Ale yeast and roselare blend

[wxman73]

I want to brew a Flanders style red. From what I have read is to use an ale yeast and a roselare blend. My question is do i pitch the yeast and complete fermentation and then pitch the roselare, or do i pitch both at the same time?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[foltster]

You really can do either but I would recommend pitching them both at the same time, as described by OldSock in American Sour Beers.

There are not many good reasons to keep the roselare blend out of primary fermentation, but one I have thought of is if you don't want to introduce the bacteria into your primary fermentation vessels.

Another thing to try would be to pitch some viable commercial bottle dregs to increase the variety of organisms.

 

[wardens355]

The Roeselare blend contains a Belgian yeast strain, so you don't really need to pitch another ale strain with it. You can just pitch the Roeselare by itself, and if desired, add any dregs as suggested above whenever you pop open a sour beer with active culture.

 

[wxman73]

Thanks folster. My primary are plastic buckets, so i was hoping to keep the bacteria out of them.

 

[foltster]

Just expect this to take a long time to get funky in secondary (a year maybe?) and it might not ever get sour enough. Roselare is really intended as a primary pitch. Dregs will help in that regard as well.

 

[wxman73]

Just expect this to take a long time to get funky in secondary (a year maybe?) and it might not ever get sour enough. Roselare is really intended as a primary pitch. Dregs will help in that regard as well.

I was planning on aging it for a year or so in the secondary. Should I just use single stage fermentation and pitch both right into my glass carboy?

Thank you both for your help!

 

[mitchard]

Yeah, just toss the blend into whatever you plan on long term aging in and leave it on the cake I guess. I asked about leaving a Flanders Red on the cake in primary, and it seems to be just fine from what everyone is saying.

Depending on your batch size, it might be a tight fit. I used a 5 gallon glass carboy for my primary with Roselare, and it went to town. Definitely use a blow off tube. A six gallon carboy might be more ideal, and is what i'll probably use in the future.

 

[Calder]

Toss in only the Lambic Blend. No other yeast, no starter.

It may take up to 4 days to get going, but that is good. The longer it takes to start fermenting, the longer the bugs have to start their colonies.

 

[wxman73]

Alright, i think my plan is to only pitch the roselare in my 5 gallon carboy with a blow off tube. Thanks!

 

[Wahoo]

When I use Roselare, my first batch with it, I tend to use it as-is with no other Sacc. Subsequent generations, I primary with sacc and secondary with Roselare. Works for me.

 

[chefchris]

When I use Roselare, my first batch with it, I tend to use it as-is with no other Sacc. Subsequent generations, I primary with sacc and secondary with Roselare. Works for me.

This is what I do. A little boring and takes forever on the first pitch.

 

[mitchard]

Alright, i think my plan is to only pitch the roselare in my 5 gallon carboy with a blow off tube. Thanks!

Expect it to take off. I did my Flanders Red in a 5 gallon carboy with Roselare, and it was a gusher for a few days with blowoff. The growler I used for the blowoff reservoir ended up with a couple inches of yeast sludge in it.

 

[masonsjax]

The first use of Roeselare is bland IME. Transfer it off and reuse the cake asap, trust me on that. The addition of dregs is a good recommendation. Make as many sours as possible and let them sit for at least a year, 18 months would be better even.