That's why right now for me is perfect, it's sour but not overwhelmingly puckering.

I think you are right though, need to just let it ride some more, as long as oak doesn't get too strong.

 

[user 141939]

A week and a half after adding the oak cubes and there is a film forming along the top of the beer. Also the airlock is bubbling again. Looks like I will not be bottling soon.

 

[TrickyDick]

Mine is ready to bottle. Brewed December 2013. too lazy to bottle.... Have actually 60 gallons to bottle of several sours. That should last me a really, really, really, really long time.

TD

 

[Hanso]

That is over 26 full cases of 12 oz bottles. I've been meaning to make use of some extra bottles I've got laying around - mind filling 6 cases of mine?

 

[TrickyDick]

Lol! That's why they've been sitting there! 8 carboys and two of those brewcube dog food storage bins as fermentors. I did make an effort recently and placed two carboys on a bench in plans to rack into bottling buckets. That was about 6 weeks ago. Between kids school and homework and sports and my own career, wife, dog, household tasks etc. It's been hard to find time or energy to tackle the job.
TD

 

[FredTheNuke]

Just keg it!!!! Much less hassle...

 

[TrickyDick]

If my notes are right, looks like mine is two years old. Sticker I marked the carboy with says 12/2013. Time to bottle!! I tested them at about 10 months checking and recording pH and FG. I'll report my final numbers but tasted some out of carboy today and wow. Sour and complex. The wlp530 half is nicely complex and sour. The roeselare primary fermented half is much more sour and complex. I am.not sure if I should blend them or just bottle.

 

[505-Brewer]

If my notes are right, looks like mine is two years old. Sticker I marked the carboy with says 12/2013. Time to bottle!! I tested them at about 10 months checking and recording pH and FG. I'll report my final numbers but tasted some out of carboy today and wow. Sour and complex. The wlp530 half is nicely complex and sour. The roeselare primary fermented half is much more sour and complex. I am.not sure if I should blend them or just bottle.

If you have the capacity keep some of each and blend some.

 

[TrickyDick]

If you have the capacity keep some of each and blend some.

Do you mean blend part of the two halves (each with a bit different fermentation) together? I was wondering if you can just as easily blend in the glass after bottling too. I suspect that two 10% plus ABV bottles at once might be a bit much....

TD

 

[mbbransc]

Bottle (2) gallons of each separately. With the remaining (3) gallons of each, do 20/80, 50/50, and 80/20 splits. That way, you end up with (5) different beers.

 

[TrickyDick]

Well...


I didn't do this.


I bottled all 5 gallons of the more soured version. I haven't as yet done anything with the other version.

I popped a bottle a few weeks ago. I had finished them with corks. It wasn't carbonated yet so I re-corked it. Popped it a couple weeks later and was ready! Very good!
I've not had commercial COnsecration in a few years. I have a 3 yr old bottle in the fridge. Heck, I brewed MY version 3 years ago too!
Had another bottle tonight, fully carbonated, and wow! Great stuff!

TD

 

[The_Nid_Hog]

Anybody know if MoreBeer is still making the kit? I never got one, but I'd be up for it if it meant getting some Vinnie barrel fragments.

I've been brewing a version of this for about three years now, I keep the grain bill generally the same, and reuse the same old yeast cake while adding new Sacc each time (Wyeast Abbey II). I've varied the dried fruit, migrating from currants to pluots to cherries. With the last batch, I pulled off a couple of gallons to dry hop before bottling.

But all good things must come to an end, and I decided to make a clean start. I harvested some dregs just in case, but I'm going to start again from scratch. Beyond Roeselare, anybody have any recommendations for a good yeast/bug combo? Doesn't have to be an all-in-one thing. Right now, I've got sours going on ECY01 and Yeast Bay Mélange. Any suggestions?

 

[user 141939]

Anybody know if MoreBeer is still making the kit? I never got one, but I'd be up for it if it meant getting some Vinnie barrel fragments.

I made this beer once with the more beer kit and if I were to make it again I wouldn't bother with the kit, especially if you can get the currants somewhere.

IMHO those barrel fragments were kind of garbage. They were like 90% raw oak and just a small piece of one side was actually the inside of the barrel. Just my opinion.

 

[MFerBrew]

I made this beer once with the more beer kit and if I were to make it again I wouldn't bother with the kit, especially if you can get the currants somewhere.

IMHO those barrel fragments were kind of garbage. They were like 90% raw oak and just a small piece of one side was actually the inside of the barrel. Just my opinion.

Agree completely. We are planning on making this again, but ordering the ingredients individually. MoreBeer deserves compensation for putting this together and they got my initial order. But there's no reason to overpay for gimmick.

 

[mitchard]

Build up some RR sour dregs, and age some oak cubes in there. Homemade Vinnie oak! Its generally pretty easy to obtain a bottle through trading if you aren't available to get them locally.

 

[nduetime]

Agree completely. We are planning on making this again, but ordering the ingredients individually. MoreBeer deserves compensation for putting this together and they got my initial order. But there's no reason to overpay for gimmick.

Out of curiosity, does someone have the recipe for this? I've only seen a couple floating arround the internet but no comments on any of them in terms of how they conpare to the actual thing. I'm on my phone and can't search the website to see if it's been posted in the 65+ pages yet.

 

[505-Brewer]

Out of curiosity, does someone have the recipe for this? I've only seen a couple floating arround the internet but no comments on any of them in terms of how they conpare to the actual thing. I'm on my phone and can't search the website to see if it's been posted in the 65+ pages yet.

Page 3 has recipe. Some of the info on stats is wrong (so I didnt include those) but recipe is correct I believe. Page 3 post 56 i think.

Here is the grain bill...

11 pounds rahr 2 row

8oz acidulated malt

4oz special b

4 oz carafa

Adjuncts..

1lb dark Belgian syrup

1lb corn sugar

Hops...

.5 oz styrian goldings. Bitter hop

1oz sterling flavor

1 oz sterling. Aroma



Whirlfloc..

Mash at 158-159




Extract build

8lbs ultralight me

.5 dry malt ext

1lb dark candi

1lb corn sugar

Steeping grains

8oz acidulated malt

4oz special b

4oz carafa

Hops

Same as above

 

[The_Nid_Hog]

Getting ready to brew this again but, this time, I might go for all Brett primary fermentation. I'm about to rack a beer off ECY's Dirty Dozen, and i might put this right in on the yeast cake. Add bugs later.

 

[andrewmaixner]

So I started my kit. Overshot the OG (1.092) because I added a little extra base malt, thinking I might have efficiency issues for high gravity BIAB -- not so, haha.
Mashed at 162 to hopefully get the high FG after primary -- again not so, my starter of Westmalle (WLP530) was still chugging away at 1.012 today (recipe targets 1.016), so I racked and added bugs.


My question is:
The description says that the brewer goes directly from primary to barrels, therefor it probably stays in barrels for 6-12 months.
The instructions, though, say not to add the included oak chunk until after souring is complete, "4-12 months" later.

Why not just add this small piece of oak right away? It is a chunk (about .5" x 1" x 2"), not chips/cubes, so I would think that over-oaking due to high surface area wouldn't be an issue?

 

[mbbransc]

I think you answered your own question.

I brewed this up on 08/06/16. I fermented with 3787 and racked onto bugs and currants on 09/10. On 10/23 I added cab sav and an oak spiral. I boiled the spiral first to get most of the potent oak tannins out. Moved it under the stairs with the rest of the sours. Check on it next Fall.

 

[andrewmaixner]

I think you answered your own question.

I brewed this up on 08/06/16. I fermented with 3787 and racked onto bugs and currants on 09/10. On 10/23 I added cab sav and an oak spiral. I boiled the spiral first to get most of the potent oak tannins out. Moved it under the stairs with the rest of the sours. Check on it next Fall.

Ya. It was mentioned elsewhere that part of the kit oak has never been in contact with liquid before, so might be more harsh. Maybe I'll soak it in some wine before I add it, then let it go long term. it couldn't possibly be as harsh as a full spiral.

 

[Burndog]

Question: Since this beer was originally fermented in a cask, should we be doing some level of darkness on our fermentation containers? Closet, towel, anything?

I’m using a glass cartboy so have some concerns, just not sure if they are warranted.

 

[brownni5]

Light is bad for all beers. Not a bad idea to keep all fermenters dark. Makes no difference if the beer you're trying to clone was a barrel aged beer.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Light is bad for all beers. Not a bad idea to keep all fermenters dark. Makes no difference if the beer you're trying to clone was a barrel aged beer.

Does light harm beers without hops? Or with very low hop levels?

 

[suprchunk]

Does light harm beers without hops? Or with very low hop levels?

Yes. Not the same way that it harms the iso acids in hops, but light is not a friend of most any living thing.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Yes. Not the same way that it harms the iso acids in hops, but light is not a friend of most any living thing.

How does light harm unhopped beer?

Light is a friend of lots of living things. Barley and hops for example.

 

[passedpawn]

How does light harm unhopped beer?

Light is a friend of lots of living things. Barley and hops for example.

True. But tell that to my uncle, the Count.

 

[suprchunk]

How does light harm unhopped beer?

Light is a friend of lots of living things. Barley and hops for example.

Really? You are comparing plants, that need light in order to grow, with a product that has yeast, phenols, esters, and myriad other compounds in it and wonder how they differ?

I see the winking smiley, but am unsure what context it is supposed to put your comment in. Has someone actually compared the two prior to you?

 

[sweetcell]

True. But tell that to my uncle, the Count.

View attachment 642663

technically, your uncle isn't alive...