I bought the Dawson’s Kriek kit from NB and then modified it slightly based on a Hanssens Kriek recipe. The time has come to finally bottle my Kriek after aging it for 1.5 years.
The OG was 1.061 when I pitched the yeast. I used the Wyeast 3278 Lambic blend in the primary. I then racked it onto the cherry puree and then added Wyeast 5733 Pediococcus cerevisiae. The beer has not been touched since I racked it to the secondary in March 2011 except for keeping water in the airlock.
When I bottle the beer I am going to add Wyeast 4021 Champagne yeast to ensure proper carbonation. I typically use the TastyBrew calculator to determine the amount of priming sugar to use. Based upon the recommendation for a Sour Belgian on TastyBrew, I should target 3.0-4.5 volumes of C02. I had the following questions about this:
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What volume CO2 have people used when bottling a Kriek in the past and how did they turn out?
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If I target a high amount, say 3.5 volumes C02, is this safe for regular beer bottles or should I go with Champange bottles? (I have never bottled something this high and I am a little nervous to loose this batch after waiting 1.5 years)
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Most priming calculators, including TastyBrews, compensate for the residual CO2 left in the beer from fermentation as a function of temperature. My question is, since it has been 1.5 years since the primary fermentation, is this still valid?
I know some of these questions may have been asked before but I could only find some partial answers.
Anyways, thanks for your help!!!
Also, after watching the Brewing TV Episode 39 on sour beers, I am definitely going to save the cake and add it to another beer. Anyone else do this? What did you blend it with and how did it turn out?
