I haven't been brewing a whole lot lately but ever since the Brewnosers competition I've been thinking a lot about sour and funky beers and what I can produce. If you know me you know the gears are always churning (mad science!). So, here's what I'm going to do. Solera. 58L sanke keg.
In case you're unfamiliar with what a solera is, it's when you have a (large) fermentation vessel and after a period of time take a portion of fermented beer out and top it up with fresh wort or (patially) fermented beer. You then calculate the average age of the solera. It helps develop complex flavours and armoa, funkiness, sourness, etc. You can change the characteristics over time based on the organisms you introduce and your wort.
Here's some inspiration: http://www.themadfermentationist.com/20 ... arrel.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The author of that blog is also the author of the book American Sour Beers. I'm currently reading that and Wild Brews.
I'm going to brew 3 5 gallon batches into separate primary fermentors. The recipes, yeast, and bacteria are yet to be determined. I want to split them to develop complexity.
When I see fit, these will be transferred into a 58L sanke keg, probably with some additional brett and lactobacillus. It will stay untouched for 9 - 12 months.
This will be a special keg fermentor! I have designed a special apparatus in order to eliminate oxygen exposure when adding and removing beer. I really don't want much acetic acid character. This apparatus will have a ball lock port for CO2, a sanitary sample / transfer valve, and a blow off. The fermentor will be on a cart and hooked up to a temperature controller and heat belt. I'll post pics as I go.
After it's up and running my plan is to every so often remove about 5 gallons and replace it with fresh wort and micro-organisms. When I remove wort I'll decide what to do with it, maybe another fermentation on fruit, oak it, keg, or bottle it.
This is going to be a lot of fun.
![Rockin :rockin:](./images/smilies/headbang.gif)
I'm looking forward to the results, sharing, and trading bottles.
Feedback welcome!
Oh, and I'm currently looking for some 1/2" straight stainless tubing.
-Rob