First try at a Lambic

[milldoggy]

8 oz is plenty. Are you going to pitch brett and pedio to your 1 gallon batch?

Edit: just realized this post put me over 1000. Time to celebrate!

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[alanwelam]

No worries about adding to the thread... I hope that other new lambic brewers can find something to help them along.

How long before the pelicle forms? It looks as if the most aggressive part of the primary fermentation is starting to slow down... I'm curious to know when I should be looking for the pelicle. I pitched the Wyeast blend right from the start.

 

[BryanThompson]

It might or it might not form a pellicle. I don't think it will until you open it a few times.

 

[smokinghole]

The pellicle will only form in the presence of enough oxygen. I have a saison going with a lambic blend that should be done in a month or two as soon as the brett breaks down viscous snot from the pedio. Anyway the beer has no pellicle and neither does the other half of the batch with just brett/saison blend.

 

[ericksoncl23]

From other posts that I have been reading they say to just keep it on the yeast cake. So what is better?

If I use LME could I just do 5# Briess Gold Extract and 3.3# Briess Wheat Extract?
I want to try making a Blackberry Lambic.

 

[ericksoncl23]

So what's better. Leaving it on the yeast cake for the whole time or doing a transfer?

I want to make a Blackberry Lambic. But I would prefer to use LME. Should I just do 5# Light Liquid and 3.3# Wheat liquid extract?

 

[BryanThompson]

Leave it on the yeast cake for a year give or take then transfer it onto the blackberries.

 

[extra_medium]

8 oz is plenty. Are you going to pitch brett and pedio to your 1 gallon batch?

Edit: just realized this post put me over 1000. Time to celebrate!

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Home Brew Talk

GRATZ ON 1k!
I will be pitching a bret blend, probably from WLabs, all into the other 4g that has finished its primary. this will bring the final volume to 5g before i add fruit some time next year. going to keep 2 one gallon samples to age and blend back and as a starter for a second batch later.

SALUTE!
~XM~

 

[Calder]

The pellicle will only form in the presence of enough oxygen.

I've read that in several places, but I'm not sure I agree. I have some in glass fermenters with airlocks which only have a small air space, and they have pellicles. They should not have any oxygen in the airspace, so I'm a little confused about it.

So what's better. Leaving it on the yeast cake for the whole time or doing a transfer?

I want to make a Blackberry Lambic. But I would prefer to use LME. Should I just do 5# Light Liquid and 3.3# Wheat liquid extract?

The Brett feeds on the decaying sacc yeast. That's why you leave it on the cake. I usually ferment with just Sacc until the beer starts to clear and form sediment, then I rack it off (with a lot of yeast still in suspension) and then add the bugs to it. This gets it off the trub, but still leaves a lot of yeast for the Brett to work on. Then it stays there for a year.

Extract is fine. Use the lightest you can find. Go 100% wheat if you want (Wheat extract is usually 50/50 wheat/Barley). 8 ozs of maltodextrin would also help, adding non-fermentables for the bugs.

 

[ryane]

I've read that in several places, but I'm not sure I agree. I have some in glass fermenters with airlocks which only have a small air space, and they have pellicles. They should not have any oxygen in the airspace, so I'm a little confused about it.

Airlocks only keep oxygen out when the fermentation is producing large amounts of CO2. During the extended aging of lambics, diffusion of oxygen through the airlock+water happens. This is why you will see pellicle formation

 

[extra_medium]

well i added about 1L water, .25# dextrin, .5# dme, 3 handfulls oak cubes and wyeast brett blend on top of my beer that had already finished primary ferm. should i add more malto?

 

[extra_medium]

when do i add fruit?

 

[JacobS]

After 6mo - 2yr