brett yeast - What to brew?

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thasnazzle

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Some soon to expire yeast was on sale at the LHBS so we picked up a vial of WLP645 and WLP815 (belgian lager and brettanomyces). Any suggestions as to what we should brew with this? We have about 3 weeks until they expire.
 
Well not really great for Belgian lager yeast..... But I just brewed a saison with wlp645 Brett B and wlp565 saison I , could you split the yeast one for a lager and one for a funky Brett ale ? Or brew the lager , lager it then add more sugar and the Brett and let her ride for another 2 months or so.
 
WLP645 Brettanomyces claussenii
Low intensity Brett character. Originally isolated from strong English stock beer, in the early 20th century. The Brett flavors produced are more subtle than WLP650 and WLP653. More aroma than flavor contribution. Fruity, pineapple like aroma. B. claussenii is closely related to B. anomalus.

This screams some sort of low ABV "sour fruity beer" to me... Maybe with some Moteka or other stone/passion fruit type hops.

I do not really lager yet so I have nothing much to add on that.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I am not sure if I want to do the two separate or together. coypoo, you have a link to the recipe you're talking about? I can't seem to find it.
 
It's on northern brewer's website.

10 lb pils, 2 lb Vienna, 0.5/each of aromatic and honey malt, 1 oz styrian goldings @60

I did a 10 gallon batch with one getting wy2112 then Brett b in secondary and and the other with only Brett b. Both were really really good
 
i have an "expired" brett-c and i'm doing a sour brett saison with it... i figure light, some spice, low hopped with a pucker factor.
 
For the Brett, either use as a primary or a secondary yeast:

As a secondary yeast, just straight pitch into a beer after racking to secondary and leave for a year. Will give you lots of rustic flavors. An Old Ale, Porter, or Saison would do well. You will get a great complex beer.

As a primary yeast. Treat just like regular yeast. You will need to make a big starter (straight pitching will not do it). And ensure you aerate well. Most fermentation should be done in a week, but you should leave it another month to finish off (it will keep working slowly). There will be no Rustic flavors, just great fruity flavors. A simple Saison recipe is great for this (Pilsner or Pale Malt, a small amount of wheat, mash low, and hop to about 25 IBUs).
 
Calder said:
For the Brett, either use as a primary or a secondary yeast:

As a secondary yeast, just straight pitch into a beer after racking to secondary and leave for a year. Will give you lots of rustic flavors. An Old Ale, Porter, or Saison would do well. You will get a great complex beer.

As a primary yeast. Treat just like regular yeast. You will need to make a big starter (straight pitching will not do it). And ensure you aerate well. Most fermentation should be done in a week, but you should leave it another month to finish off (it will keep working slowly). There will be no Rustic flavors, just great fruity flavors. A simple Saison recipe is great for this (Pilsner or Pale Malt, a small amount of wheat, mash low, and hop to about 25 IBUs).

I've got to disagree. I got plenty of rustic flavors using it in primary. Also, I think a year in secondary is a bit overkill, a few months should be sufficient enough.

Keep in mind that if you want to use the Brett second, the primary strain doesn't matter too much. Just don't realize that the higher the FG of the primary, the more sugar leg t for the Brett, the more Brett character you'll get.
 
if using as a secondary yeast another technique to consider is mashing higher than normal and creating more dextrins your normal sacch strain wont handle the dextrins too well but your brett will love it !!
 
I've got to disagree. I got plenty of rustic flavors using it in primary. Also, I think a year in secondary is a bit overkill, a few months should be sufficient enough.

For your Primary Brett beer; how big a starter did you pitch, and how well did you aerate. Pitching big and aerating seems to reduce/eliminate the typical Brett flavors.

I have never tasted my (secondary) Brett beers short of a year, so cannot speak from experience. From what I have read, Brett as a secondary yeast does not really start working until around 8 months, and continues to develop over the next 18 months. Reference, Van Oevelen, 1977, used by Raj Apte, and printed in Wild Brews.
 
Calder said:
For your Primary Brett beer; how big a starter did you pitch, and how well did you aerate. Pitching big and aerating seems to reduce/eliminate the typical Brett flavors.

I have never tasted my (secondary) Brett beers short of a year, so cannot speak from experience. From what I have read, Brett as a secondary yeast does not really start working until around 8 months, and continues to develop over the next 18 months. Reference, Van Oevelen, 1977, used by Raj Apte, and printed in Wild Brews.

It wasn't much of a starter and back then I didn't have O2, so it was just shaking.

Our experiences may be completely different, but I could tell the difference of the Brett in secondary after about 6 weeks. I haven't tried again, but I would assume that as long as they have enough to eat, they'll eat and become noticeable sooner than 8 months.
 
I was talking with a friend of mine that only does Brett beers sours lambics etc... He says that Brett will be noticeable after 2-3 months but fully develops up to 18 months . Just figured I'd throw my .02 in.
 
Thanks everyone! The plan right now is to make a saison solely with the brett c. Anyone have any experience with this? Will there be any additional concerns if I just pitch the brett?
 
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