ten months have passed since I brewed and racked over sixty gallons of lambic into a neutral french oak barrel.  this weekend curiosity got the better of me and I decided to sneak a sample.

• after contemplating multiple sampling techniques, I decided to avoid unnecessary oxygenation by pulling a my sample from a small hole drilled into the barrel head.  from what I have read, vinnie cilurzo of russian river pioneered this method, and his advice proved to be right on the money.  you can check out funk factory’s tutorial as well (however, I would drill the hole about halfway up to reduce the force of the sample stream).  also, be sure to be ready with a glass and stainless nail at hand before drilling (mise en place!).
• my sample came in at a gravity of 1.005 (5.45% abv).  I took the following notes:
  • lambic solera
  • appearance: pale gold with sediment in suspension
  • aroma: assertive barnyard with lots of funk
  • taste: tannic with a complex funk up front and a lemony, acidic finish
  • overall: I’m very happy where this is headed at 10 months, and am excited to see further development (increased intensity in flavors/aroma?)
•   It’s going to be hard to hold out for another couple of months with this one, but I have a good feeling it will be worth the wait… 

Tags: drill, lambic, sample port, solera, stainless nail

This entry was posted on Monday, January 21st, 2013 at 8:21 pm and is filed under beers, ideas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.