First brew fermented with 100% Brettanomyces!

8 oz Cara-Pills
12 oz Caramel/Crystal 40L
1 lb Munich Malt 10L
2 lbs Red Wheat
7 lbs Pale Malt (2 row)

.60 oz Simcoe First Wort
.50 oz Citra 15 min
.50 oz Citra 10 min
.50 oz Citra 5 min
.50 oz Citra 0 min
.50 oz Cascade 15 min
.50 oz Cascade 10 min
.50 oz Cascade 5 min
.50 oz Cascade 0 min
1.00 oz Cascade dry hop 14 days
1.00 oz Citra dry hop 14 days

White Labs WLP644 Brettanomyces Bruxellensis Trois.

1.061 SG
64.8 IBUs
7.9 SRM
7.4 ABV


So there is the recipe I'm planning on brewing up. My question is I've never dabbled in the funk and I'm curious how long this beer is going to take before it should be ready. On average how long should primary fermentation last? Should I let it sit in secondary for longer then two weeks? Any tips from people who have dabbled in the funk (especially with an IPA) would help!

Hi zachattack - this recipe looks rad. I love the combination of Citra and Trois. I've brewed several beers along the same lines with base recipes along the lines of american pale ales, IPAs, blondes. After experimenting with many different recipes, I think the amount of wheat you have will adequately compensate for Brett's lack of glycerol production.

In response to your question: My all-brett fermentations are done after a couple weeks. Basically it will look and finish out similar to a regular Saccharomyces fermentation. I've bottled and kegged these beers after four week fermentations without any bottle bombs. I also don't use secondary - just a long primary and straight to bottles, but that's just a matter of choice.

On a side note, you will probably not get a lot of "funk" from this yeast. It's super fruity with little/no barnyard funk. There is a really good thread with lots of different experiences/recipes on this yeast:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f127/wlp644-brett-b-trois-326861/

I just did something very similar with the same yeast. Judging by airlock activity it took about 2.5 weeks to ferment. Started at 1.056 and I checked it after 3 weeks and it was 1.008. After that I did a 1 week dry hop, and I'm kegging it tomorrow.

Make sure you do a big starter, because there is not much in the vial to start with.

Apparently if you oxygenate you will get a bit of tartness, and a little more funk. I chose not to oxygenate.

J343MY said:

I just did something very similar with the same yeast. Judging by airlock activity it took about 2.5 weeks to ferment. Started at 1.056 and I checked it after 3 weeks and it was 1.008. After that I did a 1 week dry hop, and I'm kegging it tomorrow.

Make sure you do a big starter, because there is not much in the vial to start with.

Apparently if you oxygenate you will get a bit of tartness, and a little more funk. I chose not to oxygenate.

Click to expand...

I did basically the same thing except I bottled my batch, my numbers and time are about the same as yours. I did Nelson only though, it's a crazy combo. I have another batch planned this weekend that'll be a mix of ctz, warrior, simcoe and nugget.