Barrel Project Lambic Solera First Pull

Today was the inaugural pull from the Lambic Solera Barrel. I didn’t realize that it was one year to the day from the last addition until I got home and started bottling the first three gallons. Anyway, we pulled six gallons total, three which got bottled straight, and three that got put onto three pounds of Michigan tart cherries. The smaller pull was to see where the beer was at; it seems headed in a positive direction currently (see below), so the plan is for a larger 20-25 gallon pull later in the summer. After the the initial pull, we topped the barrel off with almost ten gallons of 221. New Year’s Lambic and 222. Lambic Party. 

As to the beer coming out of the barrel, it was bright, tart, and crisply acidic. There is still a fair amount of bourbon in the beer—that will most likely take several more pulls to completely work itself out—but it is balanced by the tannic oak character. It was not as funky or developed as some of the other lambics I’ve made that were of a similar age, but we can wait and how this plays out over time. Certainly a very drinkable and enjoyable beer, even flat straight outta the barrel. I’m looking forward to seeing what it tastes like when it is carbonated.

Solera 1: Three gallons
Bottled: 3/20/2016 w/ 2.5 oz. table sugar

Tasting Notes:

Solera 2: Three gallons racked onto 3 lbs. of Michigan tart cherries
Secondary: 3/20/2016
Bottled:

Tasting Notes:

Lambic Party Brewday

Slow and steady wins the race. Once this beer and 221. are ready, they will be the replacement beers for the first small pull from the Barrel Project, the goal being to see where the barrel is at, and to then start planning for the next larger pull later in the year. I’m guessing the pull will be three gallons to bulk age and five gallons on sour cherries, but we’ll make the specific call on game day. 

222. Lambic Party

Mash:

7 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen

5 lbs. unmalted wheat

Mash @ 158° F for 90 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water, 4 g. gypsum, and 4 g. CaCl; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.064

Batch sparge @ 169° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 gallons @ 1.024

Topped off to 7 gallons; brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:
w/60 to go: 1 oz. Choice debittered hops 

w/10 to go: 5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient (added w/ boiling water after beer racked to carboy)

Chilled and racked onto ECY01 Bug Farm yeast cake from 181b. ECY01 Bug Farm

Brewed: 1/14/2016

Secondary: 2/28/2016 @ 1.002

Bottle: 3/20/16

OG: 1.050

FG: 1.002

Tasting Notes (2/28/2016): Tart and game-y; lemon zest and pith up front, followed by earthiness and game-y brett funk. Looks like the unmalted wheat is paying off. 

New Year’s Lambic Brewday

Time to start out the New Year right, and get back to massively over-producing lambic. In part, this is because I am thinking ahead to the first pull off of the Barrel Lambic Solera, which should happen in a month or so. But also because I am ridiculously intent on building up a massive reservoir of lambic and gueuze, and that requires having plenty on hand. We’re getting there. Happy New Year’s, everyone. 

221. New Year’s Lambic

Mash:

7 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen

5 lbs. unmalted wheat

Mash @ 158° F for 90 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water, 4 g. gypsum, and 4 g. CaCl; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.070

Batch sparge @ 170° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 gallons @ 1.024

Topped off to 7 gallons; brought to a boil (90 minutes), & added:
w/60 to go: 1 oz. Choice debittered hops 

w/10 to go: 5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

Chilled and racked onto ECY Bug County yeast cake from 201. Post-Barrel Lambic 

Brewed: 1/1/2016 @ 64° F

Secondary: 2/27/2016 @ 1.004

Barrel: 3/20/16

OG: 1.050

FG: 1.002

Tasting Notes (2/27/2016): Bright and tart going into the secondary; lemonade-like with some funky undercurrents and light spritziness from the CO2 still in solution. 

Barrel Project Lambic Solera

Time for the third addition of lambic to the barrel project. It did take me longer to get the last 15 gallons in the barrel than I anticipated. Still, it is now full, so time for the waiting game to begin in earnest. And maybe finally get around to making something to drink in the short term, dammit!

Details on the second addition.

And on the first addition.

197. Barrel Project Lambic

Mash:

8 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen

4 lbs. Best Malz Wheat

Mash @ 150° F for 75 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water, 4 g. gypsum, & 4 g. CaCl; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.072

Batch sparge @ 167° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 ¼ gallons @ 1.024

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (60 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 1 oz. German Magnum leaf 14.2 % AA

w/10 to go: 5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

Chilled, racked to carboy, & pitched most of ECY Bug County from 191. Barrel Project Lambic

Brewed: 2/8/2015

Secondary: 3/6/2015 @ 1.002

Barrel: 3/20/2015

OG: forgot!

199. Barrel Project Lambic

Mash:

8 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen

4 lbs. Best Malz Wheat

Mash @ 148° F for 80 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water & 8 g. gypsum; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.070

Batch sparge @ 165° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 ¼ gallons @ 1.028

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 1 oz. German Magnum leaf 14.2 % AA

w/10 to go: 5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

Chilled and pitched Hanssen’s Oude Gueuze from 194. Barrel Project Lambic

Brewed: 2/9/2015

Secondary:3/6/2015 @ 1.002

Barrel: 3/20/2015

OG: 1.052

200. Barrel Project Lambic

Mash:

8 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen

4 lbs. Best Malz Wheat

Mash @ 150° F for 80 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water & 6 g. gypsum; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.072

Batch sparge @ 166° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 gallons @ 1.028

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (60 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 1 oz. German Magnum leaf 14.2% AA

Chilled & racked to carboy; pitched mason jar of Hanssen’s Oude Gueuze from 194. Barrel Project Lambic

Brewed: 2/21/2015

Secondary: 3/17/2015 @ 1.004

Barrel: 3/20/2015

OG: 1.050

One Last Lambic Hurrah Brewday

No time like the present to start building some reserve lambic for when it is time to take the first pull from the barrel. After all, starting now means I don’t have to brew at such a crazy, breakneck pace when it gets right down to it. Plus, I can always try other random crazy shit with this stuff if I feel so inclined. Which, might I add, I do.

203. One Last Lambic Hurrah

Mash:

8 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen

4 lbs. Best Malz Wheat

Mash @ 152° F for 60 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water and 7 g. gypsum; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.068

Batch sparge @ 166° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 gallons @ 1.026

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 1 oz. Choice debittered hops

w/10 to go: 5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

Chilled & racked onto Hanssen’s Gueuze yeast cake from 200. Barrel Project Lambic

Brewed: 3/17/2015

Blended: 1/14/2016: used to top-off 181b. ECY01 Bug Farm for bulk-aging; blended rest during Old Beer Blending Party (2/21/2016)

OG: 1.052

FG: 1.000

Post-Barrel Lambic Brewday

While I have brewed almost all of the beer I need for the barrel, I still need more lambic to finish off an earlier project; this batch will be the third version I’ll use to blend a gueuze; once it has had about a year, I’ll be experimenting with blending along with 168. Lambic from 1/29/2014 and the three gallons of 134. Lambic from 11/23/2012. Eyes on the prize, my man. 

201. Post-Barrel Lambic Brewday

8 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen

4 lbs. Best Malz Wheat

Mash @ 150° F for 80 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water, 8 g. gypsum, & 3 g. CaCl; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.076
Batch Sparge @ 167° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 ¼ gallons @ 1.026

Topped off to 7 gallons; brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 1 oz. Choice debittered hops

w/10 to go: 5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

Chilled & racked onto ECY Bug County yeast cake from 197. Barrel Project Lambic

Brewed: 3/6/2015
Secondary:
Bottled:

OG: 1.056
FG:

Tasting Notes:

Barrel Project Lambic Solera

Another 15 gallons of beer for the barrel. I should be able to finish filling it next weekend—I just need to brew beers to replace the ones I am taking off the Hanssen’s Oude Gueuze and ECY Bug County yeast cakes. Then the waiting. But I’m used to that, so basically just more of the same. And in case you are curious, information on the first addition to the barrel can be found here. 

Details on the third addition.

191. Barrel Project Lambic

Mash:

8 lbs. Dingemans Pilsen

4 lbs. Breiss White Wheat

Mash @ 151° F for 60 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water and 8 g. gypsum; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.080

Batch sparge @ 168° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 gallons @ 1.030

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (60 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 1 oz. Chinook leaf 11.3% AA

w/10 to go: 5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

Chilled & racked onto ECY Bug County yeast cake from 189. Barrel Project Lambic

Brewed: 1/10/2015

Secondary: 2/8/2015 @ 1.004

Barrel: 2/27/2015

OG: 1.056

193. Barrel Project Saison

Mash:

8 lbs. Dingemans Pilsen

4 lbs. Breiss White Wheat

Mash @ 150° F for 60 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water and 8 g. gypsum; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.082

Batch sparge @ 162° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 gallons @ 1.032

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (60 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 1 ½ oz. German Magnum leaf 14.2 % AA

w/10 to go: 5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

Chilled & racked onto WLP 585 yeast cake from 188. Barrel Project Saison

Brewed: 1/19/2015

Secondary: 2/8/2015 @ 1.004

Barrel: 2/27/2015

OG: 1.058

194. Barrel Project Lambic

Mash:

8 lbs. Dingemans Pilsen

4 lbs. Breiss White Wheat

Mash @ 151° F for 60 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water and 4 g. gypsum; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.082

Batch sparge @ 167° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 gallons @ 1.034

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (60 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 1 ½ oz. German Magnum leaf 14.2 % AA

w/10 to go: 5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

Chilled & racked onto Hanssen’s Oude Gueuze yeast cake from 190. Barrel Project Lambic

Brewed: 1/20/2015

Secondary: 2/9/2015 @ 1.002

Barrel: 2/27/2015

OG: 1.058

Can you taste the deliciousness yet? 

Barrel Project Lambic Solera

Longtime friend of the blog Jeff Fortney, who brews at Warped Wing, hooked up yours truly with a 55 gallon bourbon barrel. Holy shit yes. Popular wisdom regarding this barrel would be to collaborate with others, brew a big dark beer, and fill it. Screw popular wisdom. I like sours and I like brewing, so welcome to my personal brewing obsession for the next several months. I’ll be using three different yeasts for individual batches—East Coast Yeast Bug County, a culture I grew from a bottle of Hanssen’s Oude Gueuze, and White Labs 585 Saison III—and will then blend them in the barrel and let the magic happen. I chose to use the saison yeast because a) I needed a third yeast for the rotation that was speedier than the other two and b) it was on hand. 

The following six batches of beer make up the first addition to the barrel; there was something like 27 or 28 gallons total between them that went into the barrel. I would have aimed for more beer for the first addition, but I ran out of carboys. Which is saying something for me. So I’ll be adding more shortly. Until then, enjoy these brewing notes.

Here’s the second addition to the barrel.

And the third addition.

186. Gueuze & Saison Starters for Barrel Project

Mash:

8 lbs. Rahr Premium Pilsen

3 lbs. Breiss White Wheat

Mash @ 150° F for 60 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water & 8 g. gypsum; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.068

Batch sparge @ 172° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 ¼ gallons @ 1.040

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (60 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 1 ½ oz. Cluster leaf 7.6% AA

Chilled & split into two 3 gallon carboys; 186a. racked onto yeast cake of 181a. WL 585 Saison III and pitched Hanssen’s Oude Gueuze starter in other

186a. Saison Starter w/ WL 585

Brewed: 11/26/2014

Split between two 5 gallon batches on 11/29/2014 @ 1.020

OG: 1.054

186b. Lambic Starter w/Hanssen’s Oude Gueuze starter

Brewed: 11/26/2014

Secondary: 1/6/2014

Split and blended into two different kegs of beer; one for Dayton Brew Ha Ha (January 31, 2015) and one still sitting in my living room. 

OG: 1.054

187. Barrel Project Saison

Mash:

8 lbs. Rahr Premium Pilsen

4 lbs. Breiss White Wheat

Mash @ 150° F for 60 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water & 8 g. gypsum; collected 2 ¾ gallons @ 1.082

Batch sparge @ 172° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 gallons @ 1.030

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (60 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 1 oz. Cluster leaf 7.6% AA

w/10 to go: 3 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

Chilled, racked to carboy, and pitched ½ of 186a. Saison Starter

Brewed: 11/29/2014

Secondary: 1/17/2015 @ 1.004

Barrel: 1/21/2015

OG: 1.060

188. Barrel Project Saison

Mash:

8 lbs. Rahr Premium Pilsen

4 lbs. Breiss White Wheat

Mash @ 150° F for 60 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water & 8 g. gypsum; collected 2 ¾ gallons @ 1.080

Batch sparge @ 167° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 gallons @ 1.032

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (60 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 1 oz. Cluster leaf 7.6% AA

w/10 to go: 3 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

Chilled, racked to carboy, and pitched ½ of 186a. Saison Starter

Brewed: 11/29/2014

Secondary: 1/19/2015 @ 1.002

Barrel: 1/21/2015

OG: 1.056

189. Barrel Project Lambic

Mash:

7 lbs. Rahr Premium Pilsen

2 lbs. Dingemans Pilsen

4 lbs. Breiss White Wheat

Mash @ 151° F for 90 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water & 8 g. gypsum; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.086

Batch sparge @ 165° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 gallons @ 1.040

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 1.4 oz. Cluster leaf 7.6% AA

w/10 to go: 5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

Chilled, racked on to yeast cake of 168. Lambic ECY Bug County

Brewed: 12/8/2014 @ 72° F

Secondary: 1/10/2015 @ 1.032

Barrel: 1/21/2015

OG: 1.062

190. Barrel Project Lambic

Mash:

8 lbs. Dingemans Pilsen

4 lbs. Breiss White Wheat

Mash @ 148° F for 90 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water & 6 g. gypsum; collected 2 ¾ gallons @ 1.082

Batch sparge @ 163° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 gallons @ 1.020

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 1 oz. Cluster leaf 7.6% AA

w/10 to go: 5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

Chilled and pitched yeast from 186b. Lambic w/ Hanssen’s Oude Gueuze

Brewed: 1/6/2015 @ 75° F

Secondary: 1/20/2015 @ 1.010

Barrel: 1/21/2015

OG: 1.058

192. Barrel Project Saison

Mash:

8 lbs. Dingemans Pilsen

4 lbs. Breiss White Wheat

Mash @ 151° F for 60 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water and 8 g. gypsum; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.082

Batch sparge @ 173° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 ¼ gallons @ 1.028

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (60 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 1 oz. Chinook leaf 11.3% AA

w/10 to go: 5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

Chilled & racked onto WLP 585 yeast cake from 187. Barrel Project Saison

Brewed: 1/17/2015

Secondary: 1/21/2015 @ 1.026

Barrel: 1/21/2015

OG: 1.054

Any questions?

225. Cuvée De Ranke

Brewed and bottled by Brouwerij De Ranke in Wevelgem, Belgium. Cuvée De Ranke is a Belgian Sour Ale with Lambic added (it is also listed as a saison on at least one site); it’s a 70/30 blend of a sour ale made with Rodenbach yeast and a Giardin lambic. The nose is a crisp, sharp tart citric acid smell with lower levels of vinegar sourness and some slight funkiness; the color is a hazy gold with light white carbonation that quickly reduces to a ring around the glass. Starting with a tart citric bite that rolls across the tongue, Cuvée De Ranke moves into a slight chalkiness in the middle with an underlying malt character and some low levels of funkiness before finishing with a returning rise of citric tartness that leads into some sourness that lingers on the palate. Light bodied and bright and clean on the mouth, Cuvée De Ranke has a decent carbonation bite that contributes to the light mouthfeel. This one also has a whole lot of tartness and tongue curling, mostly from the sour aspects, and is very dry and sharp in part via the high level of attenuation. In addition, it is a light and refreshing beer, and very enjoyable—the 7% ABV could very easily sneak up and bite you on the ass with this one—well, if you like tart beers and consider them easy drinking. Cuvée De Ranke is an excellent beer; we’re making it a Top 10 Best contender.

From the paper wrapper: “The De Ranke Brewery was founded by two good friends, Nino Bacelle and Guido Devos. Their story is a classic in Belgium, where the very best craft brewing usually begins as a passionately pursued hobby, not an occupation. For Nino and Guido, brewing is literally a weekend obsession. For a few hours on Friday and Saturday, every week, they make small batches of what many consider the best specialty beers of Belgium. The beers are robust and flavorful, and famous for their massive hoppiness, which comes from the best Hallertau and Brewer’s Gold varieties.”

From the De Ranke website: “Cuvée is an ale of mixed origin like many Belgian breweries used to make. The production process is nearly the same as for the Kriek, the difference being that no cherries are added. It’s a naturally acidified ale in which we try to reach the perfect balance between sweet and sour. This amber-coloured ale contains 7% vol. Alc. and can age really nice.”

ABV: 7%
Best before: 04/2013

(2/10/2010)