Flanders Red

[Shawn]

5.5 gallons into fermenter, based on 80% efficiency.

1.77 kg Vienna
1.77 kg Pilsener
454 g Munich
227 g Caramunich II
227 g Special B
227 g Wheat malt
227 g Aromatic

Mash at 154 F for 60 minutes.

90 minute boil, 7.25 gallons pre-boil.

28 g U.S. Goldings pellet hops (4.5% AA) (60 min)
1/2 tsp yeast nutrient (15 min)
1/2 tab Irish Moss (5 min)

Wyeast 3763 Roselare Blend
Ferment at 65-70 F. Leave in primary in a cool, dark place for approximately 1 year. A pellicle may form on top of the beer; when it falls it's usually a good sign that it's time to bottle.

OG 1.057, FG 1.008, IBU 15, SRM 14.7, ABV 6.5%

Carbonate to 2-2.5 vol CO2.

[Kyle]

wow, how come you age it so long?

[Shawn]

The yeast strain also has a mixture of several bugs... some Lactobacillus, Pedio, Brett, etc. So, it takes a long time for the sourness and funkiness to really develop. Apparently it can occur faster if you keep the beer at a higher temp, but it's not supposed to be as complex or tasty.

Never done a sour beer before, so should be interesting. Going to be difficult to wait this long...

[Gil Breau]

Going to be difficult to wait this long...

An untapped keg is like unwrapped gifts on xmas morning......my patience is really thin on waiting

[JohnQ]

A year, OMG.
I nearly killed myself over waiting 5.5 weeks for the ESB...tried to make it 6 but alas, I am weak.
The IPA behind it might make it to Kyle's magic 6 though.

[Shawn]

On top of that, I'm still waiting for the BIere de Garde to age a bit more (3 months in the bottle), and I have two beers lagering in the deep-freezer.

Should be a large influx of beer in another 4-6 weeks, however...

[Kyle]

Waiting 6 weeks or more from brew day is much easier when you have alot in the pipeline, in mine now, for example, I have: Porter, Hefe, Dubbel, IIPA, Dunkel, IPA, Cider, and Wine. As a keg is emptied, I free up space to brew again, and there are no moments of being out of beer and needing to rush it. The taste of the beer is infinitely better too. Having several carboys is a must for this.

[Shawn]

Normally having stock to drink isn't a problem for me... and I guess I wouldn't say it is now. Several of the "drinking" beers on my signature down there are actually down to 1-2 bottles.

But, I have 4 beers in carboys right now, so everything should be fine soon.

You'd think brewing about every 2 weeks would leave you with more beer...

[JohnQ]

Waiting 6 weeks or more from brew day is much easier when you have alot in the pipeline, in mine now, for example, I have: Porter, Hefe, Dubbel, IIPA, Dunkel, IPA, Cider, and Wine. As a keg is emptied, I free up space to brew again, and there are no moments of being out of beer and needing to rush it. The taste of the beer is infinitely better too. Having several carboys is a must for this.

That is very true, that's really how I made it to 5.5 weeks with the ESB. Right now on tap I've got ESB, Cascade Pale Ale, Czech Pilsner, Porter and Bock (and of course the wine cooler for SWMBO).  The IPA on the shelf is probably going to make it 7 weeks or so before being kegged.  After that I'm in a gap phase though and I'm starting to get worried, can't wait for the grain order!  I'm determined to make the next one my first AG.

[Richard]

The rather simple math is this... One carboy every two weeks is 2.5gallons (or about 9.5L) a week. That's equivalent to about 30 12oz bottles. About two-three bottles a night, 5 "work" nights a week; and about 6 bottles a night on the weekend amounts to about average for me. That's 22-27 bottles, leaving 3-8 "spare". Brewing every 2 weeks is therefore just enough to keep ahead of my own personal consumption...

Your results may vary: I'm currently 230lbs with a BMI of 25.9 (very slightly above normal), so my metabolism (and alcohol tolerance) is rather strong.

[Shawn]

I'm not sure how much I average... I mean, obviously it varies, and obviously, I likely drink more than I should!

You're forgetting a very important factor for me... being married to someone who is as passionate about craft beer as I am. So... think of it more like 24 bottles for me, and 24 bottles for her.

[Kyle]

Yeah, I don't drink nearly that much... homebrew on tap is even more tempting than with bottles, since you don't hasten the time til the next horrible 4 hour bottling session. But... Its dangerous to ignore moderate consumption. By the way once you start kegging, you'll probably produce 5-6 liters less per batch, since the 5 gallons on the kegs are the US standard (not Imperial), and bottling leftovers gets old fast.

In the winter I don't usually "do" session brews, so I'm usually looking at alot of calories per pint... sipping beers.

My kegs go pretty quick though, with me using the brews in cooking, my partner having some, and sharing it with people who come over.

[Shawn]

When I brew 5-5.5 gallons, I actually mean 5 U.S. gallons anyway, since I use Better Bottles to ferment (6 U.S. gallons), and could never fit 23 L in there with enough headspace, anyway.

I, too, end up giving a lot of homebrew away, even though I sometimes find when a batch is running out, I almost start thinking of the rest of the bottles as little children... just can't stand seeing them go off from home <sniff>.

4-hour bottling session? Ouch! I can see why you keg! For me, it's always been at the end of my "want-list" since I started brewing a little over a year ago, mainly due to that I wouldn't trust myself with kegs in the house. When I bottle, it takes about 30 minutes to sanitize everything, and 1 hour tops for racking, bottling, and clean-up (thanks to help from my wife), so I don't mind it that much at all.

[Kyle]

Yeah, my dishwasher does not have a sanitize option, so all 70 bottles (4 spares for possible breakages) would be scrubbed individually and sanitized individually. I haven't bottled since my undergrad days in 2005. Now, living here, the Picaroons bottles are bigger and sturdier than the generic 12oz beer bottle, so the time would be much less I suppose, but I have no intention of finding out.

[Shawn]

What I've been doing is rinsing each bottle with hot water a couple of times after I pour the beer from it, then leaving them until bottling day, so they're already clean. I sanitize them with Starsan solution, just pour a bit in, shake it for a few seconds, pour into the next bottle, etc., so it doesn't take as long as it would if you had to clean and sanitize on the same day.

Apparently, for anyone who's interested, you can bake your bottles sometime before bottling day... just cover each with a bit of foil, bake in the oven (put them in when it's cool) for a couple of hours at 250 F or something (I'd have to check to confirm), then let them cool overnight with the oven door open. That way, they're sanitized (actually, sterilized I think), and as long as the foil remains on, they're good to you need them on bottling day.