My early batches of Sour Blonde used the Wyeast 3278 Belgian Lambic Blend. I re-pitched onto the same yeast cake multiple times in hopes that the product would get more complex. These beers all ended up fairly mild in flavor and haven't been as interesting as I'd hoped. In the last couple years I've brewed batches with a couple East Coast Yeast blends, a couple Bootleg Biology Blends, and an Omega Yeast Brett blend. These beers have given me some more interesting options to put to use in this year's Sour Blonde Blend.
I have chosen the following beers to use:
- Fermenter #11:
- Overview:
- Brewed with Bootleg Biology Funk Weapon #2
- Grainbill was a mix of Pilsner and Raw Wheat. To attempt to better simulate a cereal mash I drew off a quart of very starchy wort from the cereal mash and added this to the boil
- No hops in this batch
- Aged in a bucket with a solid bung
- Tasting Notes:
- Aroma: Very interesting fruity aroma from this beer. I get citrus, peach, and pineapple maybe. Also get a bit of brett funk
- Appearance: Golden and slightly cloudy
- Flavor: Medium sourness with a very fruity flavor. Also has a bit of funk going on.
- Mouthfeel: Light-medium bodied and dry. Slight prickling
- Overall: This beer has a very bold fruit flavor which is unlike any of the other beers. Very pleasant with good complexity.
- Volume:
- 3 gal
- Fermenter #8:
- Overview:
- Aged with ECY01 Bug Farm. This is the second pitch
- Grainbill is a mix of Pilsner and Raw Wheat
- No hops in this batch
- Aged in a bucket fermenter with a solid stopper
- Tasting Notes:
- Aroma: Overripe fruit and earthy funk. Pretty potent aroma
- Appearance: Light gold and slightly cloudy
- Flavor: Firm sourness along with earthy brett and fruit. Also get a bit of malt coming through in the finish. Fruit caries into the finish with the sourness and almost gives the impression of sweetness
- Mouthfeel: Light bodied and dry. Has a bit of bite in the finish
- Overall: Bold flavors and quite a bit of complexity. I think this one is very nice.
- Volume:
- 2 gal
- Fermenter #2:
- Overview:
- Aged with Bootleg Biology Funk Weapon #1 and a bit of Wyeast 3278 Belgian Lambic Blend
- Sitting on Toasted and Chardonnay soaked oak for the last year
- Grain bill of Pilsner and Raw Wheat
- No hops in this one
- Aged in a mostly full glass carboy with a vented silicon bung
- Tasting Notes:
- Aroma: Fruity (citrus or peach maybe) with a bit of earthy funk. Very pleasant
- Appearance: Light gold and pretty clear
- Flavor: Lightly sour. Earthy funk and a fruity flavor are most prominent
- Mouthfeel: Light bodied and dry. Slight prickling in the back of the throat
- Overall: Bold flavor and aroma on this one. Has a nice amount of complexity which makes for an interesting beer. I really like this one.
- Volume:
- 1 gal
These three beers were the standouts in the tasting. They each had really bold flavors that I think will marry well together. I am going to aged this blend with 2 oz of oak which I toasted and then soaked in Chardonnay.
Blending Notes:
- 8/25/19 Blending Day:
- First transferred in 3 gal of beer from Fermenter #11 into bucket fermenter
- Next added 2 gal of beer from Fermenter #8
- Then added 1 gal of beer from Fermenter #2
- Added 2 oz of oak
- Set the beer up with a 3 piece airlock
- 5/2/2020 - Bottled this beer today with re hydrated Red Star Premier Cuviee Champagne yeast and 5 oz of priming sugar. I used corked and caged 750 ML bottles for the beer - got 29 of them. The beer formed a nice pellicle and the oak sunk to the bottom. It is a nice smelling beer - very fruity (I didn't taste much of a sample). I corked using a hand corker and Belgian corks - ruined a few corks learning the correct method but I didn't spill a drop of beer, so that's good. Took quite a bit more time than normal bottling.
- 1/30/22 - Tasting Notes - Boldly flavored and very complex beer. The fruitiness of the beer and the acidity provide a very pleasing combination. I also think the brett character of it plays nicely in the mix. It's balance is quite a bit more towards the acidic character than on Brett and I'd say it's a bit more sour than the famous Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze which has become more accessible here in Pennsylvania in the last couple years. My beer is good but I think Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze is better
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