100% Brett Wheat beer!

5 oz cara pils
8 oz flaked oats
1 lb 7 oz red wheat
2 lb 13 oz white wheat
5 lb 8 oz pale malt

.5 oz perle 60 min
Fresh orange zest 2 min
2 oz amarillo 0 min

WLP644 Brett Brux Trois with oranges,clementines,or tangerines added at primary havent decided 100% on which one ill add.

Anyone have any luck with fermenting this brett with fruit? How much fruit to add? Everything else look ok?

zachattack698 said:

5 oz cara pils
8 oz flaked oats
1 lb 7 oz red wheat
2 lb 13 oz white wheat
5 lb 8 oz pale malt

.5 oz perle 60 min
Fresh orange zest 2 min
2 oz amarillo 0 min

WLP644 Brett Brux Trois with oranges,clementines,or tangerines added at primary havent decided 100% on which one ill add.

Anyone have any luck with fermenting this brett with fruit? How much fruit to add? Everything else look ok?

Click to expand...

When using Brett as the primary yeast strain it behaves very similar to regular sacch. You'll want to get a large starter going about 10 days before you need it. Brett will go thru 2 different reproduction periods, which is why 10 days is recommended - on a stir plate, at room temp if possible. The 8oz of oats in there will add some body, same with the wheat. Brett doesn't produce glycerol like regular sacch does, so without something to replace that mouthfeel, the beer could come out on the thin side.

As far as the fruit goes, the citric acid from these fruits won't have any effect. The amount of fruit would be determined by the intensity that you desire. I'd probably start with just the zest and see where that puts you, then add the rest in secondary. Keep in mind that you can always add more, but you can't take it out.

This sounds delicious! I actually have a brand new wheat beer that I drew up that uses clementines and orange zest. Which leads me to a question that occurred to me that might be relevant to you too.

I know that oily substances kill head retention. I know that fresh citrus peel in general is full of oil (hence the wonderful smell). What I don't know is whether adding fresh orange peel (as opposed to the usual dried) to the beer would cause problems with head retention. Is it that any old oil will do it, or is it only specific types? And would the quantity of oil in a couple ounces of orange zest be enough to have an effect, or would it be insignificant? And finally, if it were an issue, would it be succesfully mitigated by the carapils in the above recipe?

With that said, I really want to know how your beer turns out. I think the wlp644 and amarillo combination sounds perfect, and with the rest of what's going in I think you're going to have a winner here.