RIS with Old Ale blend...

I mashed low, around 152F. I also did a Gordon Strong style addition of dark grains, adding the roasted grains when I began my vorlauf. It made for a very smooth beer, despite the addition of 2.25lbs of roasted grains.

I also kegged the final beer, had it on draft for about 3 months, then bottled off the rest of the keg using a racking cane.

Anything else you'd like to know?

Naah I was just wondering how our beers compared to each other concerning the stats. It's not like a lot of people are doing a big RIS with brett.

If you're itching to do another batch let me know I can get you the brett isolated from the strain, but I also hear it's just Wyeast lambicus. The truth to that I don't know because I imagine they have different versions of lambicus that they break out for special blends. Otherwise what's so special about it?

Saying it's brett lambicus is like saying it's sacch cerevisiae -- and we know how many variations there are of that

In my experience, it doesn't taste the same as their straight lambicus, because I've done a couple of beers using their lambicus and it tastes completely different. That said, there were a other variables that could have make it taste different (but I doubt it). And I've heard that the WL brett L tastes different as well.

I appreciate the offer, but I'm sure they'll release it again before too long.

So I'm at 60% attenuation after a solid week of primary. A touch higher than last year but I suspect it will drop a few more points in a week or two.

It tastes AWESOME so far.

Also seriously let me know on the isolation I'm a brewery lab tech and use wild yeast plates at work. I can certainly take one home and isolate the brett and culture it up. No sweat off my back really. I did it last year and had a pitchable quantity but I think I used it in something.

That's super nice of you, but I'm all set, I've got my hands full on a couple of other pet brewing projects

So I'm about to transfer this to a barrel as soon as I build a little cradle for the barrel with wheels. I am drinking a gravity sample right now and it's the best version thus far. The roast is perfectly intense and will smooth out and lose the rough edges before next year. It has flavors of coffee and dark chocolate with some fruity esters.

Which brett strain is in the old ale blend? I have a 1.122 RIS that stopped at 1.042, and I'm considering doping it. As is, it's a bit thick for my tastes.

Edit: never mind, found it in the thread once at a computer.

Well I took a gravity sample today to taste. It has made it down 1.032 at this point. Hopefully it doesn't go a whole lot further because it's pretty damn nice right now. If it drops closer to 1.025 too fast I'll brew up a pale malt/black malt mini mash and boil it down to a syrup to add back some body/gravity and hopefully prevent its fermentation.

Here is the 15 gal barrel I just modified for the stout. I am giving it a hot soak today and transferring into it tonight or tomorrow. It had two other hot soaks when I first got it to try and decrease the character a bit. Ive been keeping it wet with dark rum which I feel is a great compliment to the very toasty character of this years recipe.

I'm drinking a pint of the RIS I brewed and fermented with 9097 back in 2011. It's almost two years since brewing and it never carbed in the bottles. The beginning of the week I sani'd and purged a 3 gal keg and kept CO2 running while I dumped 26 bottles into the keg so they could be force carbed. I threw the keg in and chilled it today to give it a try. I had it sitting at room temp with 22psi so I should be at about 1.8 volumes. The taste is silky sweet malt, balanced roast bitterness, and a mild hop bitterness. There is little to no brett funk that I can pick out. There is a decent fruity ester flavor with a long finish of tingling bitterness on the tongue. There is a mild cherry flavor that is hard to pick out unless you're looking for the flavor. That'd be the brett contribution I think the barnyard like funk is hidden or was contained by the massive grist of black and other highly kilned malts. Even in my 2011 brew grist I used no caramel malts at all and it doesn't lack in sweetness that's for sure considering the 1.024 fg. If you're looking to brew a RIS and have patience I highly suggest using a nice fruity English yeast with Wyeast brett L. It makes for quite an interesting beer.

When it comes to the batch I brewed back in Oct 2012 that's getting bottle next month. In its place I will be refilling the barrel with a 1.095 stout that will be fermented with t58 and ECY02. I might throw up a new thread because that beer is a complete divergence from the style of RIS I've been brewing. It's crystal heavy and very low IBU due to the souring that will take place.

The batch brewed in 2011 is holding up awesome. Just finishing a bottle right now. Not sure how much more I have but I have plenty of the last year's batch. I also have 15 gal of the sour stout to bottle up soon.

Awesome. Mine is holding up well too. Has developed a hobenero type taste. When I finish my glycol chiller I'll brew this again.