The lambic brew is fast approaching and much has been resolved since my last post on the brew. I have the recipe settled, a new checklist drawn up, and spreadsheet of steps from three different turbid mashes. The system is also ready to go and should have all its tests completed Friday. 

Turbid Mash Clarification 

I finally got in touch with the author of the turbid mashing article from the Jul/Aug 2008 issue of BYO. He has been very helpful in emails and has pointed me to a couple of resources that could be useful (unfortunately won't have either in time). My primary reason for contacting the author was to get some insight into the calculations that he was using for calculating the steps. I tried all of the normal calculations against his schedule and others, and none of them worked out correctly. Let me summarize what he told me:

• His schedule is interpreted from the Brewing Techniques article by Jim Liddil in the May/Aug '97 issue. Jim apparently got his information directly from Cantillion.
• Admits that the calculations don't seem to add up using Palmers equations, but that maybe this is due to the thickness of the mash
• Suggests adding boiling water slowly and stirring a lot until the temperature stabilizes.
• Suggests mapping out a schedule and sticking to it, but not to worry if you’re off by 3-5 degrees from the step temperature.
• Suggests I take TONS of notes to retrace my steps later
  
• Suggests I get the Brewing Techniques back issues written by Jim and also the "Lambic" classic brewing series book which is out of print.
• Suggests I use as much un-malted wheat as possible, because it seems to add a lot of character to the beer. Un-malted flaked wheat is a good alternative.

I was moving toward most of these things anyways, but it helps to have someone re-affirm my conclusions and fill in some of the blanks. I'm still waiting on one last email about yeast. Currently my plan is to dump the WLP 655 (Belgian Sour Mix I) directly into the carboys with the wort. I was just wondering if it may be beneficial to use a standard saccharomyces based yeast first, then pitch the sour blend after a week (suggested in the Brewing Classic Style book). Another thought would be to do this in my conical first, then transfer the beer to the carboys and pitching the sour blend then to prevent the beer from being on the saccharomyces yeast for so long. I'm leaning towards my original idea of just pitching the sour blend because it has saccharomyces yeast in it anyways. 

Oak Barrel Simulation

Over the xmas break I had a chance to visit my sister and brother in law. My bro-in-law and I were able to get some oak dowels turned to fit in the two carboys to help simulate conditions in an oak barrel. The oak should impart some oak flavor (even though it is not charred), provide a home for the wild yeast and bugs, and let in a sufficient amount of oxygen to feed the Brettanomyces and curtail the other bad bacteria. Was reading in the "Wild Brews" book last night that the silicone stoppers are also very porous and will let in oxygen, so maybe I should use a wood stopper, but for now I think this will do fine. Check out the 3 pictures below to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Testing

I have been testing the last few days and most everything seems to be working great. I had to plug a few leaks around the new thermowells and the float switch decided to break, but other than that its working great. I'm going to be doing one more last test today to verify the float switch problem is corrected and determine how long the burner takes to heat the HLT.

Details

If you’re interested here is the meat of what I have put together for the brew. It includes te recipe, worksheet, and turbid mash example sheet.

• Recipe: PDF|BTP
• Worksheet
  
• Turbid Mash Examples