Extract lambic

[Peatbogbrewer]

Eh up,

I am tempted to do an extract lambic, storage is a bugger in my house so its a 2 gallon batch, waddya think of this mutha?
600g Pale dme
600g wheat dme
55g maltodextrin
15g aged hops
2kg of some kind of fruit
Yeast(s)?
The following things are troubling me:
- Where can i buy aged hops? Or can i use normal hops and have it bit hoppy? How do age my own hops?
- What fruit shall i use? Im growing some german sour cherries but may not get enough, peaches? Raspberry?
- Aaaand yeast, do i use an ale yeast then pitch a lambic blend or just go for the blend?

So many questions

P

[jaroporter]

i'm interested to pitch lambic blend at ~45C and again when cooled to try to emulate the traditional spontaneous ferments. mad fermentationist did a post where he suggested that got him closer than anything else to traditional lambic, and seems to me like a logical method to replicate the airborne fauna that infects the wort at different temperatures?
just a thought. i've only had one go so far where i pitched bottle dregs into DJs of a beer fermented with ale yeast, that have been sitting "maturing" over a year. really ought to get them tasted soon..

[Peatbogbrewer]

i'm interested to pitch lambic blend at ~45C and again when cooled to try to emulate the traditional spontaneous ferments. mad fermentationist did a post where he suggested that got him closer than anything else to traditional lambic, and seems to me like a logical method to replicate the airborne fauna that infects the wort at different temperatures?
just a thought. i've only had one go so far where i pitched bottle dregs into DJs of a beer fermented with ale yeast, that have been sitting "maturing" over a year. really ought to get them tasted soon..

yeah I've had a look at mad fermentationist website, that procedure sounds logical. Did you use aged hops? Crack one of those DJs open and have a taste, like this evening? Which beer dressage did you use?

P

[Peatbogbrewer]

Dregs not dressage!!

[jaroporter]

okay so had to have a check today.. massively disappointing..

it wasn't a particularly special/flavoursome base beer, and i just happened to have been drinking geuze so i chucked it in, but i'd have expected a bigger effect. this one was with 3 Fonteinen dregs, maybe the others are better, but this one is just a bit bland. lacklustre. admittedly warm and flat, but apart from a real lambic scent on opening the DJ, and a little brett flavour, it's just lacking. i'll check the others soon

[Rookie]

okay so had to have a check today.. massively disappointing..

it wasn't a particularly special/flavoursome base beer, and i just happened to have been drinking geuze so i chucked it in, but i'd have expected a bigger effect. this one was with 3 Fonteinen dregs, maybe the others are better, but this one is just a bit bland. lacklustre. admittedly warm and flat, but apart from a real lambic scent on opening the DJ, and a little brett flavour, it's just lacking. i'll check the others soon

I had the same results when I brewed a lambic many years ago. I know now that the way to get a good lambic is blending from several batches brewed over several years.
I just don't like lambics enough to put in the time and effort required.
But just in case I ever change my mind I have six ounces of home grown sterlings in a paper bag sitting on a shelf in my brew room closet aging.

[Peatbogbrewer]

okay so had to have a check today.. massively disappointing..

it wasn't a particularly special/flavoursome base beer, and i just happened to have been drinking geuze so i chucked it in, but i'd have expected a bigger effect. this one was with 3 Fonteinen dregs, maybe the others are better, but this one is just a bit bland. lacklustre. admittedly warm and flat, but apart from a real lambic scent on opening the DJ, and a little brett flavour, it's just lacking. i'll check the others soon

Oh Noooo, what about if i used a wlp lambic blend? that would work......

[jaroporter]

Well part of it is clearly that the bottle dregs will not contain all the relevant bacteria (some wont have survived) and also that the temperature would be too low for others. I'd guess a white labs blend would have what you need. Blending would for sure be good as well as then you could allow different ferments to focus on different characteristics (say oxidse one to promote acetic acid).

[jaroporter]

i've now tried the DJ with the Oud Beersel dregs in.. waaay better. interestingly disappointing, as 3Fonteinen was by far the superior beer and the one i'd rather buy again.. :p still (maybe unsurprisingly) doesn't have a massive hit on it, but a subtle, much more rounded lambic taste. 3Fonteinen dregs were more just brett. this would be good to go, cold and carbed...

Cuvee Rene next..

[jaroporter]

so this one wins the prize for best pellicle.. or should i say, crust..

but is bland. meh, never much cared for the beer..

[Peatbogbrewer]

i've now tried the DJ with the Oud Beersel dregs in.. waaay better. interestingly disappointing, as 3Fonteinen was by far the superior beer and the one i'd rather buy again.. :p still (maybe unsurprisingly) doesn't have a massive hit on it, but a subtle, much more rounded lambic taste. 3Fonteinen dregs were more just brett. this would be good to go, cold and carbed...

Cuvee Rene next..

Excellent it turned out well, yeah I'm defo going to pitch the lambic blend. Going to wang in some fruit, maybe peaches?

[chris2012]

As I understand peaches don't give much flavour in beer and you'd need a lot to get flavour. Apparently apricots in beer give a peachy flavour, although I've never tried an apricot beer personally. I want to try Cantillon's apricot sour beer, but that's as rare as hens teeth

I found this a while ago - if that's any help:
http://www.finefoodspecialist.co.uk/fro ... puree-1kg/

I don't think I've seen fresh apricots in Tesco/Sainsbury's before, but I'd be curious if you can get them?

[Peatbogbrewer]

As I understand peaches don't give much flavour in beer and you'd need a lot to get flavour. Apparently apricots in beer give a peachy flavour, although I've never tried an apricot beer personally. I want to try Cantillon's apricot sour beer, but that's as rare as hens teeth

I found this a while ago - if that's any help:
http://www.finefoodspecialist.co.uk/fro ... puree-1kg/

I don't think I've seen fresh apricots in Tesco/Sainsbury's before, but I'd be curious if you can get them?

Of course apricots not peaches!! you brewed lambic?

P

[chris2012]

No I've not, I really want to make a kriek though. I made a beer with many jars of morello cherries, so I may try that with a proper lambic base sometime.

BTW in case you haven't already got it, the American Sour book is awesome.

I got https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lambic-Classic ... 0937381225 for the Kindle not too long ago, which is an interesting read too.

Lots of cherries -

[Peatbogbrewer]

cheers! literally!