Tips for bottling a year old Lambic

A lot of this is personal preference. I like a high carb in sour beers and shoot for close to 4 volumes. Use a calculator(something like http://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/ or brew cipher). I do use champagne style bottles at that level. I would add champagne yeast at bottling because it's cheap insurance and much less painful than trying to add yeast later. Carbonation at room temp might be just a little longer than a non sour beer due to the ph level, but assuming this has pedio I find that these beers go through a second ropey or "sick" phase for a few months after adding sugar and don't typically drink them earlier than that. If you're dying to sample earlier, use a carbonator cap or force carb in a keg.

 

1) I like to add champagne yeast at bottling in case the bugs are tired/dead. It's just extra insurance that you don't end up with 3 gallons of flat beer after all that aging time.
2) I like to carb my lambics around 3.5-4. Bottle in thick, champagne style bottles.
3) Leave the cake behind. Save it for another batch
4) Aged beers will have less co2 in solution than normal beers, so most priming calculators will be off. Add an extra .4-.6 volumes to the calculator to account for the co2 lost in the aging process.
5) I would wait at least 4 weeks to test one, but I find it really starts to come into its own around 9-10 weeks.

 

@WalkerHater
Our Lambic, 5gallons, will hit 1 year in January. Interested in how your three styles are going.

What kind of fruit did you use/how much/how long and the resulting taste.

How did the gallon that you bottled without fruit turn out and how much yeast and carbonation sugar were added. Are you happy with the carbonation levels?

Same question on CO2 for the fruit Lambic.

Did you pull the last gallon off of the yeast cake? Or, is it still on it?

Thanks!

 

1) should I add yeast to the bottling bucket to ensure proper carbonating?
- definitely a good idea. typically 1-2g of dry yeast per 5 gallons. I prefer dry white wine yeast over champagne yeast for priming.

2) What level of CO2 should I shoot for, what is best suited to Lambic?
- Unblended straight Lambics traditionally should be close to STILL in the fermenter and generally not primed very highly (1.8 - 2.4v range). If you stick with this lower range you can get away with using standard bottles (provided your beer was definitely at terminal gravity prior to packaging). It's fruit lambics and blended lambics (gueuze) that are traditionally known for effervescent high levels of carbonation in the 2.5 - 3.5v range. With these carbonation levels, I'd say the thicker glass and corks become more important. But it's your beer and entirely up to you if you want to follow tradition or not.

3) Would I be better off getting some of the yeast cake into the bottling bucket instead of pitching fresh
- nope.

4) How much sugar should I use for the recommended level of Carbonation
- check a priming calculator after you select the carbonation level you want. Make sure you know the volume of beer in your bottling bucket precisely.

5)Typically how long does it take for carbonation to take place?
- generally 3 months in my experience. I'd test a bottle at 2 months, then test again as each month goes by.

 

Technically speaking Lambic is supposed to be flat; Gueze is blended Lambic that is then carbonated.
Instead of champagne or wine yeast I will make a small starter from dregs of a commercial (Cantillon, Drie, etc) or homebrewed sour and use that for bottle conditioning. Carbonation takes place quickly for me using that method; usually a few weeks or so. That said, these beers tend to have a dull flavor period that lasts from a few weeks to a few months after bottling.