Add more Brett?

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mdweil

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I've got a cherry brett fermenting right now. It's been there three months and when I took a recent gravity reading and tasting sample, it just is not what I'm really wanting - simply not enough cherry or horse blanket flavor.

What if I add more cherry puree and more brett and leave it for another three months?

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!
 
mdweil said:
I've got a cherry brett fermenting right now. It's been there three months and when I took a recent gravity reading and tasting sample, it just is not what I'm really wanting - simply not enough cherry or horse blanket flavor.

What if I add more cherry puree and more brett and leave it for another three months?

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...

The only problem you likely have here is TIME. Three months is not long enough for the Brett to do its thing. I would give it at least 9 months minimum to develop the correct flavor and aroma profile. You could start sampling as early as maybe 7 or 8 months but I would bet you would be happier if you can resist the temptation and just wait.

Did you primary pitch with 100% Brett? Did your yeast have Pedio and/or Lacto? What yeast specifically did you use?
 
I used WLP644. I'm not sure if I want to add more yeast, but I have really thought about more cherry puree.
 
mdweil said:
I used WLP644. I'm not sure if I want to add more yeast, but I have really thought about more cherry puree.
Click to expand...

Get some Brett brux from ecy from love2brew, pitch in. Let it run for 3 months. Check aroma and flavor, need more cherry flavor, then add some. Problem solved
 
OP, I think tha you may be letting impatience cloud your judgement.
Like the others said,you need to wait some more. Like, at least another 3 months for the Brett to come into it's own.
Just brew yourself a cherry beer to drink in the meantime and try to forget about the Brett beer for a while.
 
It's not that I want to drink this now; I know that I need to wait. I brewed it in early October and don't have plans on touching it until at least February. I was taking a gravity reading of other beers and thought lets check, I then tried the sample in the test jar. I was very disappointed with the lack of cherry flavor in the beer.

I am mainly concerned with increasing the cherry flavor. I don't want to use extract flavoring in the small bottles at the HBS and would prefer to use puree. - Could I add more cherry puree now? Would that hurt the beer?

Thanks!
 
mdweil said:
It's not that I want to drink this now; I know that I need to wait. I brewed it in early October and don't have plans on touching it until at least February. I was taking a gravity reading of other beers and thought lets check, I then tried the sample in the test jar. I was very disappointed with the lack of cherry flavor in the beer.

I am mainly concerned with increasing the cherry flavor. I don't want to use extract flavoring in the small bottles at the HBS and would prefer to use puree. - Could I add more cherry puree now? Would that hurt the beer?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Usually the best strategy for adding, and retaining, fruit flavor in a sour or brett beer is to let the beer develop for x months and then after it is 'ready', then add your fresh fruit or puree. When you add it early in the process all the sugars will be eaten quickly and very little of the bright fruit flavor will remain.

To the OP, I'd let this beer ride for a few more months and once you are happy with it, then add your fruit for a month or two before bottling/kegging. Also, there is some great info on Trois and its' flavors/aromas in this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f127/wlp644-brett-b-trois-326861/
 
WLP644 is just brett, no sacc. The flavors will be fruity rather than the 'Rustic' flavors associated with brett when used as a secondary yeast. I'm sure the flavors will change slowly over time, but like a Saison yeast, the flavor profile is already set.

For the cherry flavor; did you use fruit or puree? I feel you need to use fruit, and add the stones to get the right flavor. The stones add an almond dimension to the cherry flavor.
 
Calder said:
WLP644 is just brett, no sacc. The flavors will be fruity rather than the 'Rustic' flavors associated with brett when used as a secondary yeast. I'm sure the flavors will change slowly over time, but like a Saison yeast, the flavor profile is already set.

For the cherry flavor; did you use fruit or puree? I feel you need to use fruit, and add the stones to get the right flavor. The stones add an almond dimension to the cherry flavor.
Click to expand...


For this batch I used Cherry puree wine base from Vinter's Harvest. 96oz in total. I've really thought about adding more, but when is the key issue. - Would adding another brett strain and more cherry puree mess it up? I've made these in the past but this one is bland, even this early.

What do you mean by stones?

Thanks!
 
mdweil said:
For this batch I used Cherry puree wine base from Vinter's Harvest. 96oz in total. I've really thought about adding more, but when is the key issue. - Would adding another brett strain and more cherry puree mess it up? I've made these in the past but this one is bland, even this early.

What do you mean by stones?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

the stones are the seeds inside the cherry. also called pits.
 
What brett strain are you using? And are you using it as a primary strain or a secondary? If you're going all brett it's going to act like a sacc strain when used as a primary yeast. You can try adding Wyeast's brett lambicus which, when used as a secondary strain and given a long period and some complex sugar can impart cherry aromas. Another option is adding cherry juice at the tail end of aging and bottle directly after that. I feel like there are missing details though, like recipe details we dont know.
 

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