Attempting a Lambic-style brew

Posted on January 31, 2014 by funkmetal

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Filled the barrel with boiling water to prepare the barrel for aging

I’ve been working on sour beers for nearly a year and I’ve only now decided to attempt a Lambic-style beer. I always wanted to use a barrel for aging lambic-style beer but the size that’s available to a homebrewer isn’t practical for long term aging due to high oxygen to volume ratio; something that can spoil this multi-year process. Over this past year I’ve read a number of attempts and various processes employed by crafty homebrewers to minimize oxygen permeability. Plus, my largest barrel (11 gallons) has finally given up the whiskey ghost, so it’s time to make it the home of some sour bugs. A few more things forced my hand. In December, I was able to pick up the coveted ECY 20, Bug Country blend of yeast and bacteria. The list of microbes included is simply stunning.

Brettanomyces lambicus

Brettanomyces bruxellensis

Brettanomyces anomulus

Brettanomyces clausenii

Brettanomyces custersianus

Brettanomyces nanus

Brettanomyces naardenensis

Various Lactobacilli and Pediococci

ECY01 BugFarm

ECY02 Flemish Ale

ECY03 Farmhouse Brett

ECY04 Brett Blend #1

ECY05 Brett Blend #9

You can read more about the strains included at East Coast Yeast.
With such a great yeast blend, I needed to brew a beer that would handle such a blend. Empty barrel, great yeast. Lambic-style? Yeah!

Keeping a beer around a long time is challenging. Most of my aged sours are in PET or glass carboys; a few in a stainless corny keg. I agree that lambic-style beers need contact with wood to obtain a good flavor profile, but smaller barrels are going to introduce too much oxygen over a year or more. Over at the Funk Factory, a post about using paraffin wax to seal the barrel caught my eye. In addition to the waxing, a home-made steam wand was also something I needed to make so I could ensure that the bugs in ECY20 take over the barrel, not something else that might be in there.

Hot water cleaning a freshly dumped barrel

I’ll be following up this post with a few more on both barrel steaming and barrel waxing.

For the recipe, I’m following the traditional 60% barley (pils) and 40% wheat. I’m not performing a turbid mash so I’m attempting to come close to emulating the result which is to have a wort with lots of unconverted starch. The unconverted starches become food for the various microbes over the long haul. Sacchromyces yeast won’t eat those starches, but both Brett and the bacteria (Lacto, Pedio) will. I’m using torrified wheat so I don’t have to do a cereal mash to soften them up. And just to ensure we have some starch, I’m also throwing in some wheat flour. Various homebrewers have had success, but no rule of thumb on the amount, so this is just a guess. We’ll see how well it works.

Another important aspect to lambic-style beer is locality of ingredients. I had planned on getting some wheat and pilsner from our new local micro malster, Blackland Malting up in Ceder Park, but their release in December was picked up by the local scene and they’re completely sold out of what they had. Pils and Wheat won’t make it out again till this summer. Look for v2 of Woxbic to include these malts. Normally I use Reverse Osmosis water to pull all of the elements and nasties out of the water and build a new profile with salts. Instead, I’ll use my local water. This has it’s own challenges since the city water is heavily bicarbonate as well as having lots of chloromines. To combat this, I’m employing a whole-house carbon filter, campden tabs, and lots of phosphoric acid so I can have a low residual alkalinity for mashing with light grains. I’ll follow up with a post on the water process used as well.

Here’s the recipe for Woxbic, the first lambic-style beer I’m attempting.

Recipe Details

Batch Size	Boil Time	IBU	SRM	Est. OG	Est. FG	ABV
12 gal	90 min	8.9 IBUs	3.8 SRM	1.051	1.012	5.0 %
			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 (2 Row) Bel	16 lbs	61.54
Wheat, Torrified	9 lbs	34.62
Acidulated (Weyermann)	1 lbs	3.85

Hops

Name	Amount	Time	Use	Form	Alpha %
Crystal	1.5 oz	60 min	Boil	Pellet	3

Miscs

Name	Amount	Time	Use	Type
Wheat Flour	3.00 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
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 11G barrel.

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Sour Wit, take 2

Posted on January 17, 2014 by funkmetal

Farmhouse Saison fermenting with lactobacillus

I attempted a sour-worted wit a while back. The process had a few hiccups and created a tasty beer, but it wasn’t nearly sour enough. There isn’t any magical formula since we’re at the mercy of the bacteria. However, I have learned that since I can’t rush it I shouldn’t try to make it fit my schedule.

In the past, I started the souring during the week and then on brewnight, usually Friday night, I would do the boil and then ferment. This put the bacteria under a timeline: get sour by friday or that’s it! This time, however, I’ll just be preparing the wort for innoculation and then letting it ride until it smells and tastes right.

Recipe-wise, I’ve been scouring the web for details and discussions of Crooked Stave’s St. Bretta farmhouse wit. This was my first Crooked Stave beer that I got to try out in San Francisco at the excellent Monk’s Kettle. It is a really nice beer. Sour enough in the finish, but not overly aggressive that non-sour beer drinkers would run away. There are a couple of new items for me, namely using Golden Naked Oats. Supposedly they have a nice rich and fruity flavor but can contribute enough proteins to enhance mouth feel.

For the yeast, I wasn’t sure what Brett to use. Various boards have some details of what is used in St. Bretta. I was tempted to try two Bretts, but I think this time I’ll pitch Brett C. A number of threads on Homebrewtalk forums mentioned getting a tart, almost sour flavor in beers fermented with Brett C. This is unique since it is generally accepted that Brett by itself does not produce souring acids, besides Acetic (think vinegar) in the presence of oxygen. Several homebrewers asserted that their Brett C. beers did have a significant tart, sour note without being acetic. That’s good enough for me to try.

Here is St. Woxford, version 1.

Recipe Details

Batch Size	Boil Time	IBU	SRM	Est. OG	Est. FG	ABV
5.3 gal	60 min	9.0 IBUs	4.7 SRM	1.052	1.010	5.5 %
			Actuals	1.046	1.01	4.7 %

Style Details

Name	Cat.	OG Range	FG Range	IBU	SRM	Carb	ABV
Witbier	16 A	1.044 - 1.052	1.008 - 1.012	10 - 20	2 - 4	2.4 - 2.9	4.5 - 5.5 %

Fermentables

Name	Amount	%
Brewer's Malt, 2-Row, Premium (Great Western)	6.5 lbs	59.63
Wheat Malt, Ger	1.5 lbs	13.76
Acidulated (Weyermann)	1 lbs	9.17
Munich Malt	1 lbs	9.17
Oats, Golden Naked (Simpsons)	8 oz	4.59
Barley, Flaked	6.4 oz	3.67

Hops

Name	Amount	Time	Use	Form	Alpha %
Mt. Hood (20120604)	0.28 oz	60 min	First Wort	Pellet	6.1
Styrian Goldings	0.35 oz	10 min	Boil	Pellet	3
Ahtanum	0.35 oz	7 days	Dry Hop	Pellet	5.2

Miscs

Name	Amount	Time	Use	Type
Calcium Chloride	3.70 g	60 min	Mash	Water Agent
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate)	3.70 g	60 min	Mash	Water Agent
Epsom Salt (MgSO4)	0.90 g	60 min	Mash	Water Agent
Coriander Seed	0.17 oz	5 min	Boil	Spice
Orange Peel, Bitter	0.17 oz	5 min	Boil	Spice

Yeast

Name	Lab	Attenuation	Temperature
Brettanomyces Bruxellensis (WLP650)	White Labs	70%	65°F - 72°F
Brettanomyces Claussenii (WLP645)	White Labs	70%	65°F - 72°F
Lactobacillus Bacteria (WLP677)	White Labs	70%	65°F - 72°F

Mash

Step	Temperature	Time
Saccharification	147.9°F	90 min
Mash Out	168°F	10 min

Notes

Pitch lacto for up to 5 days to get level of sour needed.

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Son of a Funk – Sour Saison

Posted on November 22, 2013 by funkmetal

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Sour mashing second runnings in a keg. A heat belt keeps the temp up for optimal souring

Last week I brewed 11G of my favorite RIS, Black Metal Stout. As I detailed in the last post, I sparged another 6 gallons of wort from the mash. I collected close to 6G of 1.030 wort. The initial pitch into the keg was a nylon bag with a couple of ounces of acidulated malt. I set the temperature controller for about 116 to handle the temp swings (up to 4 degrees worth) and keep the lacto from getting killed off at too high a temp.

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Temperature control is critical for sour mashing.

I decided to bolster the lacto forces by pitching a couple mL of lacto starter I’ve been stepping for a while. Initially this seemed enough. The first two days, pH was moving in the right direction, 3.8 followed by 3.7. Then oddly, on day 3, the pH was back up to 4.0.

On day 4, pH was up to 4.2 and I felt some additional bugs would be needed so I opened the nylon bag and added about 8oz of acidulated malt. This seemed to help. Day 5 AM reading was 3.83 down from a high of 4.2 and the taste was certainly moving toward a nice tartness. By Friday night, we hit a nice pH of 3.6 and a solid tart flavor.

The brew session was short. I first-wort hopped one of my favorite saison hops, Sorachi Ace. And then to complement the tart and dry flavors, and to pull some new hops (for me) out of the freezer, New Zeland Pacific Gem and Pacific Jade as finishing additions.

The post chill wort really tasted nice. The sour is there, but not too bold, and the herbal, earthy, but slightly citrus New Zealand hops work very well.

I oxygenated for 30 seconds and then pitched a very healthy dose of Brett B. Trois (Drie). I decided to ferment the beer in the same keg (sanitized of course) and I fashioned a simple blowoff mechanism via the Gas In port, Quick Disconnect and some tubing.

Here’s a recipe that simulates the beer but realize that this is a second runnings from a big RIS.

Recipe Details

Batch Size	Boil Time	IBU	SRM	Est. OG	Est. FG	ABV
5 gal	30 min	25.2 IBUs	34.2 SRM	1.033	1.007	3.4 %
			Actuals	1.038	1.01	3.7 %

Style Details

Name	Cat.	OG Range	FG Range	IBU	SRM	Carb	ABV
Saison	16 C	1.048 - 1.065	1.002 - 1.012	20 - 35	5 - 14	2.3 - 2.9	5 - 7 %

Fermentables

Name	Amount	%
Maris Otter (Thomas Fawcett)	4 lbs	69.57
Chocolate Malt (Thomas Fawcett)	1 lbs	17.39
Amber Dry Extract	12 oz	13.04

Hops

Name	Amount	Time	Use	Form	Alpha %
Sorachi Ace	0.35 oz	30 min	First Wort	Pellet	12
Pacific Gem - 2012 Crop - Purchased 20130220	0.71 oz	5 min	Boil	Pellet	14.6
Pacific Jade - 2012 Crop - Purchased FHBS 20130220	0.71 oz	5 min	Boil	Pellet	13.1

Yeast

Name	Lab	Attenuation	Temperature
Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois (WLP654)	White Labs	70%	65°F - 72°F

Mash

Step	Temperature	Time
Mash In	150°F	75 min

Notes

Pitched grain bag with acid malt on it on Friday, 2013-11-15 @ 10PM.
Wrapped with heat belt and targeted 115 - 120F.

(2013-11-17)
at 48 hours, pH of 3.8 @ 23.1C
Very very light tartness, lots of grain in the nose. Husky. Chocolate, a bit of roast.

(2013-11-18)
at 60 hours, pH of 3.75 @ 22.7C
Same basic taste. Added a good dose of pure Lacto from stepped culture.

(2013-11-19)
It seems to be getting more lacto -- but it's hard to tell; clearly it's not massively sour yet. Oddly, the pH reading was 4.0 @ 23C -- it could be I need to calibrate the probe again. We'll give it another day.

(2013-11-20)
More mellow, I *think* a bit more sour, but nothing assertive. Ph is moving up... 4.2 @ 22C. Calibrated probe to 4.0. Pulled bag and added more acid malt. Need another day.

(2013-11-21)
Definitely getting more sour. Ph is back down, 3.83 @ 23C. Will check again tonight at 8PM (ph) and if we're in the 3.5 area, will boil and pitch yeast. If not, will wait till 11-22 evening.

(2013-11-22 AM)
Yay, more sour. Ph is at 3.71 @ 23C.

(2013-11-22 PM)
Yay, more sour. pH is at 3.61 @ 18.9C

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With so much funk in the air

Posted on November 15, 2013 by funkmetal

Hill Country View from Jester King Craft Brewery

I can’t seem to get enough of the original Jester King Black Metal Stout. We’ve brewed this beer four times; more than any other recipe. It’s been absolutely solid each round. The last round ended up in a Whiskey Barrel. That was by far the best of the bunch. The 10 gallon barrel I have is on its way to being neutralized, so to get that same huge whiskey nose and bite, I picked up a fresh-dumped Balcones blue corn whiskey barrel.

We’re still brewing 11 gallons, but this time it will be split. Half will ferment with the traditional English Yeast, WLP 007. The other half will be dedicated to one of my favorite, and local, sour beers. Funk Metal Stout. Funk Metal was created from the Black Metal Stout recipe, but aged in oak barrels with lots of pediocauccus, lactobacillus and brett. My best hope of recreating a beer like this is to pitch in some Funk Metal dregs that I’ve stepped up with some oak cubes.

In addition to this split batch, I was thinking that it was time for another “fast” sour beer in the pipeline since the Funk Metal is likely to take quite a while to get good. Over at The Mad Fermentationist, there is a recent post on using various sour worting techniques. I’ve decided that I’ll take the second runnings from this weeks brew which should yield 5 gallons of 1.030 wort, and keep it in a 5G corny keg. Wrapping the wort witha heat belt, I’ll pitch some lactobacillus to sour it up for a few days before boiling for 30 minutes and then pitching Brett Drie (Brett B. Trois).

It’s been quite a few weeks since the last brew day so I’m looking forward to brewing up two of my favorite beers and experimenting with a new one.

Recipe Details

Batch Size	Boil Time	IBU	SRM	Est. OG	Est. FG	ABV
11 gal	60 min	104.9 IBUs	69.2 SRM	1.094 SG	1.013 SG	10.8 %

Style Details

Name	Cat.	OG Range	FG Range	IBU	SRM	Carb	ABV
Imperial Stout	13 F	1.075 - 1.115	1.018 - 1.03	50 - 90	30 - 40	1.8 - 2.6	8 - 12 %

Fermentables

Name	Amount	%
Maris Otter (Thomas Fawcett)	29.868 lbs	72.53
Black Barley (Stout)	2.467 lbs	5.99
Black (Patent) Malt	1.598 lbs	3.88
Chocolate Malt (Thomas Fawcett)	1.598 lbs	3.88
Brown Malt	0.951 lbs	2.31
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L	0.949 lbs	2.3
Crystal Dark - 77L (Crisp)	0.75 lbs	1.82
Cane (Beet) Sugar	3 lbs	7.28

Hops

Name	Amount	Time	Use	Form	Alpha %
Magnum	3.74 oz	60 min	Boil	Pellet	13.5
Goldings, East Kent	4 oz	5 min	Boil	Pellet	5

Miscs

Name	Amount	Time	Use	Type
Calcium Chloride	3.60 g	60 min	Mash	Water Agent
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate)	3.60 g	60 min	Mash	Water Agent
Pickling Lime	1.00 g	60 min	Mash	Water Agent

Yeast

Name	Lab	Attenuation	Temperature
Dry English Ale (WLP007)	White Labs	75%	65°F - 70°F

Notes

Hold all Dark/Roast grains till end of mash/sparge.

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Brett to the rescue

Posted on September 2, 2013 by funkmetal

Fresh-cut Apricots waiting to age in Berliner Weisse

A few months ago, I brewed 10 gallons Berliner Weisse using the sour worting technique. That was my first time attempting to sour mash that much wort and I was testing out new equipment to hold the temperature steady for growth of Lactobacillus. After 12 hours, the temperature had risen to 130F which was rather close to temp needed to kill off the lacto.

Uncrushed grain just teeming with souring bacteria among other things

I went to pick up a few more vials of pure lacto, but the homebrew store was out, so I had to go old-school and pitch multiple handfuls of uncrushed grain which contain Lactobacillus among many other bugs. This was successful in generating an amazingly tart flavor. However, the side-effect was that I also picked up some butyric acid as well which has the lovely aroma of gym feet and old cheese.

Racking into two 5 gallon carboys with fruit

In the hopes that some extra age and fruit might help, I racked the beer into two containers with puree of Apricot and Blackberries, along with some fresh fruit of the same.

Blackberry on the left and Apricot on the right

Two weeks passed and the flavors were really taking shape, picking up lots of the fruit aroma and taste. The foot oder, however, was still quite present. My next thought was to do something I had just heard from a podcast on The Brewing Network. Chad Yacobson of The Brettanomyces Project who know runs Crooked Stave brewery described the process around a no-boil berliner weisse. Chad ended up needing to innoculate the beer with brett and waited over two months to allow the brett to convert the buteyric acid into more lively pineapple and tropical fruit aromas.

With the addition of fruit and sugars, the yeast get started again…

Before I had a chance to step up any pure strain I ended up pitching some bottling dregs from a non-sour Jester King beer, Noble King, as they use Brett Drie for bottling yeast. Within two weeks of pitching, we now have a nice pelecile formed on top of the berliner weisse.