I've used a variety of yeast strains to make these beer with the goal of getting a wide variety of flavors to choose from. This drove me to produce quite a bit more beer than I can reasonably drink. I will start to pare down my collection a bit. I'd like to limit myself to 12 Flanders Reds fermenters at any given time which will keep me well supplied on beer and also provide some room for continued exploration. I currently have 15 batches. It has been over a year since I last brewed any.
We ended up moving all these beers last August. They all got shaken up quite a bit in the process. It will be interesting to see if this has resulted in any acetic acid formation. Many of them have three piece airlocks that ran dry a number of times as well. Hopefully this hasn't had any major negative impacts.
Once I take stock of these I'll also consider starting to move them to our new house.
- Brewed:
- 10/10/14
- Overview:
- First pitch of Roeselare Ale Blend (Wyeast 3763)
- Found a nice grainbill online that produced a lovely red wort
- Used baking soda on this batch in an attempt to control pH. This was contributing a bit to the flavor
- Status Notes:
- Airlock ran dry more than once for extended periods with this beer
- Replaced with vented silicone bung
- Tasting Notes:
- Funky aroma with some fruit
- Orange/red and clear
- Lightly sour with a bit of Brett character. Light fruit flavor.
- Fairly mild in flavor with not all that much complexity
- Brewed:
- 3/27/15
- Overview:
- Second pitch onto Roeselare yeast cake
- Primaried with a Belgian yeast - took the beer all the way down to 1.006 which wasn't what I wanted
- Status Notes:
- Airlock ran dry on this one was well
- Replaced the airlock with vented silicone bung
- Tasting Notes:
- Big vinegar aroma from the fermenter- none in the sample though. Fruity and earthy smells to this beer. It has a big aroma.
- Orange/red and clear
- Medium level tartness - restrained and pleasant. Earthy Brett flavor comes through very strongly. Also has a reasonably strong fruity flavor component. Get a bit of grainy malt flavor coming through on the finish
- Strong flavor and aroma on this one with a good level of complexity
- Brewed:
- 4/11/15
- Overview:
- Third pitch onto half the Roeselare yeast cake (first half used by Flanders Red 1.3.1)
- Pitched directly onto the yeast cake
- Status Notes:
- Airlock ran dry on this one as well
- Replaced airlock with bung
- Tasting Notes:
- Earthy funk dominates. A bit of fruity character mixed in. Has a rich smell
- Red/orange and slightly cloudy
- Light sourness. Brett earthiness fairly assertive. Good level of malt flavor in the finish
- Fairly mild in terms of flavor but has a nice level of complexity
- Brewed:
- 7/12/15
- Overview:
- Fourth pitch onto Roeselare yeast cake
- Soured part of the batch with lacto before adding to the Roeselare cake
- Primaried with Belgian yeast
- No hops were used to avoid inhibiting the lacto
- Oak added to the fermenter with the Roeselare
- Status Notes:
- Blended half of each of these batches with Flanders Red 1.2.1 and then combined the remaining beer into the 1.4.2 fermenter
- Tasting Notes:
- Rich fruity and funky aroma
- Orange/red and clear
- Medium level of sourness with a good level of fruitiness. Nice earthy flavor in the finish. This one also has a leathery flavor.
- Bold flavor profile and nicely complex
- Brewed:
- 8/30/15
- Overview:
- First pitch of Yeast Bay Mélange Sour Blend
- Modified the grain bill: Swapped Pilsner/Munich/Vienna base malts for 2 row and Victory
- Used corn grits by doing a cereal mash
- Used rice hulls to try to mitigate for the sticky mash (was still using a filter bag for mashing at this point)
- Status Notes:
- Airlock ran dry at times on this batch
- Replaced the airlock with a bung
- Tasting Notes:
- Bold earthy aroma mixed with dark fruit
- Dark red and clear - very nice looking beer
- No sourness has developed. There is a bit of interesting fruitiness and some bready malt. Also get a hint of alcohol. Finish has a bit of funk
- Mild flavor with a fair bit of complexity. I think this one is outshined by the Roeselare batches but it brings some different flavors
- Brewed:
- 9/17/15
- Overview:
- Fifth pitch onto Roeselare yeast cake
- Cereal Mashed with Corn Grits
- Used Maltodextrine to give yeast a bit more to work on
- Primary fermented with Belgian yeast
- Soured a portion of the batch with lacto during primary
- Status Notes:
- Nothing Significant to Report
- Tasting Notes:
- Funky aroma - pretty rich - with a bit of fruit
- Orange/red in color and a bit cloudy
- Light sourness. A bit of earth flavor. Also get a bit of malt on the finish.
- Mild flavored with a fair bit of complexity. Pleasant but not that exciting
- Brewed:
- 10/18/15
- Overview:
- Fifth pitch onto Roeselare yeast cake
- Cereal Mashed with Corn Grits
- Used Maltodextrine to give yeast a bit more to work on
- Soured a portion of the batch with lacto prior to adding to the main batch
- Status Notes:
- NSTR
- Tasting Notes:
- Earthy and fruity aroma. Pretty rich. Get a bit of leather as well.
- Orange/red and clear
- Light sourness. Bold fruity character. A bit of Brett funk in the finish that is earthy and leathery. Some malt comes through on the finish
- Good bold flavors with nice complexity
- Brewed:
- 11/6/15
- Overview:
- Second pitch onto Mélange Sour Blend yeast cake
- Soured a portion of the batch with lacto during primary
- Primary fermented with Belgian yeast
- Used Maltodextrine to give yeast a bit more to work on
- Cereal Mashed with Corn Grits
- Tweaked the grain bill to try to get a bit more red
- Status Notes:
- Airlock had run dry
- Replace with vented silicone bung
- Tasting Notes:
- Bright fruity aroma mixed with earthy leather from the Brett. Very rich
- Orangish red and a bit cloudy
- Light sourness. Has a nice fruity character. Also a smooth bit of bready malt in the finish.
- Pretty good set of flavors that pop nicely
 |
| Part A |
 |
| Part B |
- Brewed:
- 1/15/16
- Overview:
- Sixth pitch onto Roeselare yeast cake
- Cereal Mashed with Corn Grits
- Used Maltodextrine to give yeast a bit more to work on
- Primary fermented with Belgian yeast
- Soured a portion of the batch with lacto during primary
- This was a 12 gal batch split into A and B portions
- Part A: Aged 3 months on yeast cake and then transferred off
- Part B: Aged on the yeast cake for the entire period
- Both parts aged in bucket fermenters
- Status Notes:
- NSTR
- Tasting Notes:
- Part A:
- Fruity aroma up front - reminds me of lemon. Some Brett funk in the background
- Orange/red and a bit cloudy
- Medium sourness. There is a citrus fruitiness to it. Finish has a bit of earthy funk
- Bold flavors and an interesting fruit component (from lacto?). Not terribly complex
- Part B:
- Earthy funk and a bit of fruit in the aroma. Rich.
- Orange/red and a bit cloudy
- Light sourness. Earthy funk with a little fruitiness. Finish has some bready malt.
- Nice full flavor with a fair bit of complexity
 |
| Part A |
 |
| Part B |
- Brewed:
- 1/24/16
- Overview:
- Batch fermented with a culture built up from Rodenbach Foederbier
- Cereal Mashed with Corn Grits
- Used Maltodextrine to give yeast a bit more to work on
- Primary fermented with Belgian yeast
- Soured a portion of the batch with lacto during primary
- This was a 12 gal batch split into A and B portions
- Part A: Aged in a glass carboy
- Part B: Aged in a bucket fermenter
- Status Notes:
- NSTR
- Tasting Notes:
- Part A:
- Funky and earthy aroma. Dark fruit mixed in as well
- Orangish red and cloudy
- Light sourness with an interesting Brett funk (band aid like)
- Mild flavor with a fair bit of complexity
- Part B:
- Funky and earthy aroma
- Redish orange and cloudy
- Light sourness. Light bready funk with a bit of malt character
- Mild flavor and not terribly complex
- Brewed:
- 4/8/16
- Overview:
- Batch brewed with commercial yeast (Russian River and Jolly Pumpkin Dregs)
- Adjusted malt bill to try to get better color
- Did a proper cereal mash to get better conversion using corn grits
- Used Maltodextrine
- Primaried with Belgian yeast - added hops to try to restrain the sourness that this yeast had started to develop
- Aging in a bucket fermenter
- Status Notes:
- NSTR
- Tasting Notes:
- Dark fruit mixed with a little earthiness
- Redish orange and very clear
- Light sourness. It has a fruity flavor and earthiness on the finish. Has a chocolate like finish as well (maybe from the dark malt?)
- Pretty strong flavors in this beer and a pretty complex profile
- Brewed:
- 6/19/16
- Overview:
- Batch brewed with ECY Flemish Ale Blend
- Tweaked the malt bill a bit again by switching double roasted crystal for the special B
- Added Maltodextrine
- Did a proper cereal mash
- No primary fermentation
- Status Notes:
- Beer has aged in bucket fermenter on the yeast cake for 15 months at this point
- Airlock was dry on this one
- Tasting Notes:
- Cider like aroma with a bit of funk. A bit of alcohol mixed in
- Redish orange and a bit cloudy
- No sourness at this point. Has a bit of a Belgian yeast profile. No Brett character I can detect
- Needs more time to mature. Maybe a second beer on this cake would be more interesting
 |
| Mother deer with her two fawns |
- Brewed:
- 7/10/16
- Overview:
- Batch fermented on seventh pitch of Roeselare Yeast Blend
- Primary with Belgian yeast
- Hopped the beer to try to stop excessive lacto influence in primary yeast
- Added Maltodextrine
- Did a proper cereal mash
- Status Notes:
- Brewed this as a 12 gal batch. The other half was Flanders 2.3.1 which was lost when the bucket fermenter broke
- Beer has aged in bucket fermenter on the yeast cake for 12 months now
- Tasting Notes:
- Fruity and slightly funky aroma
- Red and a little cloudy
- Medium Sourness. Has a really nice fruity flavor. A bit of funk in the finish.
- Bold flavors with a fair bit of complexity
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