brewinhard wrote:Right on Bellmer! Best of luck with the fruit additions. Sounds delicious, especially aging with the fruit for so long.
I will be whipping up a few sours in a row come late may , early June. First Flanders Red, then Oud Bruin (will add oak), then a pale Flanders (probalby no oak). I really don't have any temp. control going on and during the summer months I bet the beer will get as high as 75-80 degrees sometimes. Oh well! What else can you do, but try anyway. I love sour beers so much that even a less than perfect version would still probably be enjoyable. And maybe I can blend if they come out too shitty!
Bellmer, how fast did your pellicle form with just the airlock in secondary? Are you able to maintain temperatures as needed or just letting it be?
For long-term fermentation I don't really have anything either, so they have just sat at ambient in the back of my apartment closet (between 70 and 80 throughout the year probably). I'm in the same boat. I love them and figure it's worth a try. If it's drinkable I'll be happy. I just let it go to the elements because I don't have anything better yet. Supposedly it'll go faster but be less complex if it is done at warmer temps, however mine has had a pellicle for 12 months and it still looks pretty thick, so I dunno.
The pellicle on the Flander's Red took about a month to form. I had a Belgian Pale I pitched on top of the yeast cake from the Flander's Red (Abbey II Yeast) that I then added a bunch of dregs of bottles to. That formed in less than a week. I was freaking amazed. It went through primary fermentation and formed a pellicle before the Flanders Red that started first. It all depends on the oxygen present and the amount of food available. The key thing I think is to not worry about it. Pitch it and forget about it. I obsessed over it that first month and I really didn't need to at all.
By the time the pellicle falls in mine, there probably won't be much fruit character left once the bugs are through with it. I always got a vinuous berry-like taste in Rodenbach, so I thought adding some fruit would enhance the complexity a bit. We shall see. Best of luck with yours!