Bottling Berliner Weisse with Brettanomyces

Hello all, first thread here - not your typical rookie question, perhaps, but I couldn't find an answer elsewhere on this board.

I brewed a Berliner Weisse back in mid-November (OG 1.030) and bottled it after three days of primary fermentation as per the recommendation of Kristen England in Brewing with Wheat, at which point the gravity was down to 1.009, as predicted by my recipe. My only concern is having used the Wyeast 3191 "Berliner Weisse Blend", which contains a dose of Brettanomyces (B. bruxellensis, I believe). My gravity should continue to drop and potentially build up pressure within the bottles as the wild yeast continues to work, correct? It's been two months now and I opened a bottle a few weeks back just to check the carbonation and all was well. I put this beer up in rather heavy German half-litre bottles (the kind you often see Hefeweizen in) but I was planning on letting this batch age for a year or so to get the full effect. Should I be worried?

Thank you in advance.

I'm surprised the gravity stopped that high, my Berliners have always gotten down pretty close to 1.000 (granted I mash low and use US-05 for the Sacch). I like some funk in my Berliners so I pitch Brett or bottle dregs and give them plenty of time before bottling (usually at least 3 months). I’d be wary that you’d get over carbonated beer with that combination of residual gravity and Brett. Good thing you have those heavier bottles. Make sure to open one every few weeks so you can catch a problem before it gets too far.

Thanks Oldsock - I was hoping for a response from you as I've enjoyed your webpage and have found answers to a lot of my questions in your previous posts.

I opened another bottle yesterday for the second time in as many months and lo, it's pretty lively. I suspect it'll only get worse as the Brettanomyces chips away at the gravity. I was perhaps asking for trouble by carbonating it to 4.0 atmospheres, as recommended in the recipe I was following.

So now I wonder about the England recipe - what's the reason for bottling it so soon (three days after pitching) with no secondary? I've read that's how it was done in the old days in Berlin, where it would be sent out in casks to tavern-owners who would put it up in bottles themselves, but how did commercial breweries avoid the problem I've now got on my hands, especially given the likelihood of some wild yeast in their bottles as well?

By the way, what's the best way of dealing with a batch of over-carbonated beer? I'm brewing another batch - new procedure, of course! - in three days so I'll save a bottle or two for the dregs, but the rest is all foam, but not, as of yet, explosive. I've got some thick gloves and safety goggles at the ready though.

i'd open them all in a plastic tub, to catch overflow- and wear glasses.
let them vent. Apply new caps.

Not sure why he suggests it. I have heard that lacto does a better job working in the bottle (not sure if it is a result of the pressure, lack of oxygen or what) so that could be it. I’ve got my own method that I’m happy with, so I haven’t tried his yet.

You can chill the bottles and repeatedly vent and recap, but if the Brett is really going to keep working there isn’t a great option. It takes the fermentation of just .002-.003 to give full carbonation, so it may be tricky (especially with so much carbonation already in the beer).

When you put still fermenting beer in a cask, it carbonates in the cask. That helps prevent growth of undesired yeast and bacteria because the beer is still pushing out CO2. The important difference is that a cask is a lot stronger than a bottle and is able to breathe out some CO2 if the pressure gets too strong. Your bottles will explode when the pressure gets too bad.

I made the beer following the same recipe, and the same yeast. I let it sit undisturbed for a good three months. If opened at room temp, it can get messy, but I chill the beer before opening, and it doesn't overflow. I love that xtra brett flavor and I have enjoyed it developing over the months I've been keeping them back.

I know he also recommends adding more yeast and lacto at bottling. Did anyone do this? I'm assuming you just bottle like normal. I'll be using this method this weekend and bottling when the gravity drops(likely day 3 or 4). Just can't decide whether to pitch more yeast/bugs or not?

I added some yeast according to formula, I used a neutral ale yeast safale us-05. Added no taste as far as I'm aware. I just got a super bready taste from the primary yeast (I'm assuming).

Thanks for all the responses to this question - I started a very busy new job immediately after posting this and haven't had the chance to get back to it until now.

I got around to a re-capping attempt about two weeks later, after the beer had been bottled for about two months. All for naught! Every single bottle was nearly all foam by this point, but cooling them in the refrigerator for a few days ahead made the chore less of a mess. Cracked them all open in a big aluminum mixing bowl wearing gloves and goggles. What I got to taste was very good though - I'll have to try this recipe again while giving the Brettanomyces the time it needs before bottling! All was not lost though - I pitched the dregs from a few bottles into a Flemish sour brown I've got going.

I don't remember England recommending adding more yeast or bacteria to this recipe in Brewing with Wheat, and I looked at it pretty recently. I don't see the point if bottling it within a week, as he recommends. Just don't bottle it so soon if you've got wild yeast still chomping away in there - I learned a lesson from all of this.