5 of my 7 beers used Wyeast 3278 Belgian Lambic Blend and a couple have used blends by East Coast Yeast. I wasn't too impressed by anything Wyeast 3278 brought to the table in my early tastings of the beer - hopefully that has changed with some age. I plan to explore some other yeast blends as well as some wild yeast in the next year to give myself more variety going forward.
In the long term I'd like to get up to having 12 batches of this Sour Blonde beer of various ages to allow for a yearly blending. I'm thinking I'd have 6 batches aging in glass and 6 in bucket fermenters to explore how different levels of oxygen exposure impact the beers (buckets are thought to allow a bit of oxygen to permeate into the beer. Lambic producers use oak barrels which allow oxygen into the beer in small amounts. It would seem that this oxygen exposure is likely a key component to giving these beers their complexity.
It is exciting to be trying these after so long.
Sour Blonde 1.1.1:
- Brewed:
- 11/1/14
- Overview:
- First pitch of Wyeast 3278 Belgian Lambic Blend
- Left to cool outside over night to let it capture some wild yeast
- Grainbill of 2/3 pilsner and 1/3 flaked wheat
- 1 oz of hops
- Status Notes:
- Had been using a 3 piece airlock on this. Ran dry a few times. Switched to a vented silicone bung a few months ago
- Tasting Notes:
- Fruity yeast character. Cider-like. Slight mustiness
- Light gold and clear. Some pellicle chunks floating
- Mild fruity flavor along with a subtle spicy yeast character. Maybe a little malt. No sourness or funk have developed
- Flavors are rather muted and it lacks the complexity you'd expect in a beer this age
- Brewed:
- 2/7/15
- Overview:
- Second pitch of Wyeast 3278 Belgian Lambic Blend
- Left to cool outside over night to let it capture some wild yeast
- Grainbill of 2/3 pilsner and 1/3 flaked wheat
- 1 oz of hops
- Status Notes:
- Had a 3 piece airlock that ran dry on several occasions. Replaced with a vented silicone bung
- Tasting Notes:
- A bit of earthy funk along with a bit of fruit
- Lightly gold and slightly hazy
- Beer has a bit of earthy funk. Also get some alcohol flavor. Maybe a slight bit of fruity ester mixed in as well. No sourness has developed
- Pretty mild flavored and not very complex
- Brewed:
- 5/10/15
- Overview:
- Third pitch of Wyeast 3278 Belgian Lambic Blend
- Grainbill of 2/3 pilsner and 1/3 flaked wheat
- Cut hops back to 1/2 oz
- Decided to only mash for 15 min to get a less converted wort. Ended up with abysmal 43% efficiency
- Status Notes:
- NSTR
- Tasting Notes:
- Pronounced sulfur aroma both in fermenter and glass. Also get overripe fruit. Get a bit of spicy yeast as well as some malt
- Light gold and very clear
- Light tartness along with a bit of fruit - citrus maybe. Also get a bit of earthy funk. Bready malt comes through on the finish
- Nice range of flavors give the beer reasonable complexity. Fairly mild taste
- Brewed:
- 8/8/15
- Overview:
- Fourth pitch of Wyeast 3278 Belgian Lambic Blend
- Grainbill of 2/3 pilsner and 1/3 flaked wheat
- Moved to a lower AA hop
- Did a normal mash
- Status Notes:
- NSTR
- Tasting Notes:
- Cider Aroma with a bit of sulphur. Also get a bit of spicy yeast ester
- Clear and light gold
- Strong funk with fruity yeast character. No sourness. Has a bit of alcohol burn. A bit of bread in the finish with a sort of mineral character
- Strong flavor but not all together pleasant. Pretty much one note
- Brewed:
- 11/22/15
- Overview:
- Primaried with Belgian yeast
- Fifth pitch of Wyeast 3278 Belgian Lambic Blend
- Added 1 gal of wort soured with lacto
- Changed the malt bill to 2/3 pilsner 1/3 raw wheat
- Used a sort of cereal mash on the raw wheat. Added this right before sparging to get a starchy worth
- Used Maltodextrine to increase food for bacteria
- No hops in this batch
- Aged on 1 oz of oak
- Status Notes:
- Beer has sat on yeast cake since 1/2/16
- Tasting Notes:
- Overripe fruit along with earthy and cheesy funk. Very pungent aroma. Also get a good amount of vanilla and oak. By far the best smelling of the group
- Gold and a bit cloudy
- Quite sour. Light fruit flavor. Bready malt in the finish. Also get a slight bit of earthy funk. Maybe also gat a bit of oak in the finish
- Fair amount of complexity and some nice bold flavors
- Brewed:
- 4/10/16
- Overview:
- First pitch of ECY01 Bug Farm
- Changed malt bill to include 1 lb of Munich replacing 1 lb of pilsner. Also did a proper cereal mash with raw wheat.
- Added Maltodextrine to give the bacteria and brett a bit more food
- Used 1/2 oz of hops
- Status Notes:
- Had intended to brew a new batch to go onto this yeast cake last year. Finally got around to brewing this new batch
- Transferred this to our new house
- Tasting Notes:
- Earthy and leathery funk. Kind of reminds me of tobacco. Also get a bit of fruit - tough to pin down. Peach maybe.
- Golden and quite cloudy
- Big diacetyl butter popcorn flavor. Has a bit of fruit mingled in. A little acidity. Brett funk is fairly firm and also get some bandaid flavor. Finishes with a bit of bready malt
- Work in progress. I think this has the potential for bold flavors but needs time
- Brewed:
- 5/8/16
- Overview:
- First pitch of ECY 34 Dirty Dozen
- Went with a malt bill of Pilsner and Malted and Flaked wheat
- Added Maltodextrine to give the bugs more food
- No hops in this batch
- Status Notes:
- Left this beer on the yeast cake longer than intended. Finally transferred into a glass carboy and moved a new beer onto this cake
- Tasting Notes:
- Earthy and leather funk dominates. Get a bit of spicy and fruity ester character as well
- Golden and clear
- Lightly sour. Has a bit of leathery funk flavor in the background along with some wheat and bready malt
- Fairly complex with some strong flavors
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