Jolly Pumpkin dregs

[soundguy]

I just used a little bit of the beer to inoculate about a gallon of fermented wit from a friend. We'll see where this goes in the coming months. I wonder if secondary fermentation with this will be as quick and aggressive as primary was. I think the FG was only about 1.010 so there should be a lot of fermentables left.

 

[soundguy]

Finally got around to bottling this today. 1.006, higher than I expected but it has been stable for 2 months. Very tart and fruity, can't wait to have it carbed up. I racked 1 gallon onto some blackberries, and used some of the leftover yeast in part of a Belgian blonde I brewed today.

@hopbrad I have used some of this beer to inoculate a saison I brewed with 3711, I haven't taken any samples yet, but should be ready to in a month or so.

 

[soundguy]

So after a few days of secondary I noticed my airlock had gotten filled with some blackberry juice. I sucked a few oz's out and pushed the fruit back down into the beer, hoping to make enough room so this doesn't happen again. I have a feeling I might need to poke the berries back down again in a few days.

 

[sweetcell]

yup, in mead making this is known as punching down the cap. CO2 builds up under the fruit and pushes it up. you need to knock it back down and release the CO2.

 

[soundguy]

Do I risk oxygenation by having to do this often? Would swirling the jar a bit be a safer option?

 

[Siberian]

I've got a batch which I pitched with stepped up Bam Biere dregs.

The bottle I'm pretty confident was quite fresh, I'm not far from Dexter, MI and my local grocery carries it from time to time (I say time to time since it sells out relatively fast when they have it stocked) so I'm assuming it's usually pretty fresh.

I threw the dregs into a pint jar of starter wort and let them sit a month or so, actually got a kombachu like scoby forming on the top of that (it was covered with foil but had basically free oxygen exchange with the outside).

I did a 12 gallon batch with this recipe:

OG: 1.046
FG: Don't have my log right here for that, but it was low 1.002-.003

9lbs 4oz Pilsner
4lbs 10oz American 2-Row
2lbs 12oz Wheat Malt
1lbs Flaked Barley
8oz Carared
1oz De-bittered Black Malt
1oz Hull Melon @ 60 minutes
1oz Hull Melon @ 40 minutes
.5oz Hull Melon @ 0 minutes

Mashed for 90 minutes @148 degrees
60 minute boil​

Long low temperature mash is a key part of JP's process I feel, it ensures the wort is very fermentable and allows these beers to be bottled fresher because the bugs and the yeast have easily eaten up all the available sugars. Regular Bam Biere uses Crystal, but I had a bunch of Michigan Hull Melon and decided to use that instead. I haven't dry hopped it but might toss .25 oz of hops into the keg when it is ready to go in the kegerator.

I pitched a large starter of WLP-510 Bastogne Belgian Ale Yeast and my whole pint jar of stepped up Jolly Pumpkin Dregs including the kombachu scoby looking thing. I ferment in 15 gallon food grade plastic barrels, but during the summer I have some fruit fly issues so to avoid them getting into the wort I covered the top with a cloth strapped to the top of the bucket. This lets it get free exchange of oxygen and ferment 'openly' for the first few days which I think helps to simulate JP's process without allowing for additional uncontrolled inoculation. After about 4 days as activity started to die down I put a regular cover and airlock on it and let it ride.

Brewed it on 6/13/2015. I tasted it about a week ago and kegged it up. I'm super happy with it, turned around in under three months and already has a great character both in the aroma and the taste that reminds me of Jolly Pumpkin's fresher beers like Bam Biere. It's naturally carbonating in the kegs now, can't wait to get it on tap.

Admittedly my turn around on this beer is fast, I'm not sure if I was bottling if I would do it already, but I feel completely safe putting it into a keg with a bit of priming sugar. Never heard of a keg bomb.

I highly recommend anyone who wants to try a fast turn around sour to give it a try with a low mash temperature and JP Dregs. I'm super excited about how this one turned out and already planning another batch, I saved a pint of dregs out of that last batch, even found what was left of the floating scoby that formed. Next time might something darker like Bam Noire.

 

[soundguy]

Cracked into the first bottle today. Good carbonation, head drops pretty quick. Very tart, a bit of cherry like Brett character didn't pick up before. Earthy and fruity. A bit of cheerio character that will hopefully drop out soon.

 

[ffaoe]

I love Jolly Pumpkin, but it has become very difficult to find around here in the past two years, as it seems they do not distribute out this ways anymore. I have added dregs to batches of lambic with great success. A month ago I enjoyed a 4 year old bottle of Bam Noire.

 

[hopbrad]

I love Jolly Pumpkin, but it has become very difficult to find around here in the past two years, as it seems they do not distribute out this ways anymore. I have added dregs to batches of lambic with great success. A month ago I enjoyed a 4 year old bottle of Bam Noire.

I see your in SJ, I am originally from Voorhees. Try out PA. i remember getting it at a few bottle shops in philly. Pretty sure most Wegmens too, atleast on the PA side.

 

[ffaoe]

Thanks. I've found it a few places in PA, but it is nowhere to be found in south jersey anymore.