The Duchesse ....

[chrisw]

The Duchesse is definately a great 'gateway' sour beer.

-Okt

Ditto. The Duchesse did it for me too!

[Sent From My iPhone]

The Duchesse is definately a great 'gateway' sour beer.

-Okt

That is exactly why I want to brew the Duchesse ... most of my friends have not had a "sour" beer and it is getting too expensive to buy the $6 10oz bottle of Duchesse everytime I want to introduce the style to someone. They usually like the Duchess, begin to appreciate the sour tones and I switch them to the Roddenbach. I figured if I brewed a Duchesse style first that I could introduce the style to many friends and then move on to brewing more sour versions of the flanders.

With that said, I am not keen on adding Nutrasweet or saccharin to the beer, so that is not a viable option for me. As an alternative, could I brew a batch of the BCS flanders red with the Roselare blend, age it appropriately. Then when it is about time to drink, brew another batch that I ferment with something like the Cal Ale yeast. Keg both batches separetly and let everyone mix the two to their prefered level of sourness?

Feel free to tell me this would be a horrible idea.

That's not a horrible idea at all, that's exactly what I did. I let 5 gallons get wicked sour with a ton of acetic acid and another 5 gallons not so much. Each one on it's own is lacking and not very interesting but when mixed together it becomes nectar!

[Sent From My iPhone]

I love it...


That's all I've got to say bout that!

Thanks Gump!

[Chupa LaHomebrew]

The Duchesse is pretty darn acetic, so +1 on brewing a fairly acetic flanders
I'm not sure if back-blending with a clean beer will get you that same sweetness that the Duchesse has, but it would be a good way to blend to taste.

Other ideas (just ideas, but I think they could get you closer to Duchesse than back blending with a clean beer):
- Brew the acetic Flanders and add some sugar to the keg, then keep it cold till it's all gone!
- Brew the acetic Flanders and sweeten to taste, in the glass, with simple syrup.

[uncle_bad_touches]

Other ideas (just ideas, but I think they could get you closer to Duchesse than back blending with a clean beer):
- Brew the acetic Flanders and add some sugar to the keg, then keep it cold till it's all gone!
- Brew the acetic Flanders and sweeten to taste, in the glass, with simple syrup.

- Brew a Flanders without bugs and add a splash of balsamic vinegar at serving

[EagleDude]

- Brew a Flanders without bugs and add a splash of balsamic vinegar at serving

maybe not a good idea ... but at least I wouldn't be introducing "bugs" into my brew equipment.

[BadRock]

I love it...


That's all I've got to say bout that!

Thanks Gump!

You don't even want to know what I've got to say bout chocolates!

[mediumsk]

- Brew a Flanders without bugs and add a splash of balsamic vinegar at serving

maybe not a good idea ... but at least I wouldn't be introducing "bugs" into my brew equipment.

using red wine vinegar to dial up the ascetic actually works pretty well, you only need a little.
try buying a can of newcastle and turning it into a flanders using that 88% lactic acid they sell at homebrew shops plus red wine vinegar, its good and really helps you understand how the individual flavors interact in a true flanders style.