Sour Solera Brew Day

I've recently had a lot of unused capacity in my brewery - i.e. empty carboys. Since I cannot drink beer as fast I can brew it, a long-term project is the obvious solution. A sour would be perfect and I've wanted to do a Lambic style beer for a while. This one isn't quite a Lambic since the choice of yeast is not quite right (more driven by the need to pitch what was in the proliferating Mason jars in the fridge than by stylistic accuracy), but it is a sour, and I hope will resemble a Lambic. I'm also planning to turn it into a solera. In about a year, I'll draw off 3 gallons and fill the rest of the carboy space with 3 gallons of new beer.


BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Lambic-esque Solera Year 1
Style: Straight (Unblended) Lambic
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.53 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.88 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal  
Bottling Volume: 4.85 gal
Estimated OG: 1.054 SG
Estimated Color: 3.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 8.8 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 75.3 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
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Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
5 lbs 8.0 oz          Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)            Grain         1        50.0 %       
5 lbs 8.0 oz          Wheat, Torrified (1.7 SRM)               Grain         2        50.0 %       
0.50 oz               Tettnang [4.50 %] - Boil 90.0 min        Hop           3        8.8 IBUs     
1.0 pkg              Geuze Tilquin Dregs
1.0 pkg               Brettanomyces Claussenii (White Labs #WL Yeast         5        -            
1.0 pkg               Brettanomyces Lambicus (White Labs #WLP6 Yeast         6        -            
2.00 oz               Oak Cubes, American (Secondary 12.0 week Flavor        7        -            


Mash Schedule: Temperature Mash, 2 Step, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Protein Rest            Add 14.75 qt of water at 118.6 F                     113.0 F       15 min       
Saccharification        Add 0.00 qt of water and heat to 122.0 F over 15 min 122.0 F       30 min       
Mash Step               Heat to 149.0 F over 4 min                           149.0 F       15 min       
Mash Step               Add 0.00 qt of water and heat to 159.0 F over 4 min  159.0 F       45 min       
Mash Out                Heat to 168.0 F over 10 min                          168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 5.41gal) of 210.0 F water

Starter: Jan. 22, with re-used Brett. C.; Brett. L. (from an experimental beer that oxidized and became rather vinegary); and dregs from Geuze Tilquin, cultured by a guy in the homebrew club. By Jan. 25 the starter was actively fermenting and smelled pretty strongly like rising bread dough.

Brewed 1/30/16:
The direct heat step mash was a slow and labor intensive process, since I had to constantly stir while applying heat in order to avoid scorching and to distribute the heat throughout the mash. I hit my temps well, but over the course of the 159F step some of the mash may have cooled a bit.

To sparge, I transferred the mash from my 5-gallon kettle into my MLT, and added rice hulls after the sparge became stuck. The 210F sparge water may have extracted some tannins but apparently this is normal for a lambic. The buys will chew some of them away.

Pre-boil OG was 1.044, slightly under volume. Post-Boil OG was 1.060, slightly below volume.

Cooled to 135F, racked to sanitized sour bucket and allowed to cool overnight to pitching temps. I left some trub in the kettle but probably transferred a bit of it into the fermenter. 5.25 gallons into the bucket.

Wort was hazy with protein and / or starch. Good, a starchy wort is desirable for this style.

I am not sure if the long multi-step mash is necessary, but it's traditional, and my wife was away all day. So why not?

1/31/16: Decanted half of starter and stirred up the settled yeast. Pitched into wort without aerating at all. Left at room temp approximate 70F.

2/21/16: Active stages of fermentation were over. Racked to 5 gallon carboy, with 2oz of boiled oak cubes. (Boiling to remove excess tanins.)

Added dregs: Roselare and Wyeast Dabom from previous beers. Also contains some champagne yeast used for bottle-carbing.

2/26/16: Made low gravity starter and added dregs of Boulevard Saison Brett 2015. Will add Roselare dregs as well, and then if I get some fermentation will add to main beer.

Clone Attempt: Smuttynose Baltic Porter

My homebrew club is having a clone competition. We're attempting to clone the Smuttynose Baltic Porter. I haven't tasted said brew but we were given some information about the recipe (and it's on the website of the brewery). I had to make a couple of substitutions, as usual.

I don't want to have 5 gallons of 9%+ beer, particularly when 5 gallons of RIS will be ready soon, so I brewed a 3-gallon batch of the Baltic Porter and will put it into my small keg. Along with my Barleywine and Russian Stouts this is the highest ABV beer I've ever brewed.

Baltic Porter - 3 Gallon

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Smuttynose Baltic Porter CloneStyle: Baltic Porter
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 5.24 gal
Post Boil Volume: 3.59 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 3.25 gal  
Bottling Volume: 3.15 gal
Estimated OG: 1.097 SG
Estimated Color: 56.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 40.5 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 69.0 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
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Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
7 lbs 4.0 oz          Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)           Grain         1        53.0 %       
2 lbs 10.0 oz         Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)                    Grain         2        19.2 %       
1 lbs 5.0 oz          Amber Malt (22.0 SRM)                    Grain         3        9.6 %        
11.0 oz               Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM)    Grain         4        5.0 %        
11.0 oz               Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)   Grain         5        5.0 %        
9.0 oz                Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM)          Grain         6        4.1 %        
9.0 oz                Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM)               Grain         7        4.1 %        
0.50 oz               Sterling [7.50 %] - Boil 90.0 min        Hop           8        19.4 IBUs    
0.75 oz               Sterling [7.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min        Hop           9        16.5 IBUs    
1.25 oz               Sterling [7.50 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  5.0 Hop           10       4.5 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               Old Bavarian Lager (White Labs #WLP920)  Yeast         11       -            


Mash Schedule: 154F, Batch Sparge, Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 13 lbs 11.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 17.11 qt of water at 170.8 F                     154.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 10.95 qt of water at 194.9 F                     168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 1 steps (Drain mash tun ) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
------

1/13/16: Made starter with ~1200 ml water, yeast nutrient, and 70g extract, lightly hopped. Fermented at ~55F.

1/17/16: Brewed. Went well except for minor boil-over. I hit my mash temp, and got pre-boil OG of 1.070, at about 5.1 gallons. Boiled 10 mins before adding hops.  Neglected to take OG at end of boil. Force-chilled to 60F, then placed in fermentation fridge overnight for cooling to 45F. 

By brewday the starter had fermented.

1/18/16, 10am. Oxygenated for 1 minute, pitched mostly decanted starter. Total volume in fermenter, including trub, was about 3.5 - 4 gallons. Temperature profile will be 45F for 12 hours, then ramp over 12 hours to 50F, hold for two weeks. Then diacetyl rest followed by cold crashing and lagering.

1/20/16, 5pm: Fermentation proceeding actively. Nice krausen but I don't yet think at highkrausen.

1/27/16, 530pm. Still actively fermenting after more than a week though high Hayden has probably passed. I probably under pitched by a substantial amount, so I am a bit worried that fermentation will stall. But the continued activity is a good sign.

2/20/16: After crash cooling to 35F and holding for a few days, racked to 3-gallon keg and purged head space. Began carbonation.

Funky Mild Review

This is my second attempt at a beer from American Sour Beers. This one isn't actually soured, but dosed with Brett-C in the secondary fermentation. 

Appearance: Deep ruby brown. Nearly opaque but in bright light it is clear. Low but persistent tan head. The camera on my phone doesn't do the appearance of my beers any favors.

Aroma: Noticeable bretty cherry quality. Kind of musty with a chocolate note. Like dark bitter chocolate mixed with cherries. The Brett smell is similarly funky to my Brett C saison but definitely has a stronger cherry like nose. Perhaps that's an interaction between the Brett and the dark or crystal malts. I don't think I get any English yeast type esters.

Taste: Similar to the aroma. I get some bretty horseblanket funk. Maybe some leathery notes, a bit of chocolate, but doesn't have as much cherry as the nose. Low sweetness, very low bitterness, hops not detectable. Maybe some dry, spicy notes from the rye malt, but it all blends together.

Moutfeel: Fairly thin, like a mild is supposed to be. But mid to high carbonation range, which is probably a little too high. Aftertaste is bretty funk, maybe with a slight taste of bitter chocolate. Pretty dry - the brett must have consumed some of the sugars left over from the English ale yeast.

Overall: I'm not sure what to make of the taste profile of this one. Not clearly a sour, not clearly a mild, not a saison. Just different than anything that comes to mind. It's pleasant but has a stronger taste than a mild and probably a little more alcohol, both due to the brett. Probably not quite the session beer due to its more robust taste... but probably still is pretty low ABV.

I would like to continue brewing the beers from American Sour Beers. Maybe next is the Buckwheat Sour Amber or the Lambic. We'll see.... I currently have too many unfilled carboys so I'm looking to fill them with some sours or the like.