Simple Fruit Beer Base

[srqbrew]

Hi All,

Looking to make a berliner-inspired base for fruit beers this summer. By no means looking to stay to a style, just want a tart, slightly malty/sweet base to make fruit bombs out of! Wanted to run this plan by everyone for thoughts.

Recipe will be ~70/30 Marris Otter/Red Wheat. Ideally, I'd use Pils but this allows me to buy a sack of MO for my other brews. No hops, boiling just to sanitize for 10 minutes. Planning to cool to 90 and pitch Omega Yeast Labs Lacto blend, let it go and cool for 24 hours at ambient (~68). Then going to pitch Trois for a fruity fermentation. I plan to brew this 3 or 4 times and let it just sit in my basement at ambient for the next six months or so, when the berries come in. Then, I'll rack onto raspberries, strawberries, marion berries, black berries etc... I may also play with some hop teas if it needs any bitterness to balance.

Questions: 1) Do I need any bitterness to balance? I like fruited lambics and always thought aged noble hops added essentially no bitterness, but maybe it's a pinch of salt in chocolate chip cookies situation.
2) What are folks thoughts on the OYL blend vs just using some Goodbelly?
3) Will Trois get me a fairly dry beer?
4) Do folks have a preferred supplier for Trois, or is it a toss up?

Thanks for your guidance!

 

[dantheman13]

1. A little bit of bitterness can have good results, I find, but it isn't necessary. Whatever you do, don't add hops until after the Omega blend (or probiotics) finishes souring.

2. The OYL blend is fantastic. A lot of people have good success with Goodbelly and Swansons too. Personally, I would say to buy the OYL blend and support the guys who make it. Pitch it straight for moderate-light acidity, or make a 1L starter for more acidity.

3. Trois should dry the beer out fine.

4. WL Trois comes with an extremely small cell count, so doing a starter for 2-3 days is a good idea. The only other company out there that I know of selling Trois is Imperial Organic Yeast. The "A20 Citrus" is Trois: http://www.imperialyeast.com/yeast-strains/. Their pitch rates are significantly higher than what you would get from WL.

On another note, I don't really see any reason to age these beers for 6 months. Without Brettanomyces, there is a good chance you'll have them ready in 2-3 months.

 

[srqbrew]

Excellent notes! Thanks for the info.