Hey guys, We just brewed a Belgian Blonde based on Vinnie's posted Redemption recipe. The beer is finishing up in primary right now (holding steady at 1.008) and should hopefully be transferred to secondary very soon... We're looking for some advice in two areas: 1) Yeast (Wyeast 3763 - Roeselare was our original plan. We planned on giving it 18-24 months. Any better ideas?) 2) Oak Cubes (Cabernet soaked french oak sitting in my refrigerator right now. Just not sure how much to use, when to add it to secondary, and how long it will need to sit to impart the desired flavor. Should we wait until the yeast has done its business before adding the oak and just taste it every few days?) Any advice would be appreciated. Cheers! Darren
If you want a beer as sour as the original Beatification, you'll probably need to pitch dregs from a few bottles of unpasteurized sour beer. Roeselare is pretty mellow on the first pitch, even in primary. You don't have much in the way of carbohydrates left, so you'll need more aggressive lactic acid bacteria. If that doesn't get the job done, feed it some maltodextrin. I like less oak for longer; .5-1 oz of oak for the entire time in secondary is my standard. You can start low and add more later if the beer needs it. If you want to taste the wine, blend in some at bottling to taste. The original beer was in NB La Folie barrels, so not much wine character. Best of luck!
