Brü It Yourself | Barrel Fermented Sour Ale

Author: Jake Huolihan

Wooden barrels are often used by brewers in the production of sour beer, not just for aging, but fermentation as well. Various microbes including wild yeast and acid producing bacteria take up residence in the permeable wood then naturally inoculate wort transferred into the vessel, producing deliciously tart, dry, and characterful beers.

Undoubtedly used as vessels for fermentation since the dawn of brewing, barrels carry a certain amount of romanticism for me, a reminder of our less technologically advanced past, during which it’s likely sour beers were more the rule than the exception. Despite this sentiment, I’d never actually fermented a beer in a barrel, instead treating them as secondary vessels for aging. Until recently, that is.

A couple years ago, I made a sour ale that I racked into a 5 gallon barrel following primary fermentation. After nearly two years of aging, the beer was ready, so I kegged it up and was left with a empty barrel teeming with microbes. Inspired by some delicious commercial sours I knew to be foeder fermented, I finally had the opportunity to try my hand barrel fermenting a beer from start to finish.

| Making Barrel Fermented Sour Ale |

I’ve used my barrel for a few sours, so it presumably contains a healthy population of bugs from cultures including Wyeast 3763 Roeselare, Russian River Beatification dregs, and multiple New Glarus Vintage dregs. Prior to brewing, I prepared the barrel by swelling with boiling water and a small dose of sulfites for the purposes of both cleaning and eliminating the weaker microbes. Knowing Lambic is traditionally fermented in barrels, I designed a recipe of low OG that would be unhopped and pitched with Crooked Stave Brett to help it get started.

Barrel Fermented Sour Ale

PROCESS

After racking the aged beer out of my barrel and getting it all prepped, it was time to make a new batch of wort. While the strike water was heating up, I weighed out and milled the grain.

With strike temperature reached, I incorporated the grains into the water then checked to make sure I nailed my target mash temperature, which was a bit high in order to produce a dextrinous wort for the bugs to munch on.

The mash was left to rest for 60 minutes.

At the end of the mash rest, I ran the sweet wort off to my boil kettle.

The wort was then boiled for 60 minutes, during which it did not receive any hops.

Once the boil was complete, I quickly chilled the wort with my IC before taking a refractometer reading confirming it was at my target OG.

After letting the break material settle out, I first transferred the wort to a Brew Bucket that I carried from the garage to my basement, where my 6 gallon/23 liter barrel resides. I then racked 4 gallons/15 liters of the wort into the barrel, leaving 1 gallon/4 liters in the Brew Bucket.

Next, I pitched a pack of Inland Island Brett, which is sourced from Crooked Stave, into the the barrel, while a pack of Saflager W-34/70 was pitched into the leftover wort. The main reason I did this was to avoid a messy blowoff.

After about 5 days I topped off the barrel with the fermented beer from the Brew Bucket.

A hydrometer measurement of the blended beer suggested to me it would likely drop a few more points while aging.

I left the barreled beer alone for 2 months before pulling another hydrometer sample showing it dropped to 1.003 FG.

Pleasantly sour at this point, I proceeded with packaging.

The kegged beer was placed in my keezer where it was burst carbonated for a brief period before I reduced the gas to serving pressure. After a couple weeks of conditioning, it was clear, carbonated, and ready to drink.

| IMPRESSIONS |

Up until the last year or so, fermenting in a barrel isn’t something I’d ever really considered, rather in my mind they served the purpose of storing already fermented beer. Having already aged a previous sour beer in my barrel, I had a decent idea of what to expect in terms of the profile it would impart, though I couldn’t have been sure how much wood character would be picked up as the beer was fermenting in the barrel.

I served this beer to a handful of friends both straight from the barrel as well as once it was carbonated and on tap. One of the more commonly discussed characteristics, which was shared by nearly everyone who sampled the beer, was its clean sour profile. Despite being pitched with various microorganisms including Brettanomyces, it seemed the lactic acid bacteria really dominated, which I reckon may be due to the relatively brief time the beer spent in the barrel. Additionally, while some tasters perceived a touch of barrel character, it wasn’t described as being very strong, which could be a pro or con depending on one’s personal preference. Nobody who sampled the beer noted any off-flavors and it was generally agreed to be a clean, refreshing sour ale that would make for a great accompaniment to mowing the lawn.

I have to say I was very pleased with how this beer turned out, it far exceeded my expectations and was an absolute delight to drink. I perceived it as having a vanilla nose with a balanced lactic tartness that yielded to a smooth flavor of similar notes with a pleasantly round sourness. For only spending 2 months in the barrel, the character came through well, though for my next batch, I plan to leave it alone for a solid year.

If you have thoughts about this recipe or experience making something similar, please feel free to share in the comments section below!

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