100% Brett L. Porter

I'm trying to put together an extract recipe to make while my brother and I are doing an all-grain IPA. I am thinking about doing a 3-gallon batch of Porter, with a 100% Brett L. fermentation.

Has anyone done a Brett L Porter before? Should I cold-steep the dark grains to keep the roast character to a minimum, so it doesn’t clash with the slightly tart character that Brett L can throw off? Any other tips (other than making a big starter)?

A friend of mine did something similar that turned out really well: http://citybrewer.blogspot.com/2009/05/tasting-100-brett-l-stout.html

Young it almost tasted like a cherry stout. Wyeast Brett L is the way to go, White Labs would be too funky in my experience.

Thanks for the link, Mike!

I am definitely using Wyeast for this. The Wyeast "bugs" I've used so far have all been better than White Labs (Brett B, Lacto, and hopefully Brett L.)

Hoping the cherry character really pulls through, as I am shooting for the cherry stout type thing. I wonder if I should stress the yeast a tad, or just make the big starter that I was going to do originally?

White Labs Brett L is smokey and wet basement. I regret using it in my 100% Brett L oatmeal stout, wish I'd used wyeast instead.

I agree. I did a 100% Brett L Table Beer with White Labs, and it was just "off." I think smokey and wet basement sums it up, actually. The starter did not smell great, but I hoped it would not translate to the beer.

I did make a sour mashed WL brett L stout. I agree with Clint and Craw, WL brett L is pure phunk. This yeast is like that guy or girl that's the life of the party but who you would never ever hang out with alone.

Late last year I made a Porter and we decided to toss some blueberries into it. The flavor was just not right once we added the blueberries, but the porter itself was awesome. I dumped the keg into a carboy and added some of the first runnings from the beer i was brewing that day to the carboy for some fresh sugar. I pitched a smack pack of brett L and tossed in some medium toast cubes of oak into it. 4 months later it tastes nothing like a porter, but its a fantastic beer. The Brett L is really fruity, so i think its really all about what you want it to be.