another moving thread - help with four different sours

[othellomcbane]

Sorry to make yet another of these moving threads, but I'm running through too many ideas in my own head and need some advice.

Here's my situation. I'm currently living in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn. My roommate just got a job across the country, so we're both moving out at the end of February. I've endured too much roommate / landlord stress in the city, and I'd like to have a lot more space, so I'm very likely moving upstate.

I currently have four very different sours aging. I need advice on what to do with each. Sorry for the length of this post, but each beer is at a different point in its life and I feel like I need to run through them individually.

#1 is a one gallon Belgian rye strong ale (I stole 1 gallon from a bigger "clean" batch). Brewed two months ago, OG was 1.072, pitched sour dregs from Russian River and Jolly Pumpkin when gravity was at 1.018, and took a reading today, only down to 1.016. So I know this one has a while yet to go; bottling isn't an option because they'll almost certainly explode. Which leaves me two choices: A) Just dump it and save the yeast cake, which I'd then pitch into a new 5 gallon batch within a few months of moving into a new apartment, or B) Since it's in a 1 gallon jug, I could actually just hold it in my lap very, very carefully while my girlfriend drives upstate to her house, taking care to prevent it from sloshing around as much as possible. Once it was at her house, I could let it ride as long as necessary until it was ready to bottle. There is the risk of the beer turning out somewhat oxidized, I assume, but that seems better than just dumping it altogether. Plus, it's only a gallon of beer, not a huge batch.

#2 Another one gallon batch from similar circumstances as #1. Dregs from Anchorage Bitter Monk and Reinaert's Flemish Wild ale. I brewed 11/2/2011; OG was 1.062 and the gravity as of today is 1.006, down from 1.007 when I checked it two weeks ago. It's still going down, but I guess it's possible it could finish up in the next month. Probably the same choice as #1, and I'm leaning toward also trying to transport this one up there in my lap and let it finish out.

#3 The third one is a 5 gallon batch of sour graff (cider/beer hybrid). I made this with 3 gallons of pasteurized cider from a local orchard, 1 gallon of unpasteurized cider from a local orchard (which contained some kind of wild yeast) and about a gallon of wort. In addition to the wild yeast from the cider, I pitched a Wyeast packet of Brett B and some Belgian Ardennes. "Brewed" on November 15th 2011. I forgot to take an OG reading but the gravity on 1/03/2012 was 1.008 and the gravity today was 1.007. So it's still going down slightly, but I'm not sure how much more it will drop. (It's possible I just couldn't read such small increments on my hydrometer accurately and it hasn't gone down at all.) Because of the gallon of wort, I don't expect it to hit as low of a FG as a regular cider would. So this is the hardest one for me to figure out what to do. Since it's 5 gallons, carrying it upstate in my lap is not an option; pretty much my only option is to bottle it. I can wait another month before bottling, but if it still seems like it might drop a bit more after another month's time, what would the best procedure be? Avoid adding any priming sugar, use thick champagne bottles, and just check a bottle every few weeks to make sure they're not going to explode, and pasteurize them if necessary? Really not sure what to do with this one, so suggestions are very welcome. All the samples I've taken so far have been delicious, so I'm going to be really upset if this one gets screwed up.

#4 is a 100% Brett sour-mash Berliner Weisse. I did a sour mash, boiled the wort, then pitched 100% Brett cultivated from Orval dregs. This was brewed 12/16/2011. I'm not too concerned about this one because I know 100% Brett beers finish up relatively quickly. OG was 1.050. Gravity on 1/03/2012 was 1.010 and gravity on 1/17/2012 was 1.010 so this one might already be done. I'm still going to give it another two or three weeks before I bottle but I'm relatively sure I'm safe here.

Oh, and kegging isn't an option for any of these. Sorry again for the length of the post, I appreciate any feedback.

 

[Mermaid]

heh.. you're in quite a pickle there.

The 1 gallon batches are easy to move. Get some bubble wrap, wrap the carboys in bubble wrap, throw some packing tape around the bung to hold them in place, and put them in milk crates to hold them up. Put them on the floor of the backseat, packed with pillows, etc. to keep them from shifting.

How old is the graff? You're looking at what... a 4 hour drive? If you have the means, try finding some sort of sturdy container to hold your 5 ga. carboy. Either some sort of plastic tub, surrounded by towels, comforters, etc. to hold it in place. Again, tape the hell out of the bung to hold it in. I'm a firm believer in not bottling before it's time, and given that it's maybe a half day drive to upstate NY from NYC, you just have to figure out where to put the carboy so it doesn't move. Are you moving in a small truck or throwing your stuff in a trailer? I'd say, load the truck or trailer, and load the carboy in last,surrounded by as much soft stuff as possible. You just want to prevent it from tipping over and from stuff getting in.

You have my sympathies. I'll be moving in May. Either across the country, or within the state. Have been holding off on brewing a sour until I get where I'm going - but it's definitely on my docket for this year. I do so love Rodenbach

 

[Clann]

Make sure all your "Kids" are straped in and noone needs to potty. load up and go.
I moved all my beer "bottles, carboys,buckets" 260 miles with only one bottle of beer injured along the way. 1 fermentor did stay cloudy for a while but was no biggie.
Strap them in and go if you have no other options.
Drive safe!

 

[othellomcbane]

heh.. you're in quite a pickle there.

The 1 gallon batches are easy to move. Get some bubble wrap, wrap the carboys in bubble wrap, throw some packing tape around the bung to hold them in place, and put them in milk crates to hold them up. Put them on the floor of the backseat, packed with pillows, etc. to keep them from shifting.

How old is the graff? You're looking at what... a 4 hour drive? If you have the means, try finding some sort of sturdy container to hold your 5 ga. carboy. Either some sort of plastic tub, surrounded by towels, comforters, etc. to hold it in place. Again, tape the hell out of the bung to hold it in. I'm a firm believer in not bottling before it's time, and given that it's maybe a half day drive to upstate NY from NYC, you just have to figure out where to put the carboy so it doesn't move. Are you moving in a small truck or throwing your stuff in a trailer? I'd say, load the truck or trailer, and load the carboy in last,surrounded by as much soft stuff as possible. You just want to prevent it from tipping over and from stuff getting in.

You have my sympathies. I'll be moving in May. Either across the country, or within the state. Have been holding off on brewing a sour until I get where I'm going - but it's definitely on my docket for this year. I do so love Rodenbach

Well, my situation is a little better than having to do that. My girlfriend lives about an hour upstate, which isn't bad. She also drives into the city regularly, so I can move stuff well before my actual moving day... meaning that I don't have to do all of that strapping into a container in a Uhaul; I can just move them one at a time, holding them in my lap myself, in her car. If it takes 3 trips, that's not a problem.

You think I could even transport the cider up there in the car, holding it myself to keep it secure, and have it come out fine? I've also thought about topping them off again with a small amount of fresh wort to get some fermentation and purge any oxygen that may be in the headspace. I realize this will lengthen the amount of time until they're done, but once I've moved them, it doesn't matter how long they take to finish out.