Lambic Blending: How to carbonate it right?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by Bowdoinbeerboy, Feb 4, 2014.

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  1. Bowdoinbeerboy

    Bowdoinbeerboy Initiate (0) Sep 28, 2006 Maine

    I have two lambic style beers fermenting in my basement (brewed 1 six months ago, its gravity is now at 1.010) and the other I just brewed last week. I will brew another in about 6 months ( I want to have plenty of blending options later on).

    I plan on letting both of them sit for quite awhile longer before doing anything with them but here is my question:

    When I go to bottle I plan on blending them, more of the older ones than the younger ones. Does anyone know of a calculator or a "rule of thumb" for what gravity the younger beer(s) should be at to provide the right amount of residual sugars to properly carbonate the beer without producing bottle bombs?

    Any advice is greatly appreciated on this front.
     
    #1 Bowdoinbeerboy, Feb 4, 2014
  2. atpca

    atpca Pooh-Bah (1,652) Jun 10, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    It's really going to depend on what bugs you've got going. Taking a gravity reading on the oldest beer in your blend is the best place to start calculating... FG of the old stuff, FG of the new stuff, desired carbonation *should* help you figure out what your blend should be for a desired CO2 level.

    I tried to slice it a bunch of ways on paper and then gave up... when I bottle mine I brew another batch of the same base recipe and prime with fresh wort.
     
    #2 atpca, Feb 5, 2014
  3. atpca

    atpca Pooh-Bah (1,652) Jun 10, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    #3 atpca, Feb 5, 2014
  4. OldSock

    OldSock Maven (1,418) Apr 3, 2005 District of Columbia

    The rule of thumb is that, assuming you started with identical microbes and wort, you’d want the blend to be ~.003 higher than the oldest/driest component. I’d blend to taste, and add sugar to make up the difference if needed. However, it could take as long for carbonation to develop as the age difference between the oldest and youngest component beers. Hope that helps!
     
    #4 OldSock, Feb 5, 2014
  5. Bowdoinbeerboy

    Bowdoinbeerboy Initiate (0) Sep 28, 2006 Maine

    If the wort was the same but the microbes different how might that impact your calculation? Ex. in wort #1 I pitched some Cantillon dregs, in Wort #2 I pitched Drie Fonteinen and Allagash dregs.
     
    #5 Bowdoinbeerboy, Feb 5, 2014
  6. OldSock

    OldSock Maven (1,418) Apr 3, 2005 District of Columbia

    Then there is basically no way to do it other than guessing, unless all the beers are allowed to ferment to terminal (in which case the rule of thumb would still work). The problem is that the, microbes in the younger/sweeter beer could be more attenuative, and go to work on carbohydrates left in the older/drier beer, throwing everything out of whack. You could swap some of the beers from each carboy around now so they all have the same microbes. That'll reduce variation though, which will make blending less dynamic.
     
    #6 OldSock, Feb 5, 2014
  7. Bowdoinbeerboy

    Bowdoinbeerboy Initiate (0) Sep 28, 2006 Maine

    Is it correct that "terminal" gravity is 1.000 or is there any chance that the bugs will take it below that mark?

    PS Thanks for your help on this, I am a dedicated reader of your blog.
     
    #7 Bowdoinbeerboy, Feb 5, 2014
  8. OldSock

    OldSock Maven (1,418) Apr 3, 2005 District of Columbia

    Terminal just being as low as the bugs are going to go. Could be 1.000 or a bit higher. I've never had a beer finish below 1.000, but it is possible. You just need to monitor the gravity to make sure none of the batches have dropped for at least a month prior to bottling.
     
    #8 OldSock, Feb 5, 2014
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