While reading through Farmhouse Ales, I was really interested in the old style of Saison in how it was a far lower gravity beer with some unintentional sourness. I rarely brew low gravity ales though I've wanted to for quite some time. What I wanted to do was put together a super simple recipe highlighting one particular malt and a souring mix of yeast. Since I've done two beers so far with Roselare, I wanted to do something different. One other thing I've never done as a homebrewer is culture and build yeast from a commercial beer bottle. Having just picked up a bottle of Drie Fonteinen Kriek, I thought it would be a perfect candidate. I started with a 100mL starter built up to 500mL, 1L and finally 3L. After the second build I was starting to see plenty of activity and by the final build, a decent pellicle forming. The aromas coming off of it were extremely funky from fresh boiled corn to finally a nicely smelling lambic. I imagine these are some pretty hardy bugs, so I can't wait to see how the beer turns out.
Having never really invested the money in top quality grain (I tend to use either Rahr Pale or Rahr Pils for most beers), I wanted to use something new. I discovered Global Kolsch Malt from MidWest and decided it would be a fun one to use. It's a 4L malt, so in between a Vienna and Munich. (Ironically, would make too dark a beer for a traditional Kolsch). I kept the gravity low, only 6.5# of it and the IBUs at about 10 from one Saaz addition. Well, I had to do something crazy with it, right? I decided a flameout addition of citrus zest and pink peppercorns would be interesting and complimentary. I'm undecided if I want to leave it on the primary for many months or rack after 1, so I'm just going to play it out by ear.
Recipe:
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Fermentables
| % Weight | Weight (lbs) | Grain | Gravity Points | Color |
| 100.0 % | 6.50 | Kolsch Malt | 36.6 | 5.0 |
| | 6.50 | | 36.6 | |
Hops
| % Wt | Weight (oz) | Hop | Form | AA% | AAU | Boil Time | Utilization | IBU |
| 100.0 % | 1.00 | Saaz | Whole/Plug | 3.2 | 3.2 | 60 | 0.286 | 13.1 |
| | 1.00 | | | | | | | 13.1 |
8/12/09: Took first sample today. Gravity at 1.011. Flavor was dominated by the peppercorns and citrus with a touch funk coming through. Signs of a pellicle forming were evident this afternoon, certainly aggravated by the higher temps and no use of an airlock, yet.
10/19/09: Racked today to utilized the cake for my Cuvee. Gravity is down to 1.005. Sourness has yet to really take hold. However, some really interesting flavors have come about. Strong, barnyard almost vomit like, apricot, with the spices still taking hold. We'll see how this one develops the next month or two....
05/13/10: Bottled up today. Aiming for 2.75 vols of CO2. Added 5.5oz of table sugar and a half pack of Champagne yeast. Gravity has settled at 1.006 (despite perhaps a bad previous reading of 1.005). Flavor is just a fantastic blend of the peppercorns, citrus and herbal funk and acid. It's like a really well balanced lemonade! Looking forward to seeing how it is carbonated.
I would add the dregs of another beer, while the bugs in that bottle are pretty hardy they are not indicative of what bugs made that beer
ReplyDeleteBugs die out at different rates, so adding something that was a bit fresher, maybe a wild beer from the states or you cellar I think could help in rounding out the flavor
Yeah, I'm a bit concerned about biodiversity. While I really want to only use FFF, I also want to make sure this will turn out well. I may add some Brett'd homebrew or another commercial beer here in the coming weeks.
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