[RFC] Sour Rye, blended with apple/plum cider.

[Micha]

Hi there people! I'll be brewing a bit of an experimental brew for a forthcoming contest, and would appreciate your knowledgeable opinions. I've brewed before a toned down version of this—a mildly sour version with the same grain bill—that came out great.

Recipe Specifications (sorry for the odd values, it's translated from metric):
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Boil Size: 6.14 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.08 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 4.49 gal   
Bottling Volume: 3.96 gal
Estimated OG: 1.047 SG
Estimated Color: 5.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 23.9 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
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Amt       Name                                       %/IBU         
4 lbs     Rye Malt (Weyermann) (3.0 SRM)             46.2 %        
1¾ lbs    Pale Malt, Golden Promise (Thomas Fawcet   20.5 %        
1¾ lbs    Pale Malt, Maris Otter (Thomas Fawcett)    20.5 %        
10 oz     Carahell (Weyermann) (13.0 SRM)            7.7 %         
7 oz      Dememera Sugar (2.0 SRM)                   5.1 %         
0.4 oz    Green Bullet [13.50 %] - First Wort 60.0   23.9 IBUs     
0.4 oz    Green Bullet [13.50 %] - Boil 0.0 min      0.0 IBUs      
1 pkg     Workhorse Beer Yeast (Mangrove Jack's #M   
1 oz      Green Bullet [13.50 %] - Dry Hop 4.0 Day   0.0 IBUs

As for the process, it goes like this:

• Mash everything for medium body,
• Boil wort for 15 min
• Transfer to oxygen tight container,
• Pitch (cheese) lactic bacteria,
• Let it sit at around 90F for 36 hours, to achieve 3.6 pH
• Boil 60 minutes, adding hops as per recipe
• Ferment for 3 days at 67F using clean yeast
• Add ~1.5 quarts of apple/plum cider to the beer (the cider is homebrewed with a french cider yeast)
• A few days after that, add dry hop and an ounce of medium roast french oak
• Bottle 4 days after that.

I am aiming at something crisp enough to let the plum and rye spice shine with the help of the sourness. The oak is there to reinforce the perceived dryness and tie the whole thing together.

Any comment on the recipe or the process is warmly welcome. I plan to brew that on August 3rd, the contest being on Sept. 16th (beer handed the day before).

Cheers!

 

[Micha]

No cheese?

 

[Micha]

Well, then it's a go! Souring has started, and we'll boil the diacetyl away tomorrow. Any late comment?

 

[Micha]

Some late report on that brew. I've iterated it a bit; the first time, it came out a bit too dry, and the oak just felt artificial. In later iterations, I've replaced the 3.5# of 2-row with 2# MO and 1# Vienna, and removed half of the Demerara, and all the oak. Also, lactic souring was done using probiotic yogourts, which was a bit unidimensional. I've experimented a bit with adding a touch of vinegar (see https://www.themadfermentationist.com/2009/04/brewing-sour-beer-with-acid.html) with good success.

 

[Grod1]

after reading that link i googled barrel aged sherry vinegar and there are some that look so good. thanks for the link