Tart of Darkness

[FredTheNuke]

I have 12 quarts of this in my deep freezer waiting to be added to many brews.... I'll know the answer in 6 months or so.

http://kingorchards.com/product/case-12-quarts-sale-montmorency-tart-cherry-juice-concentrate/

 

[The_Nid_Hog]

The ToD clone that I brewed on 11/10/13 has been sitting at 1.014 for almost two months so I decided to bottle it today. Shooting for 2.0 volumes of CO2, and I packaged it in crown capped Champagne bottles.

The Better Bottle that I've been aging it in had a nice, thick layer of dried cherries and buggy muck in the bottom, so I filled it back up with a fresh Belgian Dark Strong Ale that I knocked together from stuff I had around the house. Now everything can start all over again.

 

[FredTheNuke]

Did you add fresh Sacc or go with just the bugz?


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[The_Nid_Hog]

I added 2 g of Lalvin EC-1118, just in case the old sacc was too tired out. The new Belgian went in on the old dregs, but I added a package of T-58 for the same reason. Within 12 hours, it was off to a furious start so it looks like things are doing well.

Apart from the Champagne bottles, I filled up eight old 11.2 oz Belgian bottles that I had saved. This is the first real sour that I've bottled, so I'll use that to periodically check on carbonation and development of the beer.

 

[FredTheNuke]

Did u feed it bottling sugar?


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[The_Nid_Hog]

I did, to carbonate to 2.0 volumes.

 

[Rootski]

I'm interested in brewing this beer in extract. I'm trying to put together a recipe based on reading through this thread and other sources. Steeping grains are my question, and specifically the flaked oats. When steeping, what should be included? I'm thinking the flaked oats should not be steeped. Is there any alternative to flaked oats in an extract version of this recipe?

 

[sweetcell]

I'm thinking the flaked oats should not be steeped. Is there any alternative to flaked oats in an extract version of this recipe?

yup, oats should be mashed.

wiliams brewing makes an oatmeal stout extract: http://www.williamsbrewing.com/WILLIAMS-OATMEAL-STOUT-EXTRACT-33-LBS-P3480.aspx

you could look into using that for part of your recipe. they also sell an 8 pound bag.

 

[youreanimpulse]

Why not just add some base malt to your steep and make it a partial mash? No extra equipment or skills necessary, just get it around 150 and let it sit for 45 mins or so. Post your extract recipe and I'm sure we could help you convert to a small partial mash.

 

[Rootski]

Why not just add some base malt to your steep and make it a partial mash? No extra equipment or skills necessary, just get it around 150 and let it sit for 45 mins or so. Post your extract recipe and I'm sure we could help you convert to a small partial mash.

Thanks for the help and idea. My equipment is what it is at this point. I did just get a free brand new 5 gallon water cooler so I could use that to mash in, but I'd probably need to do it in a bag, I also have plenty of 5 gallon paint strainer bags. So, I suppose I could do my first all grain beer if it'd fit in a 5 gallon cooler. The grain bill looks large on this recipe (the one posted on the second page of this thread, copied below) so it might not fit in a 5 gallon cooler. I could always substitute DME for some of the American Pale I suppose. How should I modify this recipe given my limitation of a 5 gallon cooler?

Grain:
10 lbs American Pale
1 lb Crystal 60L
1 lb Flaked Oats
8 oz Black Roasted
6 oz Chocolate

Hops:
.5 oz Czech Saaz (60 minutes)

 

[youreanimpulse]

I put it in my software to convert and got 5.2 lbs extra light LME and 2 lbs 2-row as a substitute for the 10 lbs at 60% efficiency (fairly conservative).

You can easily do a partial mash with your normal brewing pot just like a steep. Your bag may need to be bigger, but you could always just use a strainer. Here's how I do it in my kitchen:

Put the 2-row with the other specialty malts and flaked oats in your pot at 155 or so, stirring until it's 150 and then cover and put in the oven with the light on and leave it for 45 mins to an hour. Stir again then either take out the bag or strain the grains to get your wort. Then extract brew as usual. No need to use the cooler. Hope that helps!

 

[Rootski]

Thanks. My brew pot is 8 gallons so I'll have to see if it fits in the oven, otherwise I'll just figure out a different way to maintain the temperature.

 

[youreanimpulse]

Gotcha, just wrap it in a blanket. Or leave it. It can fall a little bit in temp.

 

[Austin_]

a year in a 5 gallon (AKA small) barrel is probably too long unless you wax it. that's a lot of oxygen intake.

I bottled my ToD clone the other day. It had been in an unwaxed five gallon barrel for nine months. I pulled it for two reasons. One is I'm moving and I don't want a barrel full of beer sloshing around in a moving truck while going across the country. The second is the oak taste was starting to hit that spot where more would have been detrimental to the final taste. I had used the barrel twice before this batch for clean beers, so I thought most of the oak and bourbon would be zapped from the barrel, but I guess 9 months allowed the ToD clone to pull out the last little bit.

I didn't have any problems with oxygen and acetobacter, though that doesn't mean I wasn't always worrying about it. It was always in the back of my mind and I was ready to pull the beer if acetic acid started getting out of control.

 

[Rootski]

I've settled on a recipe and will hopefully be brewing this beer within the week. My question is now about fermentation temperatures. I do not have a chamber yet (I'm working on that), but have a couple of options. Right now I have a room at a steady 67, and one at about 70 or 71. These rooms should stay that temperature for another month before the weather gets colder and they start to cool down. They could get down to 60 through most of the winter. Should I start fermenting in the warmer room for a few weeks and then move it to the colder room for long term storage? What temps seem to be best for Roeselare?

 

[Rootski]

Update - I brewed this beer with a couple of modifications yesterday. It was my first all grain so I decided that I didn't want to wait for the sour bugs before drinking. I up'ed the hops to 1 oz Fuggle and used 1968 yeast based on a recommendation. Assuming this comes out well, I'll brew it again with Roeselare and back off on the hops based on the original recipe.

 

[FATC1TY]

I'm brewing up a ToD this weekend as well.

Going to use ECY02 Flemish, and a vial of Yeast Bay Melange to ferment/funk/sour.

Once it's close, I'll toss it in a 4th or 5th use 5 gallon bourbon barrel I have at the house and let it pick up some goodness.

Plan to split the batch, age half with tart cherries and more bourbon barrel aging as well.

 

[oldstyle69]

gonna brew this up tomorrow morning.

 

[Yourrealdad]

So I brewed this up last night and I have one question to ask that probably should have been asked before brewing.

Recipe says .5 oz of Saaz. In Brewsmith that gives me 9 IBUs. Is that the correct amount? It seems that most stout style recipes are around 20-75 IBUs with 40ish being the norm.

I am assuming that we have lowered the IBUs since the bugs don't like the hop oils?

Hope this turns out well and can't wait a full year

Thanks

 

[sweetcell]

Recipe says .5 oz of Saaz. In Brewsmith that gives me 9 IBUs. Is that the correct amount? It seems that most stout style recipes are around 20-75 IBUs with 40ish being the norm.

sure, but those aren't sour stouts. the rules change when you get bugs in the mix.

I am assuming that we have lowered the IBUs since the bugs don't like the hop oils?

depending on the strain, lacto can start to have problems when IBUs get above 10'ish. so that recipe sounds about right according to the "keep it under 10 IBUs" school of thought.

 

[Brewsit]

I brewed this last December, followed the recipe as described. After primary fermentation, about two months in, it was split into two corny kegs and put in a closet that sits in the middle of the house (pretty well controlled temp of about 72-76 year round). It sat there until I added the bourbon barrel chips in July, about 7 months in. I just threw it on the tap, and man... this is an amazing beer. Very strong sour flavor, like tart raspberries, smokey bourbon character... and a bit of a funk that is not in any way overdone. I'm going to have to pull it off the tap if I expect to still have any left before Christmas.

 

[TriggerFingers]

Brewed this up last sunday morning as a mini-mash with the MoreBeer kit---super fast brewday. Pitched ECY02 + the last little bit of ECY03. Took off like a rocket!

My question is--do I leave this in the primary for 6 months or rack off of it after 1? Advantages/disadvantages?

 

[DurtyChemist]

Brewed this up last sunday morning as a mini-mash with the MoreBeer kit---super fast brewday. Pitched ECY02 + the last little bit of ECY03. Took off like a rocket!

My question is--do I leave this in the primary for 6 months or rack off of it after 1? Advantages/disadvantages?

I'd leave it for 6-23 months before moving it.

 

[bnairuni87]

Mine has been in the fermenter for a couple of days. Great krausen

 

[humann_brewing]

couple questions to those that have brewed this.

what is the anticipated OG of this kit?

I put this into beersmith and is estimating a 24 SRM, that is pretty low for a stout, what are others getting, this is with 450L chocolate and 300L roasted barley

 

[FredTheNuke]

couple questions to those that have brewed this.

what is the anticipated OG of this kit?

I put this into beersmith and is estimating a 24 SRM, that is pretty low for a stout, what are others getting, this is with 450L chocolate and 300L roasted barley

Please read post #3 on page 1 for this info.

 

[humann_brewing]

Please read post #3 on page 1 for this info.

haha, right before one of my posts, classic. Thanks!

I'll be brewing this but going to add a little lactose to it as well.

 

[TriggerFingers]

I'd leave it for 6-23 months before moving it.

Really? 2 years in primary?

 

[skeezerpleezer]

Really? 2 years in primary?

First sour brew?

 

[SavoryChef]

Really? 2 years in primary?

Yes