When I prepped my own blue corn whisky barrel (from Sacc/Infidel as well) for buggy brews, I first brewed an English barleywine and racked into the barrel to pull as much heavy oak and whisky character out as I could so as not to overpower the Flanders. The English barleywine spent 3 weeks in...
This original batch is still in secondary; it's eclipsed the one-year mark and is developing nicely with lots of complexity. The key is to allow plenty of time. This is hardly a style for the impatient. :)
In theory, the pellicle will fall though the only thing that it shows is the presence of oxygen (which you need to sufficiently develop the acetic notes crucial to this style. Too much oxygen and it can become undrinkable without blending. Poke through the pellicle and draw a sample. Don't...
Here's a historically correct recipe for the 1850 recipe of Whitbread London Porter; the only adjustment I made was with hops for simple economy. Goldings or Fuggles would have been the hops of choice, but the amounts necessary for 63 IBU would be be excessive. The 'Brown Malt' listed is a...
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Figure it proportionally. Pour a pint and add lactic acid in small amounts and taste. Once you've hit a level you like, redact that to the total 5 gallon volume.
What toman8r says is true, with some clarification - DMS is really only a concern with very pale all-malt lagers, because there's nothing for the DMS (which is always present to some extent) to 'hide behind', so to speak. Because lager yeast is known for being so clean, flaws will be exposed.
Got curious and pulled a quick sample for, you know, evaluation. This sucka is going to be glorious! A soft Brett character in the nose, followed by the complex sour/sweet balsamic-type flavors I drool over in the style. Still quite young but showing hints of what it will become with more age...
Sweeeeeeeeeet. :mug:
The only mild I've been able to find in the US without too much trouble is Moorhouse Black Cat. Of course, bottled export versions will be a higher ABV than their UK cask equivalents.