The Mixed Fermentation Thread

[BeerCat]

Got 5 litres of this !lambic that's been lurking in the spare room. Really should try a spot of blending with the blighters...

I have 2 on the go, one has been fermenting away for months. I noticed Aldi sell sweet red cherries so i think i am going to add some to a 5l dj. Do you think its worth racking or should i just gently plop them on top?

Looks good BeerCat. I've just pulled the first carboy of my Flander's red #1 from under the stairs, where it's been sitting in glass for 15 months. I'll get it bottled up later today and, depending on how it tastes, might bottle up the second carboy too.

Good idea, i hope it is tasty and please upload some photos. Are you going to keg any?

Sorry just saw this, I used Wy3278 - Belgian lambic blend. It got very sour so curious why the FG was so high.

What was was the FG? How many points would you expect to lose from a 1040 wort from souring before pitching yeast?

 

[geigercntr]

I have 2 on the go, one has been fermenting away for months. I noticed Aldi sell sweet red cherries so i think i am going to add some to a 5l dj. Do you think its worth racking or should i just gently plop them on top?

On the baseless assumption that Brett tends to clean up after itself, I just add them to the DJ. Have tried using Tesco's frozen cherries a few times and they've worked really well.

 

[strange-steve]

What was was the FG? How many points would you expect to lose from a 1040 wort from souring before pitching yeast?

FG was 1.010 which was much higher than I expected.

You'll probably only see a drop of a few gravity points at most from kettle souring, from memory I couldn't see any difference in the hydrometer reading post-souring on my last Berliner.

 

[BeerCat]

This is my Raspberry sour, seems to have fermented out over the weekend. 2.8kg of fruit.

 

[Mrobson]

This is my Raspberry sour, seems to have fermented out over the weekend. 2.8kg of fruit.
View attachment 23442

Lovely colour! Did you just use frozen fruit?

 

[BeerCat]

Lovely colour! Did you just use frozen fruit?

Thanks, fruit was frozen from from Aldi. I add it frozen to a fermenter then rack the beer on top. I find about 100g a liter gives a decent raspberry flavour. You can use more but its possible it will affect the acidity. I found when adding fruit to a sour it became less sour and vice versa. Not a problem but something to bear in mind.

 

[IainM]

Here's my Flanders Red Ale. The pellicle dropped when I pulled it out from under the stairs, where it's been since December 2018. It then floated back up again. It dropped to 1.008 from 1.052 and I'm super pleased with the taste of the trial jar. Funky and sour. I've got another 10 litres in another carboy which I'll probably bottle in another 6 months or so.

 

[BeerCat]

@IainM That looks lovely. How long do you think it will take to carb? I added avery small pinch of bottling yeast to mine but its still cold here so going to leave it a few months before i try one. Did you save the yeast to reuse? I poured mine into another dj.

 

[IainM]

@IainM That looks lovely. How long do you think it will take to carb? I added avery small pinch of bottling yeast to mine but its still cold here so going to leave it a few months before i try one. Did you save the yeast to reuse? I poured mine into another dj.

I have no idea. I've added some fermentis bottling yeast and fingers crossed I'll have it ready for a local competition next month. I chucked this lot but I think I'll save the second carboy and pitch another one on it.

 

[BeerCat]

I have no idea. I've added some fermentis bottling yeast and fingers crossed I'll have it ready for a local competition next month. I chucked this lot but I think I'll save the second carboy and pitch another one on it.

Its the same yeast i used. I don't see any sediment a week on but fingers crossed. My latest do'nt have any decent pellicles forming yet so i am going to add more dregs. Seems to have kick started them in the past.

 

[BeerCat]

This is my first bottle of Flanders Red. It has not fully carbed up yet and needs a few more months i would imagine but i am very happy. Its by far the most complex beer i have brewed. I added a hop tea when i bottled it so it has a pleasant bitternes which was missing from the sample. Notes of oak, vanilla with a tanic like quality. Bitter with a quinine edge, pleasantly sour and refreshing. A pleasant amount of acetic acid probably from the vinegar i added at bottling made from this beer. Although its dry it has a little sweetness reminiscent of balsamic vinegar. Its funky and slightly leathery and malty. More like a wine than a beer yet only 6% ABV. Would of been clear but i think i kicked up a little yeast. Definitely brewing more

 

[BeerCat]

Flanders Red v4

OG 1053 mashed at 68c
Boil time 15 minutes

3.5kg Irish lager
500g wheat
500g flaked wheat
300g crisp extra dark
250g aromatic malt
200g carared
200g melanoidin
150g acid malt

A massive 5g of aged hops and 3g of Mittelfruh FWH. I pitched a small amount of Roeselare i had from a starter last year. Ramped up from 10c to 22c over 24 hours and by then had a krausen and airlock activity. Five long term sours on the go now and nowhere to put anything. Might have to build some insulated boxes to store them in the garage.

 

[Ajhutch]

I’ve gone for a spontaneous beer! Brewed a witbier today, 50% Pilsner and 50% flaked wheat with a tiny bittering hop addition of saaz. Given the proximity of that wort to a lambic wort, I decided to make an extra 5 litres and see what my back garden has to offer with lots of fruit trees in blossom in neighbouring gardens.......watch this space!

 

[Ajhutch]

Well something is happening! A fairly thin milky white layer on top and when I gave the DJ a tiny jiggle there was a pretty significant amount of gas rising up. If fermentation is taking place and there’s nothing blue, green or black growing then I feel like that’s a decent start! I don’t really know where to go from here, suspect leave it for a couple of months before taking a sample for taste and gravity check makes sense and deciding then whether it’s worth keeping or not.

 

[strange-steve]

Well something is happening! A fairly thin milky white layer on top and when I gave the DJ a tiny jiggle there was a pretty significant amount of gas rising up. If fermentation is taking place and there’s nothing blue, green or black growing then I feel like that’s a decent start! I don’t really know where to go from here, suspect leave it for a couple of months before taking a sample for taste and gravity check makes sense and deciding then whether it’s worth keeping or not.

I'm really interested to see how this turns out, you might stumble on something really special. It's an experiment I've wanted to do for years but just never got round to it.

 

[Sadfield]

Well something is happening! A fairly thin milky white layer on top and when I gave the DJ a tiny jiggle there was a pretty significant amount of gas rising up. If fermentation is taking place and there’s nothing blue, green or black growing then I feel like that’s a decent start! I don’t really know where to go from here, suspect leave it for a couple of months before taking a sample for taste and gravity check makes sense and deciding then whether it’s worth keeping or not.

DIYeast: Capturing Yeast

Should be fine to taste after it has fermented out, providing it looks and smells OK. That first sip is a bit nerve-racking though.

 

[strange-steve]

DIYeast: Capturing Yeast

Should be fine to taste after it has fermented out, providing it looks and smells OK. That first sip is a bit nerve-racking though.

I've ordered a coupe of kilner jars to give this a go next week. Have you done this before?

 

[Sadfield]

I've ordered a coupe of kilner jars to give this a go next week. Have you done this before?

Yes, although I used a pan of wort rather than jars. I then used it to ferment a pale ale and added some to my ongoing solera. The pale came out fruity with a slight saison like funk.

 

[Ajhutch]

I saw your Koelchip, very cool!

 

[Ajhutch]

Would anyone be interested in a bottle swap for my Flanders red? I’m drinking one now and pretty happy with it. Be interested to try any other funky creations out there.....