Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Lambic Digest #0486
From postmaster at lance.colostate.edu Wed Nov 16 10:27:07 1994
Status: O
X-VM-v5-Data: ([nil t nil nil nil nil nil nil nil]
["8642" "Wed" "16" "November" "1994" "00:30:25" "-0700" "subscription requests only" "lambic-request at lance.colostate.edu" nil "205" "Lambic Digest #486 (November 16, 1994)" "^From:" nil nil "11" nil nil nil nil]
nil)
Received: from longs.lance.colostate.edu by goodman.itn.med.umich.edu with SMTP id AA24387
(5.65b/IDA-1.4.3 for spencer at hendrix.itn.med.umich.edu); Wed, 16 Nov 94 03:42:26 -0500
Received: (daemon at localhost) by longs.lance.colostate.edu (8.6.9/8.6.5a (LANCE 1.01)) id AAA10643 for reallambic at longs.lance.colostate.edu; Wed, 16 Nov 1994 00:30:25 -0700
Message-Id: <199411160730.AAA10643 at longs.lance.colostate.edu>
Reply-To: lambic at lance.colostate.edu (postings only - do not send subscription requests here)
Errors-To: lambic-request at lance.colostate.edu
From: lambic-request at lance.colostate.edu (subscription requests only - do not post here)
To: lambic at lance.colostate.edu
Subject: Lambic Digest #486 (November 16, 1994)
Date: Wed, 16 Nov 1994 00:30:25 -0700
Lambic Digest #486 Wed 16 November 1994
Forum on Lambic Beers (and other Belgian beer styles)
Mike Sharp, Digest Coordinator
Contents:
Re: Lambic Digest #485 (November 15, 1994) (Michael Sharp)
Surprised by Spirit of Belgium (bickham)
BoS Witbier recipe (bickham)
Last post about wits (bickham)
Send article submissions only to: lambic at longs.lance.colostate.edu
Send all other administrative requests (subscribe/unsubscribe/change) to:
lambic-request at longs.lance.colostate.edu
Back issues are available by mail; send empty message with subject 'HELP' to:
netlib at longs.lance.colostate.edu
Phil Seitz' series on Brewing Belgian Beer is available; the index
from the archives lists individual topics and the complete set.
Start with the help message above then request the index.
A FAQ is also available by netlib; say 'send faq from lambic' as the
subject or body of your message (to netlib at longs.lance.colostate.edu).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Nov 94 09:07:46 PST
From: msharp at Synopsys.COM (Michael Sharp)
Subject: Re: Lambic Digest #485 (November 15, 1994)
Phil writes:
> Can anyone think of a good reason NOT to allow people to have copies
> for analytical purposes? Presumably I'd give 'em to 1-3 people per category,
> as I'm in no position to carry out wholesale copying and mailing. I
> think it would be fair to ask the people who get the copies to
> summarize their analysis to the digest. That way we'd ALL benefit.
Well, I can't think of any reason and I'm sure NOBODY ELSE CAN EITHER,
RIGHT? 8-)
Yes, I was one of the folks looking for copies of the lambic category
recipes. (of course Phil already knows this) Its my hope that I'll be
able to extract some useful info on the state of plambic brewing, and
perhaps note some trends, from these.
--Mike
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Nov 1994 15:59:05 -0500 (EST)
From: bickham at msc.cornell.edu
Subject: Surprised by Spirit of Belgium
Thanks to everyone that has sent congratulatory e-mail about my
wit taking best of show at the Spirit of Belgium. I'm probably
more surprised than anyone, especially when the list of ribbon winners
reads like a Who's Who in the Belgian/Lambic homebrew world. From
what I hear, it was quite a struggle to win the witbier category,
let alone Best of Show. I'll post my recipe separately, but here
I'll give a few comments about what I did right and what I should've
done. For technical details, I refer you to Martin Lodahl's
excellent article in the July/August Brewing Techniques.
At the risk of depressing the pLambic brewers whose beers had been
aged for months both before and after bottling, I have to admit that
this was a quick and dirty batch that was brewed only two months before
the competition. It had only been in the bottle for 5 weeks, which isn't
very long even considering that the Belgian White style was traditionally
brewed for immediate consumption. Most brewers added lactic acid bacteria,
either intentionally or be racking the beer into casks where the
lactobacillus lived. The sourness increases slowly but surely,
so the taste varied depending on the age and was often unpredictable.
The main flaws noted by the judges were a weak yeast/spice character.
The primary and secondary fermenations took place at 62 F, with Wyeast
1214. At this temperatures and a starting gravity of 1.052, it's
actually too clean. The second place witbier, brewed by Rick Garvin,
was fermented with the Wyeast Belgian White strain, which gives a much
fuller yeast character with some spicy phenolics. However it ferments
slowly at the cooler temperatures in my basement, so I settled
for a cleaner base.
In spite of this flaw, the judges rated my beer slightly higher because
it had the correct acid character. Many of you know that I've been
experimenting with a lactobacillus that I cultured from a bottle of
Dentergems. I've been told that it's absent in the newer bottles,
but it has been successfully isolated by some microbiologist friends
of mine. They tell me that it's lactobacillus delbrueckii, which is
homofermentative (produces lactic acid, not ethanol and carbon dioxide).
Head Start has a couple of lacto cultures, one of which is probably the
same as the one I use to sour my wits. I've also soured several other
batches from cross-contamination, so unless you enjoy soured strong scotch
ales, be careful to thoroughly sanitize or sterilize anything that comes
into contact with the bacteria. Finally, along these lines, you've
probably heard on people using lactic acid at bottling to get the
right sourness. While that works in theory, I have yet to taste a
wit where the lactic acid has fully blended with the other flavors
in the beer. Rick Garvin used this method on his beer, and while it
is an excellent beer, the sourness comes across as a separate flavor.
Of course, as my experience with cross-contamination shows, this might
be a small price to pay for security. In any case, wits can be quite
cloying from the unmalted adjuncts and coriander if they're not soured.
This is getting a little long, so I'll finish and post the recipe. Note
that I use less coriander than the 21 grams mentioned by Martin Lodahl
in his article. I'll probably increase it slightly based on the judges
feedback, but I feel it should be subtle, not dominant.
Scott
- --
========================================================================
Scott Bickham
bickham at msc.cornell.edu
=========================================================================
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Nov 1994 16:17:18 -0500 (EST)
From: bickham at msc.cornell.edu
Subject: BoS Witbier recipe
Here's my latest recipe that won at Spirit of Belgium.
5# D-C pilsner malt
4# raw wheat flakes
0.4# rolled oats
Step infusion mash: Dough-in at 110, hold for 10 minutes and acidify the
mash if the pH is above 6. 30 minute protein rest at 128 F (it was 125 F
in my last batch, but I wanted to get more cloudiness), followed by
a 60 minute starch conversion at 152-155 F. Mash out at 170 for 5
minutes, and sparge to a volume of 6 1/3 gallons. I boil off a little
more than a gallon in my set-up and end up with 5 gallons with a gravity
of 1.052.
Hop/Spices: 0.9 oz. East Kent Goldings (60 minutes=20 IBUs)
0.25 oz. Saaz (15 minutes)
2.5 g. freshly ground coriander (30 minutes)
*1 oz. organic orange peel (15 minutes)
2.5 g. freshly ground coriander (secondary)
I did the normal force chilling, pitched a 1 pint starter of Wyeast
1214, and fermented at 62 F. I think I'll use a more phenolic yeast
in my next batch. Rack to the secondary after 5 days and
allow to ferment out. Here's the key ingredient: when bottling,
add a 50-100 ml starter of lactobacillus, along with the priming sugar.
The acidity gradually build in the bottle or keg, and is noticable
after 2 weeks.
* This is a bitter orange peel imported from Israel. Rick Garvin
said it smells like Mexican weed (must've smelled it at a concert,
right?), so it also has a spicy character. I improvised since I didn't
have the authentic Curacao bitter orange peel, but don't use zest from
Sunkist oranges (unless you like lemoney wits).
Have fun,
Scott
P.S. How about the winning Dubbel and Tripel recipes?
- --
========================================================================
Scott Bickham
bickham at msc.cornell.edu
=========================================================================
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Nov 1994 16:34:42 -0500 (EST)
From: bickham at msc.cornell.edu
Subject: Last post about wits
I just wanted to mention a few other names of brewers know for making
a good witbier. Rick Garvin placed 2nd at the Spirit of Belgium,
while Spencer Thomas/Dan McConnell placed 3rd and have done experiments
with different yeasts. Bill Murphy of the Boston Wort Processors
makes a fine example called 'Wit Willy', while the AHA winner a few
years ago did a sour mash to get some lactic character. Their
recipes will turn out just as well as mine, so you can also turn
to them for advice. It's actually quite easy to make a good wit,
and it's definitely fun tailoring the spicing and sourness to your
own tastes.
Have fun,
Scott
- --
========================================================================
Scott Bickham
bickham at msc.cornell.edu
=========================================================================
------------------------------
End of Lambic Digest
************************
-------
