Bottle Conditioning - Russian Lullaby

April 13, 2009

So this was the day I finally got around to bottling Russian Lullaby, my first Belgian Strong Golden Ale. With this beer I tried to do several things to improve and bring out the traditional BSGA character. The final step would be in my bottling and conditioning where I would add yeast along with sugar directly into the bottling process (the same yeast used during fermentation).

Here's a little rundown on bottling condition Belgian ales:
http://www.byo.com/stories/techniques/article/indices/14-bottling/1212-on-the-yeast-guide-to-bottle-conditioning

With some help from my buddy Colin, I was able to target my between 3.5 and 4.0 volumes of carb. This would mean that in addition to the yeast, I would also be using quite a bit more sugar than my normal bottling process. I would end up with about 16 oz. of sugar (1 cup).

Process:

1. Boil sugar for 5 mins. as normal
2. Let cool to approx. 75 degrees
3. You want to mix yeast and sugar solution at same temp)
4. Mix yeast and sugar into the bottling bucket
5. Continue bottling as normal

Another key here was to try and store the bottles around 70 degrees (or more) for at least 3 weeks to allow the yeast to do its thing. I did this next to a heater with a cardboard barrier.

All in all the process was quite easy and I am just pumped for this beer. Attenuation was fantastic and it came out to 7.5% ABV.

First taste from sample: Color was crystal clear gold (my lightest brew) with aromas of grass and apples; mildly sweet with lemons, flowers and yeasty notes; almost cidery in the uncarbed form; yeah!!!!


Photo of the sample: