Flanders Red techniques

[MikeB]

We are going to brew 10 gallons of the BCS recipe on Wednesday. The plan is to split the 10 gallons in two and pitch via the two methods decribed in BCS. The hope is a year from now we will be able to blend them if needed. In one carboy we'll pitch straight Roselare and just let it go. In the other carboy we'll pitch a smack pack of #1056, let it go for about 5 days and then rack it to another carboy where we'll pitch a smack pack of Roselare. I plan to just use carboy caps, airlocks and oak cubes.

[Quin]

That's what JZ suggests too (a carboy cap). I have no desire to try a wooden dowel.

Will the Roeselare release gas? Do I need to use the carboy cap with an airlock or can I just use the plugs that come with it?

If the gravity is being reduced (and it is) CO2 is being produced.

I may be mistaken, but in the Flanders Red show I thought JZ mentioned Raj Apte and the chair leg method. I understand Raj doesn't like the chair legs anymore because of the cracking carboys during secondary fermentations, but if you use a Better Bottle you wouldn't have a problem with cracking.

[brewinhard]

I think the chairleg method is just a gimmick. What a pain in the ass it sounds like to even prep it. Good flanders can be made with using the KISS method = airlock and carboy cap.

[MikeB]

Brewed 10 gallons today - BCS recipe. OG was a little high at 1.062. Pitched #1056 into half of the wort and #3763 (Roeselare) into the other. First time we've done any sour on purpose. We use a plate chiller, so we get a lot of cold break in the carboys. Think I should rack to a secondary at some point for the extended fermentation, and repitch (for the #3763 batch)?

[PhillyBrewer]

MikeB: I like this idea of making 10 gallons, fermenting one directly with Roeselare and prefermenting the second before adding Roeselare. I believe I'll try that my self.

Here's a sour beer question: could you do anything to the BCS Flanders Red recipe to have it come out more like Duchesse De Bourgogne or Monk's Flemish sour than Rodenbach Grand Cru? Perhaps I'm making an incorrect assumption that these two beers are Flanders Reds. If they are, can you add cherries to secondary or add lactose to make it sweeter or something?

ps. I'm pretty sure I red some where that Raj doesn't even use the chair leg technique anymore.

[MikeB]

Both beers will be Flanders Red Ales. I would think you could treat this beer like a Fruit Lambic. Keeping it sweet would be a challenge. Not sure if lactose would work, but it is an interesting idea. The little bit that I have read suggests that brewing a bigger beer can help create some residual sugars. The yeasts and microbes that work in the latter stages of lambic fermentation apparently are not very tolerant to high alcohol concentrations.

[PhillyBrewer]

I started reading Wild Brews and the author speaks of techniques some Belgian breweries use to sweaten their sours. He made it seem like it's frowned upon as it's adding a non-natural ingredient.

[NMWildAles]

Personally, I would keep the oak out all together. Rodenbach is not really getting any oak character from their barrels, it is simply a house for the bugs. Any oak you put in there will add too much oak character. Nowhere in the BJCP guidelines does oak character appear other than the mention of a bit of vanilla is acceptable. I recently took a best of show with a Flanders Red and I primaried in a bucket then transferred to a 5gal carboy with a vented silicone stopper. It never touched oak.

Just my two cents!
Rob