Refermenting with Brettanomyces

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Jewsh

Jewsh

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I have a belgian ipa that is just about finished with primary. I do not know the gravity's because I had lost my hydrometer. I also could not calculate my efficiency because of this, which is not cool because this is only my second all grain batch.

I want to seperate a gallon and inoculate it with some brett. How should I go about doing this? I have two half gallon jugs and a satchel that is meant for 5 gallons.

How long will fermentation take on the average, I know it's hard to say without knowing the f.g.

I love me some sour horsey beers!
 
That's what I figured. How much should I pitch in each 1/2 gallon? Can you over pitch Brett?
 
Suthrncomfrt1884 said:
If you're adding brett, you'll need to wait AT LEAST 8-9 months before it's ready to drink.
Click to expand...

In my limited experience, 3 months of conditioning after adding brett is more than enough to have a very bretty beer--they age well, too, though.

According to Brew Like a Month, Orval is out the door and on shelves in about 2 months, and they referment with brett.

All brett beers are even faster (basically like sacch), but even when you're doing sacch in the primary brett's slow but nothing near what doing a sour is like.
 
FYI, your beer probably won't be mouth puckering sour.... you need more than just brett to really do that (lacto & pedio). Where'd you get a satchel of brett? Is it dry? Personally, I'd just go enjoy a bottle of Orval, and then pitch the dregs. There should be more than enough brett (claus I believe) to do the trick for 1 gallon. You might also want to add some malto-dextrin for the brett to chew on (depending on how much un-attenuated sugar is left in your beer).
 
wonderbread23 said:
FYI, your beer probably won't be mouth puckering sour.... you need more than just brett to really do that (lacto & pedio). Where'd you get a satchel of brett? Is it dry? Personally, I'd just go enjoy a bottle of Orval, and then pitch the dregs. There should be more than enough brett (claus I believe) to do the trick for 1 gallon.
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I'm pretty sure Orval is brux, not claus. See, e.g. http://bhamweekly.com/birmingham/article-1048-brew-of-the-week-orval-trappist-ale.html

Pitching Orval dregs is a good idea, though I'd go with 2 bottles just in case one isn't viable.
 
The brett is form wyeast and I got it at midwest. do you just open the bottle, pour into a glass and then pitch the drags or is there another step. I have heard alot about growing up cultures and starters with drags but have never done any myself.

Also, for my first sour beer, im not looking for mouth puckering sour, just a hint of tang with the dirty barnyard nose.
 
Jewsh said:
The brett is form wyeast and I got it at midwest. do you just open the bottle, pour into a glass and then pitch the drags or is there another step. I have heard alot about growing up cultures and starters with drags but have never done any myself.
Click to expand...

If you have a wyeast brett already, you can just go ahead and pitch it. If you want, you can pitch some Orval dregs, too: leave it sitting still and upright in the fridge overnight, open it, pour all but the last 1/2" of beer, flame the neck or spray it with starsan, swirl it around to mix up the dregs, and pour it in your fermenter.

Also, for my first sour beer, im not looking for mouth puckering sour, just a hint of tang with the dirty barnyard nose.
Click to expand...

Terminology clarification:

I wouldn't call it your first sour beer.

To me, when people talk about "sours" they mean beers with bacteria in action (lactobacillus, pediococcus, etc), a la Russian River Supplication, Rodenbach Grand Cru, Cantillon Lou Pepe, Duchesse de Bourgogne, Duck Duck Geuze, Lost Abbey Red Poppy, etc.

Be it Brettanomyces bruxellensis in a funky beer or Torulaspora delbrueckii in a hefeweizen or Saccharomyces pastorianus in a Pilsner, it's still just a beer made with a special yeast and not what people usually mean by "sour".
 
SumnerH said:
If you have a wyeast brett already, you can just go ahead and pitch it. If you want, you can pitch some Orval dregs, too: leave it sitting still and upright in the fridge overnight, open it, pour all but the last 1/2" of beer, flame the neck or spray it with starsan, swirl it around to mix up the dregs, and pour it in your fermenter.



Terminology clarification:

I wouldn't call it your first sour beer.

To me, when people talk about "sours" they mean beers with bacteria in action (lactobacillus, pediococcus, etc), a la Russian River Supplication, Rodenbach Grand Cru, Cantillon Lou Pepe, Duchesse de Bourgogne, Duck Duck Geuze, Lost Abbey Red Poppy, etc.

Be it Brettanomyces bruxellensis in a funky beer or Torulaspora delbrueckii in a hefeweizen or Saccharomyces pastorianus in a Pilsner, it's still just a beer made with a special yeast and not what people usually mean by "sour".
Click to expand...

Some time later, I now understand the difference between a sour and funkified beer. Thank for the informative information kind sir!
 

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