Tue Jul 08, 2008 11:45 am
I am in the process of scoring some free fresh raspberries. I found a method / recipe to do a simple Lambic without all the years and tears. ( I don't remember the author-my apologies)I am about to do this brew in a week or two. Here's what I plan-
THE IMPATIENT MAN'S LAMBIC-ISH FRAMBOISE
(Calculations are for 5.5 gallons, assuming .5 gallons lost to trub in the kettle, etc. I boiled 5.5 gal's and topped off to remake volume before chilling)
GRAINS
Mash:
7.5 lb British two-row ( keep ½ lb separate for souring )
0.6 lb Crystal 20L
0.6 lb Crystal 40L
0.6 lb British crystal 50-60L
0.25 lb CaraPils
1 oz Black Patent
1 oz Roasted Barley
1/2 oz Smoked Malt
(Gravity at this point is 1.044)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SOURING THE WORT
Add 1/2 lb crushed (but un-mashed) 2-Row malt to the wort/runnings once it has cooled to 120 degrees F
Let it sit for 15-24 hours, insulated with a blanket.
Important:
Keep close tabs on it in the hours after 12. As with all things bacterial, and fungal, I think the activity was exponential. It soured a LOT in the last few hours. Keep an eye on it when doing this, especially in the later hours and don't "assume" a certain amount time will be right. It got very very sour in the last 3 hours, when it had seemingly not soured at all (at least to taste) in the first 12 hours).
Also:
Pitch in the ground un-mashed grains at about 120 degrees into the wort, not 130, as Papazian mentions. The higher temp seems to pasteurize or shock the stinky lactobacillus bugs. 110-120 works fine.
Also:
I kept the wort in my kettle as it was souring. I did not want to possibly infect anything in my brew-works with the lacto-bugs. I figured the boil would eventually kill everything in the kettle off.
Oh:
It will taste absolutely awful when it is done souring: sour, and "funky/moldy"
THE BOIL
Skim any gunk that has formed on top of the wort. Then pour the wort off of the crud (from the un-mashed grains) at bottom of whatever vessel you soured it in, and put back in your kettle.
Bring the Wort to a boil.
(Total boil time is 90 minutes)
Boil for 30 minutes. It will stink like hell for the first 30 minutes of the boil...
At 30 minutes into the boil
HOPS
60 Minutes: 0.25 oz Stale Cascade hops 5.3%* (plug)
30 Minutes: 0.25 oz Stale Cascade hops 5.3%* (plug)
* These were old and very stale, so they had little or no bittering properties-- so the AA's there are probably not realistic AT ALL. I recently read you could do that to your hops by drying them out in a low oven for a while
15 minutes:
Add to the boil 1lb Wheat DME
(Recipe gravity before wheat: 44. With Wheat Extract 51.)
Whirlfloc @ 10 minutes.
Flameout.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
PRIMARY FERMENTATION
Top off with water to reach 5.5 gallons, Cool, and rack into primary fermenter.
Pitch a healthy starter of American Ale Yeast 2 (Wyeast # 1272), and wait for hell to break loose. This one ferments wildly, and with the wheat DME, a blow off tube is an absolute necessity.
A note on my yeast choice: I chose this because of its description: "Fruitier and more flocculent than 1056, slightly nutty, soft, clean, slightly tart finish." Fruity and tart is what I was looking for, along with the "un-placeable" nuttiness. I also wanted a kick-butt strong-fermenting yeast with good attenuation. All seemed to fit the bill with 1272. I fermented at the top of its range (72 degrees) to accentuate the fruity aspects of it. I am sure you could use a Belgian yeast if you wanted to, but the reason I used this one is because of the impatience.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SECONDARY FERMENTATION (& the Framboise part)
When primary fermentation is pretty much done (5 days or so), rack the wort into a 6.5 gal secondary (transferring some of the highly flocculent yeast), on top of:
8-9 lbs of Raspberries
I used frozen raspberries which were added to a pint of water (to prevent scorching/pectin setting on the stove), and pasteurized at 140 degrees for 25 mins and then cooled.
Now wait for hell to REALLY break loose. Attach a blow off tube. Trust me.
When fermentation settles down, add Pectic enzyme (at slightly higher doses than normal because of the alcohol content of the fermenter).
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
TERTIARY FERMENTATION
Rack (avoiding the raspberry gunk) to a Tertiary fermenter to clear when secondary is done.
(OPTIONAL: Depending on how sweet you want this to be, add up to 3 lbs (yes, 3 lbs) Lactose (boiled in enough water to dissolve it). I added most of it, but if you want something very dry, add none. It will be very, very dry, eventually.)
Let settle/ferment/condition/clarify/whatever for about 2 weeks. For some reason, despite gravity readings being steady, I still got bubbling in my pipe. When I tasted it, it had a lot of CO2 in solution, which I think is what is bubbling).
My final gravity was in the neighborhood of 1.010-1.012
Bottle with a healthy dose of carbonation (more than normal; suggest 5 oz corn sugar or, in my case, 3/4 cup honey).
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It tasted great going into the bottles; very complex, the touches of black patent and roast barley, undoubtedly the horrible-smelling sour-mash, and probably the stale flavor hops, give it the "what's that flavor?" tastes I get with a lambic. The one flavor which I notice in lambics that is less pronounced (but not altogether absent) in this invention is the "soapy" flavor, which I actually don't miss.
I haven't gotten it carbonated yet, but I will report in when I try one.
ADDED NOTES:
The color is deep-reddish purple; it definitely is raspberry colored! Pretty close (if I recall correctly) to Lindeman’s.
If you want all that sweetness, you will have to add the lactose (at the high end of the range). Basically 1lb cuts the astringency and raspberry bitterness (they have a bitterness along with their sweetness), a little. 2 lbs noticeably, and 3 lbs you get the more striking sweetness to go with the tartness.
I use frozen raspberries; I added a pint of water to a pot (to prevent scorching), brought it to about 180 degrees, dropped in a pound or two, and stirred with a whisk until broken up/and liquefied. I then added the other raspberries about a pound at a time, and eventually brought the whole mixture to about 140-145, and kept it there for 25 minutes to kill most anything that was on the raspberries (which would be little anyway, considering they were frozen). I think you could do it a little hotter, but not much, as you do not want to "set" the pectin. When adding Pectic enzyme to the secondary, you have to (as noted) add a little extra, as the efficacy of it is reduced due to the alcohol (or so I think I read in a post by high-test in the cider forum). Pectic enzyme has a "tang" to it, which is one of the things that you want to settle out in the tertiary.
A very satisfying recipe indeed!
I tasted an early bottle (it is not yet completely carbonated, but quite fizzy already), and it tastes great! I had no idea that one could get as close to a lambic as I did in such little time. If you have the urge to try it, you will not be disappointed, nor will those around you who like a Framboise. Again, I added the lactose to this one (3lb) to mimic a Lindeman’s and it is much, MUCH better. Smoother, just as tart, and with the complexity of a Lambic (a real one, not Lindeman’s): pronounced tartness, and "barnyard" tastes with somewhat less accentuation of the "soapy" flavors. I think I could sour the mash a little longer next time to get even more Lambic-ish characteristics.
And... you can't beat 5 weeks.
Wow. I will definitely be doing this again, and perhaps trying a different fruit.
Just an update for any who are curious.
I had one last night, and it is fully carbonated, and very fizzy (I used about 3/4 cup of honey to prime it). It is also excellent.
It is significantly drier than before, with still some lurking sweetness. If you want something as sweet as a Lindeman’s you might have to add even more lactose... like up to 5 lbs!
Anyway, I will be doing this again once supplies run low. I might try it with even more crystal as well, to begin with; just to up the unfermentable sugars, without resorting to lactose, which I would prefer not to do in the future.
IN THE BOTTLE:Imperial Aussie Ale, AB and oaked AB, Semper Fi Tripple
IN THE PRIMARY:
IN THE SECONDARY:
LAGERING :
ON DECK:Baltic Porter
