Today I brewed a small batch of something a bit different. I made an attempt of brewing a sour ale / pseudo-lambic. The malt bill was simple, containing 2 kg of pilsner malt and 1 kg of raw wheat. The mashing was however a bit more complicated, as I attempted a turbid mash. The turbid mash results in a starch-rich wort, leaving some food for the pitched bacteria once the yeast has consumed all the simpler sugars. The mash procedure was as follows (12 liters of mash water and 3 kg of grain):
- 2.4 liters of 65C water was added to the grain, resulting in a mash temperature of 45C. The temperature was held for 15 minutes.
- 2.4 liters of 85C water was added to the mash, resulting in a mash temperature of 52C. The temperature was held for 15 minutes.
- 1.6 liters of wort was transferred to an empty kettle, and temperature was raised to 88C.
- 3.6 liters of 100C water was added to the mash, resulting in a mash temperature of 65C. The temperature was held for 15 minutes.
- 3.4 liters of wort was transferred to the kettle already containing wort, and the temperature was again raised to 88C. Total volume in kettle now 5 liters.
- 3.6 liters of 100C water was added to the mash, resulting in a mash temperature of 72C. The temperature was held for 30 minutes.
- The mash tun was drained, and the wort (~7 liters) was transferred to the kettle, and the temperature was again raised to 88C.
- The grains are rinsed with the 88C wort, resulting in a mash-out temperature of 78C. The temperature is held for 20 minutes.
- The wort was transferred to the boil kettle, and the grains were batch sparged with 10 liters of 78C water.
- The sparged wort was then added to the boil kettle, resulting in a pre-boil volume of around 22 liters.
After the mash I boiled the wort for 2.5 hours (in order to reduce the 22 liters of ~1.025 pre-boil wort, into 15 liters of 1.040 post-boil wort) together with 20 grams of old Saaz hops. The hops (2010 harvest) have been in an opened package in the freezer for over a year, so their alpha acid content is presumably below the 3.1% stated on the package. In a sour ale you want to keep the iso-alpha acid concentrations on the low side, since they inhibit the growth of lactic acid bacteria. After the boil I chilled the wort and pitched a pack of Wyeast’s Lambic Blend. I will leave the wort in the fermenter for around 9 to 12 months, after which I will add 2 kg of blueberries and bottle dregs from two bottles of 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze. I’m expecting to bottle this one in around 12 to 15 months.
I was mashing in my 21 liter kettle and a BIAB-bag (this helped when pulling the liquor from the mash).
The yeast and the hops. Hopefully I haven’t overdone the hopping.
I’m using a glass carboy for fermentation, in order to reduce the amount of oxygen that comes into contact with the wort/beer during the long fermentation.
Recipe Details
Batch Size | Boil Time | IBU | SRM | Est. OG | Est. FG | ABV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 L | 150 min | 12.4 IBUs | 6.9 EBC | 1.046 | 1.000 | 6.0 % |
Actuals | 1.046 | 1 | 4.7 % |
Style Details
Name | Cat. | OG Range | FG Range | IBU | SRM | Carb | ABV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fruit Lambic | 17 F | 1.04 - 1.06 | 1 - 1.01 | 0 - 10 | 5.9 - 13.8 | 2.4 - 3.1 | 5 - 7 % |
Fermentables
Name | Amount | % |
---|---|---|
Pilsner | 2 kg | 40 |
Raw Wheat | 1 kg | 20 |
Fruit - Blueberry | 2 kg | 40 |
Hops
Name | Amount | Time | Use | Form | Alpha % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saaz | 20 g | 120 min | Boil | Leaf | 3.1 |
Yeast
Name | Lab | Attenuation | Temperature |
---|---|---|---|
Belgian Lambic Blend (3278) | Wyeast Labs | 70% | 17.22°C - 23.89°C |
Mash
Step | Temperature | Time |
---|---|---|
Mash In | 45°C | 15 min |
Mash Step | 52°C | 15 min |
Mash Step | 65°C | 15 min |
Mash Step | 72°C | 30 min |
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