questions related to Brett

I am culturing up the dregs of a bottle of Orval right now. I have a Belgian Pale in primary that I was going to throw it in for 6 months. Then I ran across this mango brett beer and that sounds even better.

Problem:
If I top up a 5 gal. carboy with the beer and 7lb. mango puree I can forsee a plugged blowoff and a big mess. I have a 6 gal. bucket, but long term aging in plastic is not good with the oxidation.

My solution:
What about 1-2 months in the bucket, then the rest of the 6 months topped up in a carboy? Would I miss out on some of the mangoness by not leaving on mango for the whole time?

I assume I will be pasteurizing the mangos?

I could fire in some CO2 from time to time to augment the CO2 blanket to reduce the oxidation as well.

What do you think?

Thanks

My $.02: Primary ferment in bucket clean (Schelde strain from wyeast just came out), secondary with Orval business in glass. You'll have less krausen with a fruit fermentation. Brett is slow to eat fruit. Here is where you can add fruit or, just let it go and tertiary ferment with fruit some time down the line.

The issue I've had with fruit is adding it at a time where the brett is making some gross flavors but the fruit character is great, and by the time the brett is done and has the character I want, the fruit character is gone or very slight.

Also, if you want to make the mango labor pop, consider brett c if you haven't already. Less funk, more fruit.

Good luck! Post your process and results when you're done!

-S

I'd recommend letting the brett get established for a few months before adding the mango.

Sounds like a good idea to hold off on the mangos. I will freeze them.

I will count my Brett when the krausen subsides. Interesting what is happening in the starter.

Thanks

Looks like the starter got contaminated. Maybe I will just add the dregs of 2 bottles of Orval. Looks like the temp in the closet is 64.

Too bad about the contamination. I've had to deal with that a few times before... I think your idea to go with two bottles is a good one. Try stepping your stater up from about 500ml of 1.015 or so. And make that first step warm. When you add your next step of wort, that's when the lower temps will be employed. Second step with 500ml of 1.060 has been a good starting point for me.

Good luck!

I tried to do the starter the same as for normal yeast from the LBS. Need to rethink that strategy.

I found a gallon jug of mango juice at the store. Going to add that along with the dregs tonight. Will add 3 lbs. fresh (I just froze them) at maybe month 5 of a 6 month secondary? How long will it take for Brett to eat up 3 lbs?

CaptainK said:

I tried to do the starter the same as for normal yeast from the LBS. Need to rethink that strategy.

I found a gallon jug of mango juice at the store. Going to add that along with the dregs tonight. Will add 3 lbs. fresh (I just froze them) at maybe month 5 of a 6 month secondary? How long will it take for Brett to eat up 3 lbs?

Click to expand...

I would suggest waiting to add the juice (and make sure no preservatives in it) until you add the mangos so that the brett from the dregs has a chance to build up a nice little population.

I added the dregs, but not the juice. I thought I might wait for some additional advice (which just came in, thanks dc I see you did this before). I am anxious to add the juice because I have 5.2 gal. in a 6.5 gal. fermenter. That's a lot of head space. My primary strain 3787 would eat that sugar and leave none left for the Brett adding now I imagine. If I add the juice later maybe the primary strain would be more dormant and Brett would be more numerous. The jug is sealed and pasteurized so it can wait. It does have ascorbic acid in it and cane sugar. Nothing else.

I am picking up that your reasoning for adding later is mostly to allow the Brett to multiply so they will eat it, not because of loss of mango aroma/flavor over time? How does adding the juice at 2 months and the fresh mango at 5 sound?

I'm with dc. Wait. Let that brett do its thing in your brew. It will acclimate and make its own thing in there once it has been growing under anaerobic conditions. That'll favor the mango addition.

Seriously though, time time time. Brett fermentationis don't smell good for quite some time. With what you are doing, 8mos at the least will be what you're looking at.

That is to say, it might not smell good, but just let it sit and then sit some more, your patience will be rewarded.

Forgot to complete the thought

-S

CaptainK said:

I added the dregs, but not the juice. I thought I might wait for some additional advice (which just came in, thanks dc I see you did this before). I am anxious to add the juice because I have 5.2 gal. in a 6.5 gal. fermenter. That's a lot of head space. My primary strain 3787 would eat that sugar and leave none left for the Brett adding now I imagine. If I add the juice later maybe the primary strain would be more dormant and Brett would be more numerous. The jug is sealed and pasteurized so it can wait. It does have ascorbic acid in it and cane sugar. Nothing else.

I am picking up that your reasoning for adding later is mostly to allow the Brett to multiply so they will eat it, not because of loss of mango aroma/flavor over time? How does adding the juice at 2 months and the fresh mango at 5 sound?

Click to expand...

Ascorbic acid is fine, that won't hinder yeast reproduction.

The longer you wait to add the mango (and the juice), the better. To retain as much of the fruit's aroma/flavor as possible, I'd advise waiting until the beer is almost "done", say 5-6 months after adding the Brett (depending on your OG & ferment temps), then add the fruit for another 3 months or so. If you add too early you'll definitely lose some aromatics to CO2 as the still viable sacch and the Brett ferment out the fruit's sugars.

+1on dc's comment.

There is a stage in combo sacch/brett fermentations where the sacch goes into autolysis and the brett cleans it up (4-6mos). When I did a fruit fermentation, I added right after that is done. You'll know it because the airlock will change from a funkiness to a full on nastiness (rubber. Band aids at the extreme, soy sauce, Worcestershire, nutritional yeast at the least). Wait till that's over then add fruit. That means your sacch is down and just about out in that it won't pick up anytime soon in that environment and the brett will handle the fruit.

Oh! When you've added your fruit and juice, purge the head space with co2. And try not to aerate too much with the fruit. Oxidation is really easy with brett. I dry hopped a brett c saison (c was my primary yeast) with an lb of wet hops and started a whole new fermentation and oxidized the hell out of it... No good.


-S