Old ale and Brett question.

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Zymurgrafi

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I have an old ale I brewed last February. It never fully attenuated, final gravity was 1.025 IIRC. It is currently carbed and cold. I have been drinking it some but it just ain't that wonderful compared to other beers I have on tap.


I was planning on just letting it age further but then a thought occurred to me today. Why not mess around with it. Why not try some brett to see how that might make it taste. I have never used any "bugs" but thought this might be a good case to play around with it. I believe brett is not unheard of in old ales correct?

So my questions for those of you with brett experience.

-Can I still do this even though it is cold and carbed?
what would I need to do? Warm it up and completely de-carb? I realize I will have to release the pressure on the keg to add the brett.

-Would this keg now be forever more the "brett" keg and infected.

I am sure I will have more questions of process, but I am just deciding if this is worth doing first.

Thanks.
 
You definitely want it to be heated back up into the fermentation range. I know that when Avery made their Brett IPA they did something similar. Added the Brett to the keg, seated the lid, and then allowed the yeast to carb the beer. I can't see why the beer already being carbonated will hurt it.

As far as having a life long Brett keg, I am not positive, but I think it will be ok. I know Brett has a knack for permantly infecting bottling buckets, wood casks, plastic fermentors, basically anything that can be scratched or is porous. But if it is a SS keg or glass carboy, if you clean and sterilize well, you should be ok. (I think)
 
It depends on who you talk to about brett and kegs. Some mark the keg as a permanent wild beer keg. Others (Jamil) say that if you disassemble and clean the keg after every use (even with non-wild beer) you should be fine.

Your method sounds fine. Take it off the gas and warm it back to room temp. Bleed off the pressure while its warming. A lot of CO2 will come out of solution since warm liquids hold less gas than cold liquids.

Just remember that brett takes a lot more time to work. You will probably need to let it sit for a few months if not longer.
 
1.025 is a fine FG for a good old ale. I've never really looked into bret but that seems like an odd beer to try it with. It might be really good to make a black and tan with on the other hand.
 
1.025 may be okay but it was only about 62% apparent attenuation. The target was 79%. It is just a bit on the cloying sweet side. Haven't really dug it all that well. Definitely a strong molasses character. I have blended it with other beers in the glass but it dominates even with a small amount. I thought perhaps a whole new profile might help.


No problem letting it age longer with brett. I was going to sit on it for a few more months anyways.

I am just unsure about how to use brett. Plus I will need to find some. It is not available locally.

It is my understanding that old ales traditionally were aged in wood barrels and likely had a bit of brett character from the wood. According to 2 sources at least Randy Mosher's Radical brewing, Ray Daniels Designing Great Beers.
 
So I think if I do this I will go with brettanomyces claussenni strain as it is reputed to be milder.

any thoughts.
 
I did a Old Ale with Brett C 2 years ago. It came out with a fantastic aroma, but at 1.010 it is too dry for an Old Ale. I would suggest adding Brett to ~1 gallon of the beer, letting it age for 6-12 months (maybe with some oak cubes as well), then pasteurize it with either heat or campden tablets before blending it to taste with the reserved “clean” beer.
 
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