Calder

Recipes 

I'm wondering if this is something different, or if people have done this before.

I have an all-Brett beer going. Pitched Brett-B at 1.060, after 4 weeks was clearing and was down to 1.016 and stable. I racked the beer off the yeast, and then added ~20% of the cake back in. 3 weeks later it is cloudy and started fermenting again.

This is my third time doing this. The first 2 started at similar gravities (1.055-1.060).

The first got down to 1.018 and stopped and cleared. I racked and re-pitched part of the cake, and by 12 weeks had gotten down to 1.004.

The second got down to 1.008 and stopped and cleared. I racked and re-pitched part of the cake and by 10 weeks had gotten down to 1.002.

dcHokie

Recipes 

I'm wondering, for an all-Brett beer, wouldn't just rousing the yeast during the primary ferment accomplish the same thing?

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Fermenting/Aging: Wild Ale, Repas du Matin Sour Table Beer, Flanders Red, Sour Solera, Le Batard Saison Solera, 3Brett Saison, Brett English Brown, OudBruin, Sour Solera, Lambic, Sour Stout, Barleywine Barrel
Bottled/Kegged: Brett Belgian Rye Stout, Berliner Weisse, FlandersPale, FunkyDirtyBlonde, Brett Old Ale, Dark Saison, Brett IPA, Orval clone, Funky Fig Saison, Mango BGSA, JP Bam clone, Rapture RIS, '09 RIS, '10 Oak Barleywine

stevehollx

Recipes 

Regarding rousing the yeast--isn't disturbing the pellicle a bad thing to do, since it will expose the Brett to more oxygen (and potentially create higher levels of acetic acid)?

ReverseApacheMaster

Recipes 

The oxygenation from racking is probably essential to restarting fermentation from brett to kick it out of the primary fermentation qualities into the secondary fermentation qualities. You could probably do the same thing by agitating the fermenter to degas the beer, just like when making mead.

dcHokie

Recipes 

I'd be curious to see the difference in fermentation doing a side-by-side experiment with 1 fermenter getting agitated and 1 fermenter getting the rack & re-pitch treatment.

Calder, you mentioned your 3rd time doing this. Has this consistently been your process for funky beers, or is this a change in process for all-Brett beers?

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Fermenting/Aging: Wild Ale, Repas du Matin Sour Table Beer, Flanders Red, Sour Solera, Le Batard Saison Solera, 3Brett Saison, Brett English Brown, OudBruin, Sour Solera, Lambic, Sour Stout, Barleywine Barrel
Bottled/Kegged: Brett Belgian Rye Stout, Berliner Weisse, FlandersPale, FunkyDirtyBlonde, Brett Old Ale, Dark Saison, Brett IPA, Orval clone, Funky Fig Saison, Mango BGSA, JP Bam clone, Rapture RIS, '09 RIS, '10 Oak Barleywine