East Coast Bugs

A year is just a recommendation. Let the beer speak to you. If you take a sample and you don't think its ready. Let it sit longer. You don't tell wild ales when they are ready they tell you.

 

You don't have to. Most people are afraid that if they don't their beer could be ruined by dying yeast. I think its just a matter of personal preference. I've done both ways before. If you rack to a secondary container, you risk aeration which promotes acetobacter growth as well as possible contamination.

 

Definitely agree, I should have stated that I think the beer I have going is tasting great and is ready to be bottled in my opinion. I didnt set out with a timeline, but from my experience with this particular yeast, a year is more than enough time.

 

According to Wild Brews, the producers of Flanders Red beers do primary in stainless for a few weeks, then transfer off the yeast cake into oak. Flanders Red typically don't have as much Brett funk as a Lambic does because there is not a yeast cake for them feed on over the long.

 

Aren't traditional lambics aged in oak as well after transferred from the coolships?

 

Coolship just cools the beer down overnight and introduces some of the local yeast and bacteria, the fermentation and aging takes place in the oak barrels.

 

I wouldn't say it takes place on a yeast cake, that is what I was getting at.

 

A Lambic is sent to the coolship for the night, then transferred to horny tanks for a few days which are ripe with house cultures, then the actively fermenting beers is transferred to oak barrels to complete fermentation. The Sacc is still highly active at this point, then floccs out after primary is finished. The beer remains in this same barrel with all the Sacc which dies and is eaten by the bacteria and Brett over the rest of the fermentation.

 

Yeah, that is true. I guess what I am getting at is I dont think you need to rest it on the yeast cake long term to get funkiness. You kind of inferred that in your post. There a lot of really funky beers that just get the brett added in the secondary. I was told by a pro brewer once that it doesnt take much.

 

At Cantillon they meticulously clean their barrels. The yeast and bacteria are from the air and is introduced to the beer in the coolship, not a horny tank. I was referring to them as the "traditional" brewer". I know other brewers use horny tanks but in a traditional sense, I do not believe they are commonplace.

 

I believe that a traditional lambic is fermented in 1 vessel which means it sits on the yeast cake until it is ready for blending/bottling.

 

There can be a few factors involved in that such as a Lambic producer doesn't pitch Brett but relies on the natural occurring yeast in the brew house walls and ceiling for the coolship and the the residents deep in the wood of the barrels. Most US brewers pitch commercial cultures giving larger quantities to work faster. I have also read (and experienced) that pressure on the Brett can cause more funk quicker, ie, bottle with it and it will kick in fast and hard like Orval.

 

With bug county there is no reason to do that

 

I hear The Bruery used al's yeast blend from east coast yeast for grand funk ale road, is it the same yeast, and is that beer long gone?

 

I doubt it is the same exact blend, even if was bug country. I want to say he changes Bug County, adds to it.

As for the beer, I had to trade for it 2 years ago, so yes, it is more than likely long gone. It was probably a brewery only release.

 

Oh gotcha, thanks for the info

 

I saw the blend on love2brew last week and would have picked it up if the shipping wasn't so high. I would love if ECY became readily available.

Let me know how the beer turns out .

 

Does anyone live close enough Princeton Homebrew in NJ that would be willing to ship a vial of ECY20 to NH? I contacted them directly and looks like they cant/wont ship, can work it out for beer,paypal, or however you want to go about it, let me know would love to give this a whirl.
-Chris

 

FWIW, on love2brew.com you can change the shipping from UPS to USPS and the shipping is MUCH cheaper. Just click on the little drop down box and change to "Other Carriers" or whatever it's called.