Howdy, I'm not very experienced home brewing, I've brewed up a couple great batches (IPA's, kolshes, etc.), but I really wanna start doing lambics, wilds and the like. I'm going to be brewing a saison this coming week. After it is done fermenting I will be bottling half and the rest I would like to sour. I live in rural Alberta, Canada and there is quite a lot of farm land over here. The summer and early autumn is usually 20-30c high 5-20c low. I would like to add it to a small carboy, throw in a bunch of French oak (probably soaked in pinot noir) and put it out in a friends field for the summer and early autumn. Would this be a good idea? Should I add a sour yeast blend for the winter, or just bug it and let it sit indoors? Will the temp changes destroy the process? I'm thinking it would be a fun experiment. Back in the day they didn't have a super controlled environment, so I think it could really give it a good, farmhouse-y taste. Cheers and thanks for any input! (Temps in farenheit; 68-86 high 41-68 low
1) Sounds pretty warm, the Belgians aim for highs in the 40's and 50's 2) You only need to expose the beer for a couple hours, after that you can airlock like normal
Thanks a lot. I'll try and sync up the wild fermentation wild they combine the fields in the fall, eh? Thought I've heard after that you're supposed to ferment and age at lower temps for sours before. Any other things I could do to make it go well?
I'd think your beer would get oxidized very quickly. If you left it open to oxygen like that post fermantation.
Traditionally the open part of the spontaneous fermentation is cooling the wort down to room temp after the boil. The is prior to fermentation, and goes for about 12 hours or however long it takes to get to room temp. Like said above, if you leave an already fermented beer open, you will oxidize it, and it will not be drinkable.
I agree with the above regarding oxidation. I would suggest brewing a small starter and use spontaneous fermentation (leaving it out in the open to cool) to collect the bugs in the starter. Then once the wild fermentation finishes out the starter (and you make sure it tasts good) add it to your pre-existing beer.
wild fermentation is very risky. if all goes well, you get a funky fermentation that can be different and enjoyable. if you live in the Zenne Valley you get some really cool results, if done right. in Alberta you are on your own. exposing your beer to ambient air for too long is also a good way to infect your beer with a nasty bug. back in the day they did things a very specific way in very specific environments. no brewing in summer, only brewing with the same wooden equipment, exposure to a certain environment for a certain length of time etc. go for it, but be prepared for vinegar or worse. Cheers.
So, I brew spontaneously. 100%, in Northern California (about 20 miles east of San Francisco). The results have ranged from fantastic to disgusting, mostly on the pretty-good end of the scale. The worry with long open exposure isn't oxidation (for me), it's the other bugs you can pick up that like an O2 rich environment, those can throw off flavors -- from acetobacter giving you a bucket of vinegar to a beer that tastes like acetone.
