I went back up to
O'so yesterday to check on the barrels and install the
sample port. It has already been 50 days since we
brewed the lambic! Wow, time flies. However, when you consider the beer will have to age close to 2 years, that isn't much time at all. At this point in the game, it is more of a sensory check for off flavors. I am expecting it to taste/smell essentially like a berliner weisse. I was also curious if there would be any differences between the barrels. There are 14 barrels, so hopefully they will develop differently and we will have some diversity to blend with.
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| Drill a 7/64" hole and catch a sample |
As expected, they all taste/smell like a berliner weisse, which is a good sign. We are on the right track. There wasn't a whole lot of variety (obviously it is still very young), but there was some. Some barrels were more lemongrass, some were more minerally, some were more brett/funky. Aside from tasting and smelling the beer, it is a good chance to take a gravity reading. All the barrels we tested were hovering around 5 brix (1.009 SG).
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| Testing gravity with a refractometer. |
All and all I am pretty happy with the progress.
2 comments:
What is the larger cork in the bottom of the barrel for? Racking with fruit in the barrel? I am trying to come up with a good idea before drilling into my barrel head.
Thanks,
BW
@BW - The cork on the bottom is a drain port. Instructions here: http://funkfactorybrewing.blogspot.com/2012/07/oso-collaboration-brewday.html#drainport
When the time comes to empty the barrel, this cork will be pulled out and a tap will be inserted.
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