bottling with brett: priming question

Hi all,

I have tried to do my due diligence but cant seem to come up with the answer to this question. I am planning on bottle conditioning an upcoming batch with brett brux and was wondering if I should prime as usual? I have read that brett can attenuate more strongly than saccromyces and was wondering if the priming sugar would be needed if the brett is pitched at bottling time. I will have a lot invested in this beer and would like to avoid bottle bombs. What is the convention on this? Thanks in advance...wnc

i might not be much help but i have done 6 batches that were all brett. i bottled them in champagne bottles with plastic corks and wire hoods just to be safe. it depends on how long its been in the primary/secondary and how soon you plan on drinking it. my brett stout was a month old when i bottled it and i primed with 3/4 cup corn sugar for 5 gallon batch. the first month or two was carbonated great but as time went on brett chewed though the more complex sugars. no bottle bombs but i did notice an increase in carbonation and brett funk character as well as it was quite a bit thinner in texture. im still learning alot about brett so take this with a grain of malt (HA!).

Yes prime as usual. You either need to bottle in heavy bottles (or keg, if you can keg) or pasteurize your bottles a few weeks after bottling to stop further brett activity although that will also stop a lot of the brett flavor.

ReverseApacheMaster said:

Yes prime as usual. You either need to bottle in heavy bottles (or keg, if you can keg) or pasteurize your bottles a few weeks after bottling to stop further brett activity although that will also stop a lot of the brett flavor.

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I have kegging capabilities, could I prime and pitch the brett in the keg, then bottle with my counter pressure filler for long term cellaring? See any problems with this line of thinking? Thanks to you both for the responses

brett will not super attenuate on it's own.

wncbrewer said:

I have kegging capabilities, could I prime and pitch the brett in the keg, then bottle with my counter pressure filler for long term cellaring? See any problems with this line of thinking? Thanks to you both for the responses

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Only if you wait to bottle until the beer is completely dry and there's nothing left for brett to eat. Otherwise, the brett will transfer into the bottles and keep chewing away in the bottles and building up pressure. In other words, your keg is going to have to turn into another aging vessel if you still want to bottle.

wncbrewer said:

I have kegging capabilities, could I prime and pitch the brett in the keg, then bottle with my counter pressure filler for long term cellaring? See any problems with this line of thinking? Thanks to you both for the responses

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If you go that route, consider your counter pressure filler useless after that...but...
I used my cpf on a kegged lambic and a month later filled up a brown ale and 3 months later, its all soured up nicely..had a thought...
So every batch I sour up a 6 pack off the keg and let it sit for a year or two to age...
Got some interesting beers outta it...good luck

Igotsand

igotsand said:

If you go that route, consider your counter pressure filler useless after that...but...
I used my cpf on a kegged lambic and a month later filled up a brown ale and 3 months later, its all soured up nicely..had a thought...
So every batch I sour up a 6 pack off the keg and let it sit for a year or two to age...
Got some interesting beers outta it...good luck

Igotsand

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You could just give your bottle filler a thorough clean and sanitation. It shouldn't stay infected unless you haven't thoroughly cleaned and sanitized it.

I fell pretty god about my sanitation regimen, but have pretty much decided to just bottle in bombers, and maybe back off the amount of priming sugar, a little, just to be safe. Also gonna give the sacchromyces plenty of time to finish up the primary fermentation. Thanks for the guidance. This is new ground for me