First sour, Flanders red - aging questions

[jimrush]

First, are BetterBottles suitable for long term aging of a sour beer ?

Second, how important is temperature during the aging process ? I can closely control temperature during primary fermentation, but for aging, it's likely to be sitting in a warm house most of the year (80-90s).

[Quin]

I think Better bottles are great for long term aging. I use Better Bottles and a wooden bung (normally used to seal a wine barrel) to allow micro-oxidation. It's not immersed in the beer, so I still use the toasted oak cubes for flavor. A wooden barrel is optimum; this is a pretty close approximation for a lot less money and hassle.

http://mountainhomebrew.com/oakbungmedium.aspx

I aged 10 gallons of Flanders red last winter and spring into the summer. If you can do your fermentation in the fall (like now) and transfer when it cools off, you should be OK.

Your house isn't in the 80s-90s during the winter is it?

[jimrush]

Your house isn't in the 80s-90s during the winter is it?

I live in the greater Phoenix area. For the next month or two, inside temps are likely to be in the 80s. In the spring, it will be back again. Come summer, inside temps in rooms where I might be able to store beer will probably see 90s 50% of the time.

I use a temperature controlled chest freezer for primary temp. I used an ice box and fan setup for awhile, but needed to upgrade to something easier.

[Quin]

My wife wasn't too happy about it, but I aged the Flanders in our bedroom.

[brewinhard]

Better bottles are fine for aging. You will get more than enough oxygen introduced into your flanders using a standard airlock/carboy cap/stopper. Warmer temps will favor the bacteria more and bring out different brett aromas and flavors than the cooler temps will. I have a bunch of sours that have been aging for 18 mos now and they have passed through 2 summers of 90 degrees and fall/spring/winters of 55-65 degrees. They are still not all that sour, but fairly bretty complex.