Flanders Red and Ageing

[MonsterMenaceBrewing]

Hello all - I have a Flanders red that has been in primary for about 10 weeks now. I have a strong looking pellicle in my fermenter right now, and my gravity is down to 1.004.

My question is at what point can I/should I transfer over to a keg for bulk ageing. Currently it is in a PET carboy so I'm worried about oxygen ingress if it stays in for a very long time.

Any and all feedback welcomed.

Thank you.

 

[Jag75]

Personally if it taste good , I'd package and drink sooner then later .

 

[Dr_Jeff]

Hello all - I have a Flanders red that has been in primary for about 10 weeks now. I have a strong looking pellicle in my fermenter right now, and my gravity is down to 1.004.

My question is at what point can I/should I transfer over to a keg for bulk ageing. Currently it is in a PET carboy so I'm worried about oxygen ingress if it stays in for a very long time.

Any and all feedback welcomed.

Thank you.

You could do it any time, oxygen, is not necessarily a bad thing for sour beers.

Use a wine thief and pull a sample and see where it's at, to help you determine how much more time it needs.

 

[Jag75]

Is this a sour beer?

 

[mashpaddled]

I wouldn't. With sour beer you want to walk a fine line of getting a little oxidation to develop an aged character but not so much that you're getting a lot of acetic acid. That style often has a notable acetic character, if that's your goal. A keg will make it hard to develop the oxidation you want. As long as you keep the carboy airlock filled, it's the best place to hit that balance. I've held sour beer in plastic carboys for years. I avoid acetic character in my sour beers and get very little out of the Better Bottles I use.