pLambic ?

[PhineasGage]

Im making a pLambic

I pitched belgian wit yeast at 1.060, two days later i pitched the wyeast lambic blend (roughly 1.040)

it's been roughly 1.5 months @ 72-73 F and STILL no sign of pellicle not even co2 bubbles. about two weeks ago I added yeast nutro and energizer (1.010.)

I only had citra hops lying around, did I screw my batch by having my acid levels too high for the bugs to survive? or is this a matter of RDWHAHB?

 

[jtejedor]

It can take a while. What did the IBUs end up being on the batch?

 

[cmybeer]

I've heard that the pellicle does not always form for brewers and this isn't always a bad thing. It mainly protects against oxygen. I have a Flanders Red that was pitched with Roselear Wyeast blend about 2-3 months ago right from the start and there is no pellicle although I did have the occasional bubble.

 

[spearko520]

definitely don't worry about a pellicle. i just got one in my barrel and i stare in its bung everyday (but i top with argon)...

 

[smokinghole]

I rarely get a pellicle. I have a lambic fermenting right now that is 4 months old and actually has a nice gnarley pellicle. If in my better bottles they never seem to for for me. Well I can tell the yeast is gathered on top because I can see the matting but it never turns white really. I just get slightly larger bubbles stuck at the surface of a transparent film basically. I do have a one trying to form in a 5 gal glass carboy but its white color is beginning to fade already.

 

[bbarnumboy]

If in my better bottles they never seem to form for me. I just get slightly larger bubbles stuck at the surface of a transparent film basically.

Interesting you mention this, My Better bottle seems to barely make a pellicle as well. Just the described very thin film with a few bubbles. Recently i have started to see a few lines forming through it, but still very very thin.

 

[bigljd]

We need someone like Revvy for the Lambic forum, but instead of jumping on people for questions about bubbling airlocks, he could respond to the missing pellicle question LOL.
I've got 4 sours going now and none have pellicles. Pellicles only indicate that there is oxygen in the headspace, if you don't have one don't fret, I'm sure the bugs are working away at making a great sour beer for you. The fact you don't have a pellicle probably indicates that brett are chugging along and producing a CO2 blanket in the headspace, so the pellicle won't form. If you age it long enough the brett will finish and eventually O2 will get into the carboy and a pellicle will form. Or if you muck around with it too much O2 will get in and a pellicle will form (or you can perform a drunken experiment like I did with a brett porter and pump pure O2 into the headspace - that'll get you a pellicle. Don't do this with a sour though, since O2 will feed the acetobacter).
I am curious what your IBUs are though - higher IBUs will inhibit most lacto from growing, but won't bother the brett. You should still get sourness from the pedio though, it just may take a little longer.

 

[DoubleAught]

It took mine about 4 months to form in my better bottle.I stuck in the closet so I didn't obsess over why a pellicle wasn't forming. I looked at it last weekend for the first time in a couple months and it has an awesome looking pellicle now.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

Don't worry and don't mess with it. Not forming a pellicle is a good thing (unless you want more acetic character, which you don't in a lambic) because it means you're not getting a lot of oxygen exposure. It's not as fun to look at but at least you know you're not going to have a big batch of malt vinegar. If you keep throwing stuff in the beer and taking samples you will get more oxygen and a pellicle will try to form. You don't need to do that. Brett, pedio and lacto have been doing their thing in beers for thousands of years. They are a lot better at brewing than you are. They know what they are doing.

I have to insist upon smacking the p off lambic. Knock that off.