RECIPE & PROCESS: WTWTA: Ira & Judith

As I look back through old posts, and try to organize the blog, I came to realize that I had made an initial recipe post for the clean beer that eventually became the two sour beers that are Ira and Judith. I also gave some random updates with lofty ideas about all this crazy stuff I was going to do, and on how things were going. But there was no single recipe to show for the beers, what I actually did with them, what the process was, aging times, fruit additions, blending, bottling, etc. If someone wanted real info on the beers and how to make them, I didn't have gathered source of all the information. So, here it is. I have given the original recipe and fermentation specs, then outlined the process from there on in the notes.

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Stats:
American Blonde Ale
10.5 gallons
OG 1.037
FG 1.010
20 IBUS
4 SRM
3.5 ABV
90% Efficiency
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Fermentables:
11.0# Pale Malt
1.0# Carafoam
0.5# Honey Malt
45 minute mash @ 153*F
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Boil 60 minute
60 mins 0.20 oz Zeus 15.4%AA
25 mins 1.00 oz Amarillo 10.4%AA
0 mins 1.00 oz Amarillo 10.4%AA
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Kettle Additions:
1/4 tsp Gypsum - Mash
3/8 tsp Calcium Chloride - Mash
1/4 tsp Gypsum - Boil
1/2 tsp Calcium Chloride - Boil
1/4 tsp Yeast Nutrient 12 mins
1 tab Whirfloc 12 mins
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Fermentation: 
Chill to 62*F
1.5L Starter WY 1469 West Yorkshire (2 @ 5 gals each in Better Bottle and conical)
0.5L Starter Orval B. Brux (1/2 gallon)
Ferment 68*F for 7 days
Ambient for 21 days
Bottled 18 - 12 oz bottles w/ 4 carb tabs each from Better Bottle only
Soured all remaining beer
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Notes:After fermenting the batches the Better Bottle portion was fruity, clean, melons and peaches, finished at 1.010. The conical tasted phenolic like sweaty fruit at 1.007 (conical was a source of numerous infected batches, this beer was fermented to see if I was able to rid the infection, and was unsuccessful). The Brett portion was tart, funky, and fruity. This Brett portion was added to the conical portion and allowed to age for 3 months with 1# of honey creating a massive pellicle. The Better Bottle portion was hit with dregs from multiple commercial sours and homebrews as well as 1 cup of my BOS Lambic and aged for the same 3 months. This was all done in 1 gallon jugs and 2L bottles. I also fermented 1 gallon of mead on yogurt to culture the Lacto. All these beers were then combined into 2 5 gallon glass carboys for extended aging. 

Ira:

One carboy received 3 mangoes and one Papaya. I also pulled a portion of the beer and used it to ferment 1 gallon of mango juice. This aged with no oak until January 2013. It was then transferred off of the mango pulp into a 5 gallon Better Bottle along with the mango juice and dry hops - 2oz of Falconer's Flight blend (lots of pineapple), 0.5oz Calypso (apple and pear) and 1oz of Galaxy (citrus and big passion fruit). Bottled 2 weeks later without adding new yeast. The uptake of Oxygen caused the Pedio to throw lots of diacetyl in the bottles that took a few months to clear.

Review

Judith:

The second carboy was allowed to bulk age from March to September on its own with no additions. In September I picked 4# of fresh blackberries and turned them to a smoothie in the blender. I transferred half a gallon of this beer into my Lambic just before bottling it, and poured the blackberry soup into the carboy. I topped off with some of the Lambic for added bugs and to keep headspace full. I also added a few ounces of French Oak at this time. 2 weeks before bottling (same time dry hops were added to Ira) I added some American Oak chips for more oak aggressiveness. Bottled with new wine yeast. Carbed in 2 weeks.

Review