In the Fermentor: Daddy's First Sour

Near as I can figure, Sours are to the 2010s what American IPAs were to the 1990s. They're the hot style in the US beer world and every serious beer drinker I know covets them. I'm personally not obsessed with Sours, but that doesn't mean I'm not anxious to brew one.

My favorite Sour beer style is Flanders Red. More specifically, I'm a huge Duchesse de Bourgogne fan. I love the tart Red Wine quality it brings to the glass. While I'm not going to attempt to clone it, I am aiming for a beer that's similar.

In keeping with my 2013 goal of doing more with less, my recipe is pretty straightforward, while still checking off all the style guideline boxes. In addition, I'll be adding an ounce of oak cubes to the secondary for a little extra something. The oak cubes will be soaked in Oloroso Sherry first to simulate the effect of the Casks that are used for one of my favorite Single Malt Scotches.

Having done a fair bit of research on Sours, I've decided to introduce Wyeast's Roeselare Ale Blend in the Primary Fermentor rather than start out with a regular yeast strain. After three weeks, I'll transfer the beer to a Secondary and then wait for a very, very long time. Once the beer hits the one year mark, I'll start taking monthly samples to see how the sourness is coming along. When the beer hits a point where I'm happy, I'll bottle it.

The big key here is patience. As in 12-18 months of it. The beer I'm brewing today won't be ready until at least this time next year at the earliest. Let's hope I'm still blogging then, because I'll be anxious to share the results of my labors.

Here's my five gallon plan. I'll report back periodically with updates as the beer progresses.

Grains:
8 lbs Franco-Belges Vienna Malt
1 lb Briess Flaked Corn
12 oz Castle Cara 45
4 oz Castle Special B

Hops:
0.5 oz Saaz (7.6% a.a.): 60 min

Extras:
1 oz French Oak Cubes soaked in Oloroso Sherry (Secondary Fermentor)

Total Boil Time:
90 Min

Yeast:
Wyeast 3763 - Roeselare Ale Blend

Mash Schedule:
Protein Rest: 122F for 20 min (Barley Only)
Saccharification Rest: 155F for 60 min (All Grains)
Mashout: 168F for 15 min

Original Gravity:
1.059
Estimated Final Gravity:
1.010

IBU: 15
SRM Color: 12

Fermentation Schedule:
3 Weeks Primary
12-18 Months Secondary
2 Weeks Bottle Conditioning

Cost: $24 per case
Commercial Equivalent: Duchesse de Bourgogne: $130
Savings: $106

I'm not making those numbers up. My local store sells 4-packs of Duchesse for $24 a pop.

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