tdogg

Recipes 

My original thread; http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/planning-brett-old-ale-questions-295429/

I am planning to brew my first "sour", an old ale similar to the 11-11-11 Old Ale that many HBTer's did. But first I wanted to pick the brains of people with Brett experience.

Here's my basic plan: brew the old ale recipe, SG around 1.080. I will boil down the first gallon or two of runnings to get lots of kettle carmelization. Then ferment "normally" with an English yeast strain. then secondary in a 5 gallon keg, adding some form of brett to secondary. secondary for 6-10 months and bottle condition.

Any issues with this plan?

I'm not afraid of a fair amount of brett funk, but i dont want so much that it will cover up the caramel and malt notes. If i mash low-ish (148-151) so the sacc can finish lower, will this decrease brett character?

the original 11-11-11 thread used wyeast Olde Ale Blend, which is no longer available. Wyeast says they used Brett L. some people who brewed it said the Brett L contributed a fruity-belgiany-sherry like flavor. what brett strain should i use?

any guidance is helpful. thanks in advance!

Homebrewtastic

Recipes 

Usually when you pitch Brett as a secondary fermenter you get higher attenuation, so you may want to adjust your mash accordingly. I also wouldn't be expecting "huge" Brett flavor if you're using it as a secondary. But it will still be noticeable. All in all though your plan sounds good

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JacobS

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I would go with Brett C, as I believe this strain was specifically isolated from an English Stock Ale, and there by more historically 'proper' also it tends not to produce many flavor s mostly aroma

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statseeker

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I would do Wyeast Brett L. I loved the results with the 11-11-11 batch. Very cherry-sherry like notes in there. Barring not being able to find it, WL Brett C would be the way to go.

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ReverseApacheMaster

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Actually you're going to get more brett flavor from brett in secondary than primary.

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barrooze

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Are you going to oak at all? I oaked my old ale for about two weeks and it has a great aroma from it.

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dcHokie

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I brewed an Old Ale similar to that recipe about 14 months ago using 1028 and Brett C. I added 2 oz of well boiled, port soaked oak cubes after 1 month. At the 6 month gravity sample the oak was very overwhelming, but now has mellowed out nicely with the Brett adding some sherry notes. Its down to 0.094, but I'll probably let it sit for a few more months.

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cbraun77s

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I love the treacle flavor that some olde ales have. My plans are to add a jar of the english stuff to a similar recipe.

tdogg

Recipes 

Thanks for the tips! My LHBS doesnt carry brett C, but I asked nicely and they are going to order it for me. I have a brown ale sitting on a yeast cake of WL005 that will be used for the old ale. Hoping to brew in about 2 weeks!

tdogg

Recipes 

Well I have a brown ale fermenting on WL005 right now, so I will use that yeast for the Olde Ale. Also, I have obtained a vial of Brett C and the Blackstrap Molasses. I'm hoping to brew this one next weekend.

As far as Oaking is concerned, I have a port that is in a carboy right now. When the oak cubes are done in the port, ill transfer those to the Old Ale. I think the port will add even more character to this beer, and the oak (im going to use a mix of american and french cubes) will be mellowed out a bit from spending time in the port.