Lambic sour after a month

[Estbrew]

Just tasted my first lambic attempt and it was a big suprise. It was sour, no off flavors or smells, little hazy, but it should be all right and it has been fermenting only a month. It really reminded me a nice cup of hard cider.
So where is the catch? Am i producing vinegar? Is it not fully fermented?
I used wyeast lambic blend culture and aged hops (3 years).

Here is the recipe:

================================================================================
Batch Size: 20,161 L
Boil Size: 23,000 L
Boil Time: 60,000 min
Efficiency: 80%
OG: 1,039
FG: 1,000
ABV: 5,0%
Bitterness: 2,0 IBUs (Tinseth)
Color: 5 SRM (Morey)
Fermentables
================================================================================
Name Type Amount Mashed Late Yield Color
Pilsner (2 Row) Bel Grain 2,000 kg Yes No 79% 1 L
Wheat Malt, Bel Grain 500,000 g Yes No 81% 2 L
Wheat, Flaked Grain 500,000 g Yes No 77% 1 L
Caramunich Malt Grain 200,000 g Yes No 72% 56 L
Total grain: 3,200 kg
Hops
================================================================================
Name Alpha Amount Use Time Form IBU
Hersbrucker 3,0% 5,000 g Boil 60,000 min Pellet 2,0
Misc

================================================================================
Name Type Form Amount Stage
Wyeast - Belgian Lambic Blend Ale Liquid 125,000 mL Primary
Mash
================================================================================
Name Type Amount Temp Target Time
Protein Infusion 9,600 L 57,400 C 53,000 C 15,000 min
B Temperature --- --- 63,000 C 60,000 min
A Temperature --- --- 71,000 C 15,000 min
Final Batch Sparge Infusion 16,872 L 78,788 C 74,000 C 15,000 min

 

[joshrosborne]

Did you take a gravity reading?

 

[Weezy]

Lambics go through a complex life that really does take 12-18. The bacteria and Brett become active and dormant at different pH levels and acid content. This extended evolution of the beer is what gives it its complex flavor. Your grain bill and mash schedule doesn't appear too dextrinous, not leaving a lot of food for the bugs and Brett. As josh said, take a SG and see where it is.

 

[Estbrew]

It was 1.000 and tasting great

 

[Estbrew]

Would it help if i add some dextrin powder?

 

[metic]

Am I right in thinking you only use 5g of aged hops? With a hopping rate that low, it wouldn't be at all surprising if the lactobacillus in the blend really took off and produced a sour beer within a month. That's a different fermentation cycle from one you'd find in a lambic, but if you like how the beer is tasting I wouldn't worry about it. It doesn't mean that there is something wrong with your beer, but the finished result might not have quite the same complexity as a lambic. (In effect you've made something like a berlinerweisse.)

The brettanomyces character should develop over the time even without any fermentables left. You could leave the beer in the carboy while that happens, or put it under pressure in bottles since its already bone dry.

If you want to increase the sourness, add maltodextrin and let it sit for longer in the fermentation vessel. The pedioccocus will be able to produce more lactic acid from these dextrins in a long slow secondary fermentation.

In future, if you want to imitate the practices of lambic makers, you might want to try increasing your hopping rates slightly to keep the lactobacillus in check, and taking steps to make a dextrinous wort to prolong the fermentation cycle of the beer. A turbid mash is one option, but you can also add starches to the wort in other ways.

 

[Estbrew]

That is right, i only used 5g of hops. But what kind of IBU value i should target if i would like to have more slowly developing sourness? And is it a good idea to use the same yeast cake, since the saccharomyces in that blend is not probably autolysed and all the bugs should be represented?

 

[metic]

Even 10-15 IBUs will inhibit the lactobacillus. Again, if you want to imitate lambic brewers, you would use higher rates (Jeff Sparrow suggests 6g/l in Wild Brews), but that's not essential if you are pitching bugs rather than relying on inoculation by ambient organisms.

I'd think it would be fine to reuse some portion of the yeast cake. I've never used the lambic blend, but I have done this with Roeselare, fermenting two beers in quick succession. If you want to increase complexity, you might try adding some bottle dregs as well.

 

[Weezy]

See topic no. 3.
http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2012/04/brewing-lambic-mythbusters-style.html

 

[Calder]

Your hop rate is fine (sorry metic I disagree with you).

You mashed low, 63 C (145 F), and had a low OG, which is probably why you have such a low OG so quickly. Once the yeast start to produce alcohol, lacto slows down. I think the yeast got you down there, not the lacto.

I think I would add a half pound of malto-dextrin, then put it in the corner, and forget it, for the next 12 months.

 

[metic]

Your hop rate is fine (sorry metic I disagree with you).

No, that seems right: if you like how the beer tastes, then your hopping rate is fine. All I meant to suggest is that if your goal is to emulate the practices of lambic brewers, you might want to hop at a higher rate to inhibit the lactobacillus (as they do), and see what kind of difference that makes to the flavour profile of your final beer. You can decide for yourself if you prefer the results.