I have notice several threads and comments on this forum regarding the proper temperature to ferment an all Brett. beer. Most of the posts I've seen seem to claim that a Brett. needs to be fermented at > 70 F. Where does this number come from? Conventional wisdom? Experience?
It has been my experience, with Brett. Lambicus at least, that an all Brett beer ferments just dandy at lower temperatures. I've made eight all Brett. beers this year and all of them have been fermented at around the 60-65 range and have been ready to drink in a reasonable amount of time (< 1month). It should be noted that these beers do not have a lot 'funk' and the sourness is fairly muted but that was not necessarily what I was after.
I've been toying with the idea of building a temperature control box to try some Brett. fermentations at higher temperatures. I would assume the Brett. character would get stronger at higher temperatures but how will the flavor profile change as we push the temperature higher and higher? Eighty vs. ninety vs. hundred? I'm dieing to find out...
Does anyone have any experience or insight with this?
I should also note that I've been using the Wyeast strain of Brett. Lambicus not the White Labs strain. I am guessing that they are different. It also seems to me that this years version of the wyeast strain behaves differently than last years but there are other variables that could explain the difference.
I have notice several threads and comments on this forum regarding the proper temperature to ferment an all Brett. beer. Most of the posts I've seen seem to claim that a Brett. needs to be fermented at > 70 F. Where does this number come from? Conventional wisdom? Experience?
It has been my experience, with Brett. Lambicus at least, that an all Brett beer ferments just dandy at lower temperatures. I've made eight all Brett. beers this year and all of them have been fermented at around the 60-65 range and have been ready to drink in a reasonable amount of time (< 1month). It should be noted that these beers do not have a lot 'funk' and the sourness is fairly muted but that was not necessarily what I was after.
I've been toying with the idea of building a temperature control box to try some Brett. fermentations at higher temperatures. I would assume the Brett. character would get stronger at higher temperatures but how will the flavor profile change as we push the temperature higher and higher? Eighty vs. ninety vs. hundred? I'm dieing to find out...
Does anyone have any experience or insight with this?
I should also note that I've been using the Wyeast strain of Brett. Lambicus not the White Labs strain. I am guessing that they are different. It also seems to me that this years version of the wyeast strain behaves differently than last years but there are other variables that could explain the difference.
Interesting thoughts, but I don't know the answers. I have never used Brett as a primary fermenter. Another forum which may have the answers you are looking for is the Burgundian Babble Belt. Just google it, and it will come up.
i'll keep you posted on the all brett beer I have going at around 80 degrees...
Thanks. It sounds like a fun experiment. It would be cool to brew a controlled experiment like this. Start with the same wort, pitch the brett, give it a good swirl, then split it into 3 or 4 different parts and ferment each at a different temp.
it would, but from the reading I've been doing regarding all brett fermentations, even with very similar conditions, character can vary greatly batch to batch. this is why I am really interested in brett beers. there is so much unknown about how the yeast behaves.
Which is why splitting the batch and using different fermentation temps is might help predict how the Brett. respond to temperature. We would be minimizing the variables to our best knowledge. But I agree, just because the Brett. produces a certain flavor profile with one batch at a certain temperature does not mean we'll get the same flavor profile from a very similar batch at the same temperature.
Some musings on temperature.
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