On Monday the 13th I will be getting back onto the homebrewing train. It has been 12 months since my last brew. Man, thats painful to say. I have really been feeling the urge lately and I can’t wait any longer. I will be brewing a recipe I was working on for the birth of my daughter Ellie. I wanted to brew it just before she was born and open up the first bottle on her first birthday. Unfortunately I didn’t get to brew it. Who would have figured that when your wife is 8+ months pregnant it would be hard to find time to brew? Well, I will finally brew it. This beer will also be my first attempt at a sour beer. The idea was for a dark, lightly sour brew with a touch of roast. Something slightly in the vain of Thiriez’s Vieille Brune but more funky. The beer will be fermented with Safbrew T-58 dry yeast in primary for about 2 weeks. I will then rack it and add the Wyeast Lambic Blend. I’ll let it do its thing and just try to forget about it for 5 or 6 months. I’ll then add a small ammount of medium toast french wood chips (that I have boiled for a while to lower the astringency) and let that age for a while. Then bottle and try it on Ellie’s birthday.

It’s really a beer with a lot of firsts. First time with Vienna malt as a base malt, first time using flaked corn, first time with t-58 yeast and first time with any souring organisms. So with that many new variables it could go horribly wrong. But what would be the fun if you know exactly how it’s going to turn out, right?

Expected OG: 1.076 SG
Expected IBU (using Rager): 24.1
Expected Color: 30.9 SRM
Boil Duration: 60.0 mins

Belgian Vienna Malt 5.000 kg (79.4 %)
Flaked Corn/Maize 0.400 kg (6.3 %)
Belgian Aromatic Malt 0.300 kg (4.8 %)
Belgian Special B 0.250 kg (4.0 %)
Belgian Chocolate Malt Debittered 0.200 kg (3.2 %)
Belgian Debittered Black Malt 0.150 kg (2.4 %)

East Kent Goldings (5.5 % alpha) 30 g Pellet Hops used 60 Min From End

Mash Schedule
Single Step Infusion (68C/154F) for 60 mins

Primary Yeast: DCL T-58-SafBrew Speciality Ale
Secondary Yeast: Wyeast Lambic Blend