Raisin & Tamarind Flanders Red

I currently have 12 Fermenters of Flanders Red beer aging.  This provides quite a few options for blending which makes for an interesting process and, hopefully, produces a more complex and bolder flavored beer than I could get otherwise.  The downside is that there is a lot of beer to maintain and, if left unfed, the batches will likely start to die out and cease to produce interesting beers going forward.  I'm trying to find a balance where all fermenters get used each year so that there is room to top each one up with fresh new beer.  I've decided that blending 4 batches of beer each year is good way to ensure that enough beer is pulled to make room for a reasonable amount of fresh beer.

I would consider a Plain blend and a cherry blend to be traditional (most based on the fact that Rodenbach makes both of these) and a raspberry blend to be a pretty natural fit.  I assume I'll always produce these three.  This leaves a fourth version in which to experiment with.  Last year, I made a Spiced Flanders Red which leveraged the flavorings of Coca cola (which has sort of a parallel flavor profile to Flanders Red - to my mind at least).  This made an interesting beer, that I enjoy drinking, but isn't something I'd want to have 2 batches worth of at the moment.

For this years Experimental Flanders Red I decided to try out and interesting ingredient found in Indian cuisine:  Tamarind.  I purchased a small container of concentrate which is used in sauces.  It has a sour and slightly bitter flavor which kind of resembles dark fruit.  These are flavors in the neighborhood of a Flanders Red but also distinctly different.  I have no idea how much to use so I've decided to go with an entire small canister which is 227 g (maybe a cup in terms of volume).  

The nearest fruit I could compare Tamarind to is Raisin.  To accentuate this relationship I decided to also add 5 lbs of Raisin to the mix.  I had previously used 15 oz of Raisin in my 2017 English Barleywine where they seemed to contribute a subtle wine-like character (also used 1.5 lb in a Dark Saison that I haven't bottled yet).  

To accentuate the wine character I'll also add a couple ounces of port soaked oak.

What impact will 227g of Tamarind concentrate and 5 lb of Raisin have on 6 gal of Flanders Red?  We'll find out.  This is an experiment after all - so there are no wrong answers.

For blending the base beer I've chosen to use mostly bold flavored beers that can handle being the star of the show if the Tamarind and Raisin turn out to be mild in character.  I also chose a couple based on the desire to use up more of the mild beer for Fermenter top up purposes.  Beers were chosen based on recent tasting notes.

 I have selected the following beers for this blend:

• Fermenter #2:
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:  Quite fruity with some earthy brett character as well as some mineral character
• Appearance:  Reddish brown and fairly clear
• Flavor:  Lightly sour.  Has a really nice fruity flavor up front that suggests a sweetness.  Earthy brett character comes in with the finish.  Some bready malt comes through as well
• Mouthfeel:  Medium light bodied and pretty dry. Has a prickliness that hits the tongue and back of the throat.
• Overall:  Pleasing fruit flavor is pretty bold.  Nice level of complexity
• Volume:
• 2 gal
• Fermenter #7:
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:  Over ripe fruit and a mineral character.  A bit musty as well
• Appearance:  Light reddish brown and a little murky
• Flavor:  Light sourness.  Has a lemon like character.  Some overripe fruit and a bit of earthy brett character comes through.  
• Mouthfeel:  Light bodied and dry.  A little prickling acidity
• Overall:  Flavors are pretty mild.  Not terribly complex range of flavors in this one
• Volume:
• 1 gal
• Fermenter #9:
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:  Overripe fruit and a bit of mineral character.  Also get earthy funk
• Appearance:  Reddish brown and a bit murky
• Flavor:  Medium sourness with a fruity character.  Some mineral flavor along with earthy and leathery flavor.
• Mouthfeel:  Light bodied and pretty dry.  Has a bit of prickling acidity that hits the back of the throat on the swallow.
• Overall:  Fairly mild beer with a bit of complexity
• Volume:
• 1 gal
• Fermenter #10:
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:  Strong overripe fruit and a bit of earthy and leathery funk.  Also has a sort of spiciness to it
• Appearance:  Reddish brown and fairly clear
• Flavor:  Medium sourness.  Has a fruity flavor fairly well balanced with earthy and leathery brett.  Has a fairly prominent bitter bite in the finish which is pleasant
• Mouthfeel:  Medium light bodied and dry.  Prickles the back of the throat slightly.
• Overall:  Boldly flavored and has a nice bit of complexity.  Quite a pleasant beer.
• Volume:
• 2 gal

I will let this beer age with the adjuncts for 3-6 months.  I plan to backsweeten and then bottle pasteurize this batch which ensures a bit of sweetness in the final product that helps a lot with drinkability and balance.

Blending Notes:

• 8/8/20:
• Added the 4 beers to a bucket fermenter
• Added the Raisin and Tamarind concentrate

• Added oak

• Set this up with a 3 piece airlock to ferment
• 3/12/22 - Bottled up this beer with 1 pack of rehydrated Red Star Premier Cuvee yeast and 2 lbs of Home made Invert #3.  Got 61 bottles of beer.  I'll plan to sample one of these ever week to check for carbonation levels before pasteurizing them.  The tamarind concentrate seems to have sunk to the bottom of the fermenter so I don't anticipate it will be a huge component in the flavor