Flanders Red & Other Sour Tasting.

Group photo, smile!

I wanted to sample my Flander's as I had done over the fourth of July with my lambics. I thought I should try the other sours to see if the results were as disastrous. A quick recap of my early lambics: Nothing great, a couple of acceptable, a few bads. Lets see how this goes.

So this second sampling of sour beers could not have started out with lower expectations. I mean How do you go down from, utter disappointment and near total failure? There is hope though, time does funny things to sour beers, so that could be a blessing as well as the potential to blend and have two things become more than the sum of their parts. I need to blend two beers from this to enter into the NHC to meet my entries. Lets see what I have to work with.

(Please read more after the break.)

Book Review: Brewing with Wheat.

This book is a good companion to Wild Brews. Why? because they talk about a few of the styles which were not the seminal focus of that book. This book also explains the intricacies of the unique ingredient which distinguishes so many continental European styles from their American and British counterparts. While reading this book I couldn't help thinking that these Brewers Publican books should just have been one large book with lots of cross notes. Brewing is so intricate a craft a times even when you are making a Belgian sour ale by the book (that book being Wild Brews) you might not be told exactly what you're gaining from the wheat which is the base of your beer. I recommend this book if your even considering brewing a beer with 5% wheat so you can know all about which variety and why you might want to use it.

(please read more after the break.)