First Lambic

[Mattyc88]

Hey guys,

I planned on doing a fruit lambic soon. I was curious if after I do the fruit and let it set for a while should I transfer to another carboy to bulk age and let sour or bottle and let age/sour individually in bottles? Will the results be the same if I do bottles?

Also, from my understanding you get the farmhouse/funky flavors in the early months and the sour/tartness doesn't really peak through for about a year or so, is this also true?

I am using Wyeast 3278.

 

[dcHokie]

Hey guys,

I planned on doing a fruit lambic soon. I was curious if after I do the fruit and let it set for a while should I transfer to another carboy to bulk age and let sour or bottle and let age/sour individually in bottles? Will the results be the same if I do bottles?

Also, from my understanding you get the farmhouse/funky flavors in the early months and the sour/tartness doesn't really peak through for about a year or so, is this also true?

I am using Wyeast 3278.

I think most of the feedback you'll get on fruited sour/lambic will be similar to this:

Lambic can stay in one carboy for long bulk aging without transferring. Freeze the fruit to break down cell walls. You'll want to use about 1/2LB-2LBs fruit per gallon, depending on the type of fruit and how 'fruity' you want it. When using first pitch 3278 augment it with dregs of commercial sour/lambic that you enjoy. Let the beer age for 12-18 months before adding your fruit, and then another couple months on fruit. Bottle it with wine/champagne yeast plus priming sugar.

This is a patient man's beer, but worth it. Good luck!

 

[Mattyc88]

I think most of the feedback you'll get on fruited sour/lambic will be similar to this:

Lambic can stay in one carboy for long bulk aging without transferring. Freeze the fruit to break down cell walls. You'll want to use about 1/2LB-2LBs fruit per gallon, depending on the type of fruit and how 'fruity' you want it. When using first pitch 3278 augment it with dregs of commercial sour/lambic that you enjoy. Let the beer age for 12-18 months before adding your fruit, and then another couple months on fruit. Bottle it with wine/champagne yeast plus priming sugar.

This is a patient man's beer, but worth it. Good luck!

Gotcha, so add the fruit at the end? I thought you added the fruit early? I want it to be lightly fruity and more sour. I really want the color from the fruit more than anything.

 

[mothershipbrewing]

I'm kind of going down this road as well. I use 1 leftover vial of trois & 1 lambicus. I was going to do boysenberrys. I brewed this past Saturday. Should I still get some commercial dregs or let it go?


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[dcHokie]

Gotcha, so add the fruit at the end? I thought you added the fruit early? I want it to be lightly fruity and more sour. I really want the color from the fruit more than anything.

Yep, wait until the end. Basically, you want to make a finished sour beer that could be packaged as-is and then add a complimentary fruit.

 

[dcHokie]

I'm kind of going down this road as well. I use 1 leftover vial of trois & 1 lambicus. I was going to do boysenberrys. I brewed this past Saturday. Should I still get some commercial dregs or let it go?


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mothership, when you say 'lambicus' I'm assuming you mean Brettanomyces Lambicus? If so, you have two brett strains and not the souring bacteria that will produce a lambic-type sour beer.

 

[solbes]

Good advice from Hokie.

I made a raspberry lambic and made the mistake of adding the fruit too early. 9 months of the base beer (yeast and bugs). Then added the raspberry and let sit another 3 months. Then bottled at 12 months and it's been in the bottle for an additional 3. Right after carbing I was pretty happy with the raspberry flavor. But its already starting to fade 2.5 months later. By the time the brett and sour flavors peak in the next 6-12 months, the raspberry flavor will be mostly gone I venture.

 

[Mattyc88]

Good advice from Hokie.

I made a raspberry lambic and made the mistake of adding the fruit too early. 9 months of the base beer (yeast and bugs). Then added the raspberry and let sit another 3 months. Then bottled at 12 months and it's been in the bottle for an additional 3. Right after carbing I was pretty happy with the raspberry flavor. But its already starting to fade 2.5 months later. By the time the brett and sour flavors peak in the next 6-12 months, the raspberry flavor will be mostly gone I venture.

Is it even lightly tart/sour at the point you're at now? Like I said, I want the fruit to be mostly color contributor than more of flavor.

 

[Mattyc88]

How do you even do trial and error on a style of beer that is 12-18 months from brew to mouth? So crazy.

 

[dcHokie]

How do you even do trial and error on a style of beer that is 12-18 months from brew to mouth? So crazy.

sour pipeline

 

[Mattyc88]

sour pipeline

So many filled carboys... space overload

 

[mothershipbrewing]

mothership, when you say 'lambicus' I'm assuming you mean Brettanomyces Lambicus? If so, you have two brett strains and not the souring bacteria that will produce a lambic-type sour beer.

Yes Brett lambicus. I am aware that I'll have to add some sort of lacto and or pedio to get the sour profile going. I was going to add it with the fruit perhaps. Or maybe not if that isn't such a great idea I'll just do an all Brett fruit beer.


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[mothershipbrewing]

Ok, I see a few posts above to add fruit towards the end. Maybe I can add the bugs after the Brett ferments and let them work until it's sour enough to my liking? Then fruit a couple weeks before packaging?

I've done 2 all Brett pale ales but haven't messed with any real souring bugs yet.


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[solbes]

Is it even lightly tart/sour at the point you're at now? Like I said, I want the fruit to be mostly color contributor than more of flavor.

Oh yeah, it got plenty sour. I added dregs from Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noire and Odells Deconstruction when I also pitched some Bells yeast. After the first week or so, I kept the temps around 70F for 2-3 months.

It got sour enough that my 2.5 gallons of the original 5 gallons was blended with 2.5 gallons of a fermented Belgian Blonde. And the remaining 2.5 gallons of lambic was combined with 3 lbs of canned Oregon raspberries.

If I had to guess, it was those Jolly Pumpkin dregs that soured so efficiently. Lots of reports of this from others, whose advice I relied on.

 

[Mattyc88]

Oh yeah, it got plenty sour. I added dregs from Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noire and Odells Deconstruction when I also pitched some Bells yeast. After the first week or so, I kept the temps around 70F for 2-3 months.

It got sour enough that my 2.5 gallons of the original 5 gallons was blended with 2.5 gallons of a fermented Belgian Blonde. And the remaining 2.5 gallons of lambic was combined with 3 lbs of canned Oregon raspberries.

If I had to guess, it was those Jolly Pumpkin dregs that soured so efficiently. Lots of reports of this from others, whose advice I relied on.

Thanks for the reply man, how did you harvest/pitch the dregs?

 

[solbes]

Nothing too special. I let the JP and Odells sit in the fridge for a week, undisturbed so that most of what I wanted was at the bottom. Carefully poured the beer into glasses and left the last inch or so in both bottles. Swirled and pitched the dregs directly into wort with the yeast. No starter for the dregs.

As a follow on, I have a 1 gallon carboy from extra fermented Barleywine (12% abv). I added about a pint of the blended sour before I bottled that up. And I have a nice pellicle forming now in the carboy. Not sure which bugs may actually be active (lacto, peds, or brett) since it was agressively hopped, but I will let it ride for a year and find out how it tastes.

It is fun to get a pipeline going to see experiment with.

 

[Mattyc88]

Nothing too special. I let the JP and Odells sit in the fridge for a week, undisturbed so that most of what I wanted was at the bottom. Carefully poured the beer into glasses and left the last inch or so in both bottles. Swirled and pitched the dregs directly into wort with the yeast. No starter for the dregs.

As a follow on, I have a 1 gallon carboy from extra fermented Barleywine (12% abv). I added about a pint of the blended sour before I bottled that up. And I have a nice pellicle forming now in the carboy. Not sure which bugs may actually be active (lacto, peds, or brett) since it was agressively hopped, but I will let it ride for a year and find out how it tastes.

It is fun to get a pipeline going to see experiment with.

Awesome, thanks a bunch man! Good luck.

 

[Mattyc88]

Nothing too special. I let the JP and Odells sit in the fridge for a week, undisturbed so that most of what I wanted was at the bottom. Carefully poured the beer into glasses and left the last inch or so in both bottles. Swirled and pitched the dregs directly into wort with the yeast. No starter for the dregs.

As a follow on, I have a 1 gallon carboy from extra fermented Barleywine (12% abv). I added about a pint of the blended sour before I bottled that up. And I have a nice pellicle forming now in the carboy. Not sure which bugs may actually be active (lacto, peds, or brett) since it was agressively hopped, but I will let it ride for a year and find out how it tastes.

It is fun to get a pipeline going to see experiment with.

Awesome, thanks a bunch man! Good luck.