Lynne’s Basic Lambic

five gallons, extract; OG = 1.045; FG = 1.016; IBUs = 0

Ingredients:

• 7 lbs. Briess wheat syrup extract
• 2 oz. stale whole leaf Saaz hops
• Starter of Wyeast 1056 (American Ale)
• Wyeast 3272 (Lambic Blend)
• 8 oz. oak chips
• 1.1 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:   

Note: You need to use hops that have very little bitterness and flavor left in them. The main purpose of using hops at all in a lambic is for the preservative quality. Stale the hops by spreading at room temperature on baking sheet for at least 2 weeks.    

Bring 5 gallons of water to a boil, add hops and wheat extract at beginning of boil. Cool to room temperature and pour into sanitized fermenter. Add Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) yeast, aerate and keep in primary fermenter for two weeks. Rack to secondary and add Wyeast 3272 (Lambic Blend) yeast and oak chips. Ferment at 65° to 70° F for at least three months. Prime and bottle when pH reaches 3.2 to 3.6.

All-grain version:   

For the all-grain lambic, replace the wheat syrup extract with 5 lbs. pale malted barley and 3 lbs. flaked (unmalted) wheat and mash at 150° F. Sparge with 170° F water and bring the runnings to a boil in brew pot. Add staled hops and boil for 1 hour. Cool to room temperature and pour into sanitized fermenter. Add Wyeast 1056 yeast, aerate and keep in primary fermenter for 2 weeks. Rack to secondary and add Lambic Blend yeast and oak chips. Ferment at 65° to 70° F for at least three months. Prime and bottle when pH reaches 3.2 to 3.6.