monkeymath
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- Jan 18, 2019
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Hey guys,
my first sour, in the style of a Flanders Red, has been fermenting for roughly 8 months now and I just tasted it for the first time (as I was topping off the fermentor with some young beer). Based on numerous forum posts I had read, I was sort of afraid it wouldn't be sufficiently sour, but BAM! - there was a strong acidity up front. There's also a bit of acetic acid in the finish, I think, but not much. Guess the pedios really went to town on that one.
Anyway, the beer seemed really dry and very sour and now I'm worried it might end up a bit flat and one-dimensional. To me, Flanders Red is all about that sweet-and-sour harmony, fruity acidity coupled with malt character. I haven't had a ton of these beers yet, so I'm mainly taking Rodenbach as a reference here.
I started with an OG of 1.065 and it went down to 1.010, so judging solely by the numbers it's perfectly in line with my expectations. Could it be that the beer being warm and flat just messes with my perception? I remember tasting straight lambic in Belgium and finding it relatively dull and lifeless - just plain sour - compared to the final geuze.
Is there anything I can do at this point to increase the (perception of) residual sweetness in the end? Blending with a young beer and keeping it cold to avoid refermentation is not an option, since I will be bottling. Mixing in unfermentable sugars or sweeteners is not up my alley. Any ideas?
EDIT: In case it's relevant, the fermentation was/is as follows:
- primary fermentation with Imperial Yeast B48 Triple Double (supposedly the same as WY3787)
- transfered to secondary after about two weeks (SG 1.016) and pitched the following microbes:
-- Wyeast Pediococcus damnosus,
-- The Yeast Bay Beersel Brettanomyces Blend,
-- bottle dregs from Timmerman's Oude Kriek and Schneeeule Berliner Weisse Marlene.
Thanks in advance,
~ Daniel
my first sour, in the style of a Flanders Red, has been fermenting for roughly 8 months now and I just tasted it for the first time (as I was topping off the fermentor with some young beer). Based on numerous forum posts I had read, I was sort of afraid it wouldn't be sufficiently sour, but BAM! - there was a strong acidity up front. There's also a bit of acetic acid in the finish, I think, but not much. Guess the pedios really went to town on that one.
Anyway, the beer seemed really dry and very sour and now I'm worried it might end up a bit flat and one-dimensional. To me, Flanders Red is all about that sweet-and-sour harmony, fruity acidity coupled with malt character. I haven't had a ton of these beers yet, so I'm mainly taking Rodenbach as a reference here.
I started with an OG of 1.065 and it went down to 1.010, so judging solely by the numbers it's perfectly in line with my expectations. Could it be that the beer being warm and flat just messes with my perception? I remember tasting straight lambic in Belgium and finding it relatively dull and lifeless - just plain sour - compared to the final geuze.
Is there anything I can do at this point to increase the (perception of) residual sweetness in the end? Blending with a young beer and keeping it cold to avoid refermentation is not an option, since I will be bottling. Mixing in unfermentable sugars or sweeteners is not up my alley. Any ideas?
EDIT: In case it's relevant, the fermentation was/is as follows:
- primary fermentation with Imperial Yeast B48 Triple Double (supposedly the same as WY3787)
- transfered to secondary after about two weeks (SG 1.016) and pitched the following microbes:
-- Wyeast Pediococcus damnosus,
-- The Yeast Bay Beersel Brettanomyces Blend,
-- bottle dregs from Timmerman's Oude Kriek and Schneeeule Berliner Weisse Marlene.
Thanks in advance,
~ Daniel
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