I like this time at night on HBT

[Thunder_Chicken]

Does that have to be in bulk, or would it matter if it was bottled first?

Typically it would be in bulk, but if it was a real wrench there is nothing that says that you couldn't bottle it. Many folks make a batch every year and blend their lambics into gueuzes.

I'm not actually looking to make a lambic, I am shooting for a pretty light Berliner Weisse-ish wheat sour. This might be a few months in the fermenter and maybe drinkable by next summer.

 

[Leadgolem]

Depends. You could technically bottle a straight lambic I suppose, but the (far more popular) varieties such as gueuze, fruit lambics, etc, all really should be blended to taste and so ultimately you'll want to keep them in bulk until you're finished blending.

Huh, I guess I need to do some more research. Not that I've done much. I was thinking you basically put fruit in the beer and inoculated it with brett and/or lacto. Then left it for a year or more.

 

[day_trippr]

I ran into this on youtube tonight. Having heard the original song, this is rather odd.

Chipmunks.

I can dig it...

Cheers

 

[emjay]

Huh, I guess I need to do some more research. Not that I've done much. I was thinking you basically put fruit in the beer and inoculated it with brett and/or lacto. Then left it for a year or more.

That's the amateur way of doing it

Because batches of lambic can vary so dramatically, they're usually blended across several different batches and ages, for reasons of both consistency and depth. And then ideally the fruit is THEN chosen to best "marry" with the character of the lambic in front of the blender. There's a real art to it, and that's why even the whole idea of "award-winning recipes" is a strange notion with lambic.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

Huh, I guess I need to do some more research. Not that I've done much. I was thinking you basically put fruit in the beer and inoculated it with brett and/or lacto. Then left it for a year or more.

The fruit would be a secondary addition. The yeast/bugs are a bit more complex than that - the populations of different critters grow, eat, and die out and turn things over to another member of the mix. The environment in the beer changes with time and temperature, so different yeast/bug strains have their optimum window of activity.

This is how I understand it anyway.

 

[LabRatBrewer]

So, I'm trying to clean the condensation out of my keezer. I say, "I need to figure out a away to stick a sponge to a stick to reach the bottom" My wife hands me this: (Note, in my defense, I clean the floors Cinderella style).

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

I ran into this on youtube tonight. Having heard the original song, this is rather odd.
Nightcore : 2013 - [Nightcore]Krewella - We Go Down

This causes my ears great discomfort.

 

[Dan]

Anyone here eat wild carrots when they were a kid? Don't know why, just thought of that. They grew all around our house when we were kids.

They've got white flowering heads that spread out about 3 inches, flat on top with white flowers. The roots are like skinny carrots.

That's too weird PP. I was at my son's house a few weekends ago and that subject got brought up. I told him when I was a kid we use to eat wild carrots, he thought I was nuts. I remember them as nearly white, and smaller and skinnier than carrots found in gardens and grocery stores. I don't even remember liking them all that much, was just cool to pull something wild from the ground and eat it.

Like morrel mushrooms. Every spring my dad made it his mission to collect the little treasures. Man, I miss those things.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

So, I'm trying to clean the condensation out of my keezer. I say, "I need to figure out a away to stick a sponge to a stick to reach the bottom" My wife hands me this: (Note, in my defense, I clean the floors Cinderella style).

I like to garden and like to utilize natural pest control when possible. Last summer we had tons of ants chewing up our garden and I said to the SWMBO "Gee, it would be great if we could introduce something in the garden that would eat ants".

SWMBO's reply: "Duh, an ANTEATER!" (BTW we're in Massachusetts)

 

[day_trippr]

"Duh, an ANTEATER!" (BTW we're in Massachusetts)"

That's a good'un! Where's she from?

Ugh. I've been having a beyotch of a time swamping out my keezer this summer. We've had some epic runs of humidity up here and it hasn't taken much more than a couple of weeks at a crack to have puddles in the bottom of my keezer - in spite of a force-fed Eva-Dry 500 sitting on the keezer floor (it only holds 5 ounces of moisture).

Ended up taking a five gallon lidded bucket, adding a down-tube and an input port that I can hook up to my shop vac, to suction out the puddles without flooding the vac. I've pulled over a quart of water out of the keezer a couple of times since June. Works perfectly.

Looking forward to winter at this point...

Cheers!

 

[LabRatBrewer]

I like to garden and like to utilize natural pest control when possible. Last summer we had tons of ants chewing up our garden and I said to the SWMBO "Gee, it would be great if we could introduce something in the garden that would eat ants".

SWMBO's reply: "Duh, an ANTEATER!" (BTW we're in Massachusetts)

This one lives within walking distance of my office. (Orange County, CA)

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

I want to get up and grab a beer so bad right now, but I just had a goddam vasectomy this evening. Can't get up off my back! >: (

Darn, you need one of these and a picnic tap:

Is this theme night for low-exertion beer consumption?

 

[day_trippr]

This one lives within walking distance of my office. (Orange County, CA)

Every time I see ant eater pics, I'm convinced that The Creator had a wicked sense of humour...

Cheers!

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

"Duh, an ANTEATER!" (BTW we're in Massachusetts)"

That's a good'un! Where's she from?

Plymouth, MA

 

[day_trippr]

Plymouth, MA

LOL! Yeah, Plymouth must've been overrun with anteaters!

Cheers!

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

Every time I see ant eater pics, I'm convinced that The Creator had a wicked sense of humour...

Cheers!

I think of them as furry AT-ATs from StarWars. I even make the little "pew-pew" sound in my head. Probably another manifestation of the Creator's sense of humor, the voices in my head.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

LOL! Yeah, Plymouth must've been overrun with anteaters!

Cheers!

But the Pilgrims ate them all during the first Thanksgiving, hence their current scarcity in this region.

 

[day_trippr]

But the Pilgrims ate them all during the first Thanksgiving, hence their current scarcity in this region.

 

[Leadgolem]

Every time I see ant eater pics, I'm convinced that The Creator had a wicked sense of humour...

Cheers!

Haha! I sometimes think that God heard about Darwin's little theory, so he made the platypus.

Ok Darwin, explain that!

 

[LabRatBrewer]

Haha! I sometimes think that God heard about Darwin's little theory, so he made the platypus.

Ok Darwin, explain that!

Watch it!

 

[emjay]

Just spent stupid money on a wireless router...

 

[BobbiLynn]

All this talk about anteaters has me craving some grits.

 

[TNGabe]

I insist on doing lambic all-grain, turbid mash, in glass sealed with oak (have a 2.5 year old one still in a carboy, ready to be bottled in May), and have even got into arguments and accused of arrogance over not being able to make "lambic" like any other extract brew.

However, there are ways to "cheat". If one really insists on making an extract lambic (an oxymoron in my book) for instance, a significant amount of maltodextrin NEEDS to be used to at least approximate the abundance of starch for bugs to feed on that is normally the result of a turbid mash. A highly fermentable wort just won't produce anything even resembling lambic.

Most homebrewers, myself included, can't make Lambic. We can make a something lambic-ish (or what I like to call 'lamebic') but without a coolship and a barrel, it's not lambic.

Seriously, why does it offend YOU if *I* want to make anything in a bucket? I could just say eff it all and buy Bud at the local packy, but I choose to tinker and explore with the means that I have available. How in the world does this offend you?

I don't care what anyone else brews if I'm not going to drink it. I do care when people call what they make lambic. I'd also find it offensive if someone was making spam and calling it prosciutto. I guess it's because I respect the tradition and the process behind making artisanal goods. I also find it offensive when mass produced crap like Domino's pizza and Frito Lay chips are marketed as artisanal.

 

[Stauffbier]

Hmmm, I forgot I have a can of Bacon Spam in the pantry. It sounded good, so I bought it. I think I'll break it out tonight and fry some up. Thanks for the inspiration TNG!

 

[bottlebomber]

I think I'll need to blend my sours before packaging because they are damn sour. No, I didn't oxygenate them or sample frequently. I'm definitely not making another sour to blend.. I wonder if I could just make a lower gravity, VERY dry Belgian ale and blend with that.. I think I could probably hit 1.004-6, prime to lower volumes to allow for the possibility of a slight referment, and bottle in my heavy champagne bottles. What say you, fake lambic brewers?

 

[beaksnbeer]

Let the fest begin

 

[passedpawn]

I think I'll need to blend my sours before packaging because they are damn sour. No, I didn't oxygenate them or sample frequently. I'm definitely not making another sour to blend.. I wonder if I could just make a lower gravity, VERY dry Belgian ale and blend with that.. I think I could probably hit 1.004-6, prime to lower volumes to allow for the possibility of a slight referment, and bottle in my heavy champagne bottles. What say you, fake lambic brewers?

Mine are rediculous too. I've got cases of Flanders Red years old because that. Though, I did pull one out and drink it last night and it was satisfying.

 

[bottlebomber]

Mine are rediculous too. I've got cases of Flanders Red years old because that. Though, I did pull one out and drink it last night and it was satisfying.

I don't want mine to end up that way. I enjoy sours occasionally, but I'm not a freak for them. I prefer more funk with the tartness playing a supporting role. Russian River sours are actually a bit over the top for me. Though I do enjoy them, it takes a few moments for me to change latitudes. I think I'd have to drink them daily to get over that initial shock of how sour they are.

 

[TNGabe]

I think I'll need to blend my sours before packaging because they are damn sour. No, I didn't oxygenate them or sample frequently. I'm definitely not making another sour to blend.. I wonder if I could just make a lower gravity, VERY dry Belgian ale and blend with that.. I think I could probably hit 1.004-6, prime to lower volumes to allow for the possibility of a slight referment, and bottle in my heavy champagne bottles. What say you, fake lambic brewers?

I'd be more inclined to blend with a saison, but it really depends on what your beer tastes like. I'd stick with similar grav to the beer you want to blend or possiby a little higher depending on the body of the current beer. The blend will eventually end up at or very near the gravity of the current beer, so you may have more than a slight refermentaion. If the current beer has pedio in it, which I'm guessing it does, you could possibly end up with ropey beer in the bottle, which depending on the ratio of old to young beer may take quite some time to clear.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

I don't care what anyone else brews if I'm not going to drink it. I do care when people call what they make lambic. I'd also find it offensive if someone was making spam and calling it prosciutto. I guess it's because I respect the tradition and the process behind making artisanal goods. I also find it offensive when mass produced crap like Domino's pizza and Frito Lay chips are marketed as artisanal.

I suppose that I can see that. I know many artisanal wines, beers, cheeses, etc. have locally protected names and we homebrewers can't (and shouldn't) use those names.

But, at the same time, I wouldn't want to belittle someone trying to explore the style, even using limited means. You may not formally call the product a lambic, but calling it "lame-bic" seems demeaning to the effort. The problem really is that many folks read "lambic" as a generic name of a style, like "stout" or "pale ale", not as "an artisanal sour beer wild fermented in the Lambeek region of Belgium".

Maybe calling a homebrewer's effort "sour beer modeled on the Lambic brewing style" would be more appropriate?

 

[TNGabe]

I suppose that I can see that. I know many artisanal wines, beers, cheeses, etc. have locally protected names and we homebrewers can't (and shouldn't) use those names.

But, at the same time, I wouldn't want to belittle someone trying to explore the style, even using limited means. You may not formally call the product a lambic, but calling it "lame-bic" seems demeaning to the effort. The problem really is that many folks read "lambic" as a generic name of a style, like "stout" or "pale ale", not as "an artisanal sour beer wild fermented in the Lambeek region of Belgium".

Maybe calling a homebrewer's effort "sour beer modeled on the Lambic brewing style" would be more appropriate?

I call it lamebic because it's funny. If someone feels belittled by that, they probably have bigger problems with insecurity and/or being humorless. I think lambic is defined by process, not geography. You can't make lambic without a coolship and barrels anymore than you can make a lager that isn't lagered. If Jean Van Roy thinks Beatification and Allagash's coolship beers are lambic, that's good enough for me.

 

[bottlebomber]

I'd be more inclined to blend with a saison, but it really depends on what your beer tastes like. I'd stick with similar grav to the beer you want to blend or possiby a little higher depending on the body of the current beer. The blend will eventually end up at or very near the gravity of the current beer, so you may have more than a slight refermentaion. If the current beer has pedio in it, which I'm guessing it does, you could possibly end up with ropey beer in the bottle, which depending on the ratio of old to young beer may take quite some time to clear.

Good thoughts, thanks for that. I agree that it's a good idea to have beer that's a similar FG for the blending. Actually, a saison is more or less what I had in mind. As far as potential ropiness, I'm not worried about that as long as it's temporary.. I've never had beer get ropey including the lamebic I'm working with, but I've had it happen a couple of times with sauerkraut and I know that it will go away.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

I call it lamebic because it's funny. If someone feels belittled by that, they probably have bigger problems with insecurity and/or being humorless. I think lambic is defined by process, not geography. You can't make lambic without a coolship and barrels anymore than you can make a lager that isn't lagered. If Jean Van Roy thinks Beatification and Allagash's coolship beers are lambic, that's good enough for me.

And some people think you can't make a lambic outside of Belgium, period. At some point we stop talking about technical matters and it all becomes a matter of religious belief.

We should change subjects, I worry that this could become heated. So...did I tell you about that Brett. and lacto sour that I was looking to make with LME pretty soon?

 

[TNGabe]

Good thoughts, thanks for that. I agree that it's a good idea to have beer that's a similar FG for the blending. Actually, a saison is more or less what I had in mind. As far as potential ropiness, I'm not worried about that as long as it's temporary.. I've never had beer get ropey including the lamebic I'm working with, but I've had it happen a couple of times with sauerkraut and I know that it will go away.

For some reason, ropiness in the bottle is different than in bulk. From the interviews with and the NHC presentation by Vinnie I've listened to, bottle sickness can take much longer to clear than bulk and possibly will never go away. I think there is something about this in Wild Brews, but I can't seem to find it right now.

Ropey kraut? Tell me more. Did it have diacetyl, too? Buttery kraut sounds gross.

I had a slightly sour butter bomb scottish 80 at my homebrew club last night. It blows my mind when people can't taste stuff liket that.

 

[Leadgolem]

Hmmm, I forgot I have a can of Bacon Spam in the pantry. It sounded good, so I bought it. I think I'll break it out tonight and fry some up. Thanks for the inspiration TNG!

A friend of mine tried that. Pan fried with an egg on top. He said it tasted like cat food. How he knows what cat food tastes like, I didn't ask.

And some people think you can't make a lambic outside of Belgium, period. At some point we stop talking about technical matters and it all becomes a matter of religious belief.

We should change subjects, I worry that this could become heated. So...did I tell you about that Brett. and lacto sour that I was looking to make with LME pretty soon?

Perhaps a good idea. I'll pursue the subject elsewhere.

 

[Leadgolem]

When I get those vanilla beans I believe I will do a rum as well as a neutral spirit extract. That will consume 20 of the 30 beans. That leaves me 10 to do something else with.

I was thinking of flavoring a couple of bottles of white rice wine with them. Is 1/2 a bean to much for one bottle do you think?

 

[bottlebomber]

For some reason, ropiness in the bottle is different than in bulk. From the interviews with and the NHC presentation by Vinnie I've listened to, bottle sickness can take much longer to clear than bulk and possibly will never go away. I think there is something about this in Wild Brews, but I can't seem to find it right now.

Ropey kraut? Tell me more. Did it have diacetyl, too? Buttery kraut sounds gross.

I had a slightly sour butter bomb scottish 80 at my homebrew club last night. It blows my mind when people can't taste stuff liket that.

I guess I'll have to try to know.. I can't see it happening perpetually, especially in highly carbonated beer, but there's only one way to find out. Yep, after day 3 or 4 the kraut liquid turned phlegmy and gross, goopy ropes. Then about two days later, it had thinned into normal kraut juice. Killer batches too.

 

[Stauffbier]

When I get those vanilla beans I believe I will do a rum as well as a neutral spirit extract. That will consume 20 of the 30 beans. That leaves me 10 to do something else with.

That's exactly what I'm going to do. I bought rum and vodka today. Just waiting for the beans now.

 

[reinstone]

At it again, just had to have a sample of my helles, pils, Octoberfest and cream ale. Next I'm going to the red the the ryepa and the wheat ...but damn can't have the ipa just added the dry hops to the keg.

Getting anxious for the Octoberfest party the 21st. Anyone who wants to drive to central Illinois is welcome. 8 beers on tap.

 

[Leadgolem]

That's exactly what I'm going to do. I bought rum and vodka today. Just waiting for the beans now.

I considered doing this with whiskey too, but I don't really care for whiskey. I can't see the vanilla changing that.

I'll definitely make some good ice cream. Or rather, frozen dessert. I'm lactose intolerant, so I'll be using coconut milk instead of cream.

I was also thinking about popping a bottle of the sweet banana wine, and doing a banana frozen dessert with some vanilla bean. That may need to wait until the vanilla is gone though. Limited freezer space.