Bottling and Blending Woxbic

Have barrel, will age beer

DIY Barrel Transfer tool from Milk the Funk Wiki

After four long years, it’s time to blend and package my first Woxbic beer.
I struggled quite a bit on the blending ratio. Too many variables to take
into account: the volume of beer I could produce to replace what goes into the
blend, the number and size of the barrels I already have, the volume to package,
and ultimately, how the blend would taste.

where did you get that shed? what have you got in your shed?

Transferring Year 1 Woxbic from barrel into a keg

In order to ensure I did have some of year 2 blend left, I needed to limit the
total volume I packaged. The result was that I was going to have quite a bit of
year 3 left over and that I’d need a new barrel to fill for going forward since
I was not also ready to package what would be left in year 3 barrel. Eventually
I settled on a 60/30/10 of Year1/Year2/Year3 ratio, similar to what Jester King
did with their recently released lambic-inspired, Méthode Gueuze beers. I
packaged approximately 10 gallons of blended beer. That works out direclty to 1
gallon of three year old, three gallons of two year and six gallons of one year.

Don't mind the fancy photos

Year 3 and Year 2 barrels transferring into keg for blending.

Year two and year one blends will remain in-barrel (without a top off) for next
year’s blend, and year 3 will have 9 gallons left to package separately. I’m
planning on blending that with some fruits for a cuvee style release as well.

For the actual transfer of the beer, I was excited to use a constructed barrel
transfer tool fashioned after the industry tools, like a Bulldog or
Rack-It-Teer, this was put together by some homebrewers on Milk-the-Funk
community.

The transfers from barrel to keg went flawlessly. A bit of CO2 to push and the
beer flowed quickly into the keg. After collecting all of the volumes, each was
pushed via CO2 into the Chronical where it was recirculated with some bottling
sugar.

Shiny!

Recirculating the blend in the Chronical

Bottling with the Last Straw was nice. The ergonomics of holding the Last Straw
are very nice in comparision to the Blichmann Beergun. I do wish the Last Straw
had a larger diameter for beer. It was designed for already carbonated beer, so
I can understand why the line is small. But for uncarbonated beer, it would be
nice to fill faster.

Gonna need a new table son!

The weight of the line let the bottle fit itself slowly; that was handy for a single person operation.

With the bottling complete, I now have 6 to 9 months to wait to see how the beer
changes in the bottle. I’ll post some pictures and tasting notes later this
year.

And some fantastic beer to celebrate the occasion.

Blueberries!

Dat Crooked Stave!

Woxbic Time

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It’s Texas winter time again; well sort of.  Texas has the strangest winters;  it was 85F on December 25th, and then had a high of 28F for 3 days in early January.  Today is 72F. Despite these wild swings in temperatures, it’s time again to brew my annual Lambic-style, or Methode Gueuze, as the newly introduced mark for a process has been released alongside a huge accomplishment from Jester King when they released SPON late last year.  Note, I won’t be performing a turbid mash.  Yet.

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In preparation for my first year of blending, I’m doing my largest single batch.  22 Gallons of wort to be split between a 15 gallon Rye Whiskey barrel, and a 5 gallon Whiskey barrel.  The 15 gallon barrel will get a fresh pitch of ECY 20, my favorite blend for long barrel aging lambic-style beers.  The 5 gallon will get wild yeast I captured under a peach tree from my yard.  I brewed a 1L starter a year ago which produced Belgian-like characteristics by not  much in the way of sour.  After aging for nearly 9 months, the pH dropped from 4.2 to 2.8.  Slow bugs work magic.  I just refreshed this mixed culture to pitch into the 5 gallon barrel to see how that turns out.

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These two barrels are the newest in my collection and need to be parafin waxed.  Using Gulf wax in a glass bowl, heat gun set at 1000F and a thermal glove one can drip and blend hot wax on the whole barrel (outside and both heads) in about 20 to 30 minutes.  I’ve done this for all 3 of my Woxbic barrels and it’s done amazingly well at keeping any acetic character out of even the 3 year old beer which has been stored at approx 75F for the entire time.

After this brewday, the next big challenge is blending the 3, 2 and 1 year old blends, and then how to plan for next years’ blends.  I find it incredibly difficult to determine how to keep a consistent amount of 3, 2 and 1 year old lambic beer around considering the blending ratios may change.  One can always brew more each year but it becomes challenge to use up the remaining beer that’s beyond the 3 year mark.  I plan to take what I need out of the 3 year old barrel and anything that remains will get bottled as straight unblended lambic-style; sort of a Grand Cru or Cuvee.  Maybe I’ll blend with fruits as well.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
20 gal 60 min 8.7 IBUs 3.7 SRM 1.054 1.018 4.7 %
Actuals 1.046 1.01 4.7 %

Style Details

Name Cat. OG Range FG Range IBU SRM Carb ABV
Straight (Unblended) Lambic 17 D 1.04 - 1.054 1.001 - 1.01 0 - 10 3 - 7 1.8 - 2.6 5 - 6.5 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Pilsner (Weyermann) 24.306 lbs 60
Wheat (BestMälz) 14.583 lbs 36
Acidulated (Weyermann) 1.62 lbs 4

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Northern Brewer 2.46 oz 60 min Boil Leaf 3.2

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Phosphoric Acid 32.40 ml 60 min Mash Water Agent
Epsom Salt (MgSO4) 2.60 g 60 min Mash Water Agent
Calcium Chloride 1.30 g 60 min Mash Water Agent
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) 1.30 g 60 min Mash Water Agent
Wheat Flour 5.00 oz 5 min Boil Other

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Bug Country (20) East Coast Yeast 70% 63°F - 75°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Protein Rest 122°F 30 min
Saccharification 156°F 30 min
Mash Out 168°F 10 min

Notes

After mash-out, drain all liquid into boil kettle, raise temp to 190, pump back to mash for second rinse through grain bed.

Pitching ECY20 Bugcountry in 15G barrel, 5G

Sparge acidification:
Gypsum: 1.9 Grams
Epsom Salt: 2.6 Grams
Calcium Chloride: 1.3 Grams
Phosphoric Acid: 61.9 mL

Woxbic: Lambic-style Beer; Third Year: Now with more barrels!

Woxbic v3

Active fermentation with ECY 20 – Bug Country, 12 hours after pitching. Ambient shed temperature at 55F.

Another year and another Woxbic! This year I was quite a bit late. Normally I’m brewing this batch during January or early February since there aren’t that many days which have cool enough weather for fermentation in the garage in the mid 50s. But better that than not at all. Also with the “magic” of science, I happen to have a shed in which I can keep things at just the right temp, ~55F.

I’m really excited about these lambic-style beers and the fact that the previous two batches are tasting really well! My favorite local brewery, Jester King has just blended their first batch of lambic-style spontaneously fermented beer. I’m about a year away from being able to blend and bottle as well. When brewing for blends, one needs to have enough younger beer to spread out the older beer. So this year, I finally was able to get two barrels.

both_barrels_one_waxed-1024x768

11 Gallon Rum barrel, waxed with paraffin. 15 gallon Rye Whiskey barrel waits a few weeks for its’ fill.

This brewday I filled the first barrel, another 11 gallon rum barrel. I’ve picked up an additional barrel, 15 gallon Rye Whiskey. After a quick batch of smoked saison, I’ll pick up this recipe and put 15 gallons of Woxbic in it as well.

rye-whiskey-15g-1024x768

Initial cleaning and swelling of the 15 gallon Rye Whiskey barrel.

Recipe-wise, no real changes. I was unable to pickup local Pilsner from Blacklands Malt due to their success. They only offer their pilsner malt under contract; and all available bags are being picked up by other local breweries. I was able to procure some Weyerman Bohemian Pilsner malt from a local brewery Adelberts, so a big thanks to them.

Enjoy!

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
13 gal 90 min 8.7 IBUs 3.5 SRM 1.054 1.013 5.4 %
Actuals 1.046 1.01 4.7 %

Style Details

Name Cat. OG Range FG Range IBU SRM Carb ABV
Straight (Unblended) Lambic 17 D 1.04 - 1.054 1.001 - 1.01 0 - 10 3 - 7 1.8 - 2.6 5 - 6.5 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Pilsner (Weyermann) 16.25 lbs 60
Wheat, Torrified 9.75 lbs 36
Acidulated (Weyermann) 1.083 lbs 4

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Northern Brewer 1.62 oz 60 min Boil Leaf 3.2

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Phosphoric Acid 56.60 ml 60 min Mash Water Agent
Epsom Salt (MgSO4) 3.40 g 60 min Mash Water Agent
Calcium Chloride 1.70 g 60 min Mash Water Agent
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) 1.70 g 60 min Mash Water Agent
Wheat Flour 3.25 oz 5 min Boil Other

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Bug Country (20) East Coast Yeast 70% 63°F - 75°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Acid Rest 93°F 15 min
Protein Rest 113°F 15 min
Saccharification 1 131°F 15 min
Saccharification 2 149°F 15 min
Mash Out 168°F 10 min

Notes

After mash-out, drain all liquid into boil kettle, raise temp to 190, pump back to mash for second rinse through grain bed.

Pitching ECY20 Bugcountry in 15G barrel

Phosphoric Acid additions during multi-infusion step mashing:
Step1: 20.1 ml in 6.7 gallons
Step2: 6.2 ml in 2.07 gallons
Step3: 9.09 ml in 3.03 gallons
Step4: 16.92 ml in 5.64 gallons

Total: 52.3 mL in 17.41 gallons ~ pH of 5.4 (5.2 , 5.3, 5.3, 5.4)

Barrel Fermented Woxford’s Revenge

Dat Glycol Loop!

Jester King uses shipping containers to bottle condition upcoming beer.

Now that the Battle Shed is up, it’s time to brew a beer and ferment it within with only ambient temperate to control it. I’ve had three beers age in one of my 5 gallon Balcones Whiskey barrel and have been waiting to have the shed ready to bottle the previous batch (Quad Damage) and then brew and prepare a Boxer’s Revenge inspired clone.

I brewed a test-batch earlier this year and the Boxer’s clone came out very nice. Slightly under carbed due to testing out new bottling method (pre-packaging yeast in gelatin caps) which worked well but needed a bit more sugar to get the right level. The taste and aroma were spot on. The only real concern was that it needed quite a bit more oak to make it more like Boxer’s. For this batch I’ll ferment it and again it entirely in the oak barrel.

Nothing special in the recipe besides using the Jester King mixed culture. Note: Mash @ 150F for 75 minutes. Enjoy!

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
6 gal 90 min 22.4 IBUs 7.5 SRM 1.089 SG 1.009 SG 10.7 %

Style Details

Name Cat. OG Range FG Range IBU SRM Carb ABV
Wild Specialty Beer 28 C 1.02 - 1.09 1 - 1.016 5 - 50 2 - 50 2 - 3 2 - 10 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Pilsen (BestMälz) 16 lbs 71.11
Wheat Malt, Ger 5 lbs 22.22
Pale Moon (Blacklands) 1 lbs 4.44
Caramunich Malt 0.5 lbs 2.22

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Styrian Goldings 2.12 oz 60 min Boil Pellet 3
Cascade 1 oz 7 days Dry Hop Pellet 5.9
Centennial 1 oz 7 days Dry Hop Pellet 11.4

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Jester King Culture (0001) Jester King 86% 50°F - 90°F

Pfunk it Up

3 Funks FTW!

Capturing some local microflora with apple juice. Two types of wild flowers and a control. Left out overnight in the Texas winter, now incubating at 75F.

Along side Jester King as one of my favorite breweries is Prairie Artisan Ales.  They’ve been churning out great beer after beer.  Prairie is always experimenting and playing with bold flavors while mixing in healthy amounts of barrel aging.  One of their earlier beers captured my attention.  Funky Galaxy.  When fresh, this beer delivers this amazing CDA/Black IPA punch, but with a light farmhouse funk in the nose, but enough citrus and tropical fruits that it drinks really easy.

Here’s the fun part: if you sit on this one for a few months the Brett transforms the beer dramatically.  Much of the hop aroma fades and/or is consumed by the Brett and produces one of the *funkiest* Brett B beers I’ve ever had.  Comparing a freshly bottled beer side-by-side to an aged one makes one wonder if these were even the same beer at all.

This one has been on my list for some time but never got to brew it.  I’ve had some really good success with using Jester King mixed culture yeast and bacteria.  The Boxer’s Revenge inspired one gallon batch is already amazing at two months, only needed a little more oak character before bottling.  This recipe has about 30 IBU so I know that the JK yeast will send plenty of sour punch with this recipe.  Mixing that with the roast and citrus hops should make for a very tasty brew.

The origin of the malt bill was inspired from Hops and Grain’s Dark IPA that they brewed a few years back that I really enjoyed.  I picked that back up here and bumped the gravity up to match the 8% of Funky Galaxy, and switched the hops to Galaxy and Citra for a really nice citrus/tropical fruit nose.  Looking forward to brewing a bigger batch on the full-scale equipment as well.

Here’s Pfunky Galaxy

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
6 gal 60 min 29.3 IBUs 45.8 SRM 1.078 1.016 8.1 %
Actuals 1.046 1.01 4.7 %

Style Details

Name Cat. OG Range FG Range IBU SRM Carb ABV
Belgian Specialty Ale 16 E 1.03 - 1.08 1.006 - 1.019 15 - 40 3 - 50 2.1 - 2.9 3 - 9 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Organic Brewers Malt 2-Row (Briess) 14.25 lbs 77.03
Carafa III 1.25 lbs 6.76
Aromatic Malt 1 lbs 5.41
Caramunich Malt 14 oz 4.73
Oats, Flaked 14 oz 4.73
Chocolate Malt (Thomas Fawcett) 4 oz 1.35

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Citra 0.11 oz 60 min Boil Pellet 14.4
Galaxy 0.11 oz 60 min Boil Pellet 14.8
Citra 1 oz 10 min Aroma Pellet 14.4
Galaxy 1 oz 10 min Aroma Pellet 14.8
Liberty 1 oz 10 min Aroma Pellet 3.9
Galaxy 2 oz 7 days Dry Hop Pellet 14.8

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Phosphoric Acid 21.40 ml 60 min Mash Water Agent
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) 4.80 g 60 min Mash Water Agent
Calcium Chloride 4.30 g 60 min Mash Water Agent
Whirlfloc Tablet 1.00 Items 15 min Boil Fining

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Jester King Mixed Culture (3711) Jester King 81% 60°F - 95°F
Brettanomyces Bruxellensis (WLP650) White Labs 70% 65°F - 72°F
Brettanomyces Lambicus (WLP653) White Labs 70% 65°F - 72°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Protein Rest 146°F 30 min
Saccharification 155°F 30 min
Mash Out 168°F 10 min

Notes

Based on Hops and Grain Dark IPA, adjusted for Pairie Ale Funky Galaxy parameters (30 IBU, *loads of Galaxy hops). Using JesterKing mixed culture yeast.