Lambic

Classification: Belgian ale, lambic, all-grain

Source: Martin A. Lodahl (pbmoss!malodah@PacBell.COM) Issue #681, 7/17/91

Marvelous! Crystal clear, with a pale amber color. A marvelous fruity aroma, with a distinctive Brettanomyces tang. Sour, but not excessively so, nutty, fruity, with a sort of "old leather" note. Apple-like finish.

Ingredients:

7 pounds, 2-row Pale Malted Barley
3 1/2 pounds, brewers' flaked wheat
1/2 pound, crystal malt
1 ounce, Chinook hops
1 ounce, Willamette hops
1 ounce, Northern Brewer leaf hops
Wyeast 1007 (German Ale) yeast
Pediococcus damnosus culture
Brettanomyces bruxellensis culture
1 teaspoon, yeast nutrient
3/4 cup, dextrose (priming)

Procedure:

Baked all hops for 1 hour at 300 degrees and left 3 days in the open air. Mash grains and flaked wheat in 14 quarts of 130 degree water with 1 tsp gypsum added, for 5 minutes. Protein rest for 20 minutes at 140 degrees. Starch conversion for 60 minutes at 158-155 degrees. Mash out 10 minutes at 170 degrees. Sparge with 170 degree water. Boil 2 hours with hops added near the beginning. Cool. Pitch yeast. After 12 days I pitched the Pediococcus. I have to admit, I didn't much care for the taste of either the beer or the starter solution. It only took about 10 days (and some premature hot weather) to produce decided ropiness, so I pitched the Brettanomyces.

Specifics:

O.G.: 1.056
F.G.: 1.015
Primary Ferment: 12 days
Secondary Ferment: 9 months