100% Brett Beer II

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landhoney

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Well the starter of my next strain of Brett, Brett lambicus(wlp653), is going and so I'm to brew something different. The description for this one:

High intensity Brett character. Defines the "Brett character": Horsey, Smoky and spicy flavors. As the name suggests, this strain is found most oftern in Lambic style beers, which are spontaneously fermented beers.
Also found in Flanders and sour brown style beers.

The last part is what I'm after. So I'm going to brew Jamil's Flanders recipe with only Brett L. The problem is that Brett on its own doesn't produce terribly sour beers. The sourness in these style beers moslty comes from Lactobacillus and Pediococcus, maybe some others. So the plan is to blend it with some very sour beer I have at/near bottling time.

This batch will also be 2-2.5 gallons because of its experimental nature. Here's the grain bill:

32.1 4.50 lbs. Pilsener Germany 1.038 2
32.1 4.50 lbs. Vienna Malt America 1.035 4
3.6 0.50 lbs. Aromatic Malt Belgium 1.036 25
21.4 3.00 lbs. Munich Malt Germany 1.037 8
3.6 0.50 lbs. CaraMunich Malt Belgium 1.033 75
3.6 0.50 lbs. Special B Malt Belgian 1.030 120
3.6 0.50 lbs. Wheat Malt Germany 1.039 2

I've brewed this recipe before(waiting the 6months- 1year till its ready) and its good and I think it has potential to turn out very well. The original recipe calls for wlp001 as the primary strain, and Roeselare for secondary. 15IBU's from a 60min addition of EKGoldings.
 
I've made two lambic's thus far (7+ years) and they are GREAT! For both, I used Wyeast 3278 (lambic blend). For the first, i also added Pediococcus. That was nice and sour. For the second, I only used 3278. That has been aging for about 6 months and i haven't tried it yet. Maybe I'm not the best one to answer this based upon that, but i could definitely smell the sourness with the second one. It probably won't be as strong as the first, as you elude to. I haven't brewed with the White Lab's Lambic strains, but they can't be that much different than Wyeast. Either way, I'm sure it will turn out great.
 
Thanks avidhomebrewer, nice to meet another sour beer brewer. I haven't mentioned this previously, but my goal is to use these wild yeast strains seperately,learn about them, and then make my own blend with harvested yeast from the fermented batches. Next on my list is the Pedio.
 
This starter looks very different; the Brett is growing in a thick layer on the surface of the starter. Its amazing the difference between these two Brett strains. I definitely don't think its an infection, it started quickly and looks clean/light tan and is going strong. It just seems to ferment somewhat differently.
 
Here's a pic of the fermentation, not as crazy as Brett C, but it is a different recipe(similar gravity though). Plus, one of my cats.
DSC_00030001.JPG
 
Ahh, nothing like seeing fermenting beer! Isn't it great? I don't make starters with my lambics, just smack the pack and in it goes. Seems to work out well because the beer is in the fermenter for so long.
 
have you ever made a berlinner weisse? i made one a few years back and am going to make another one this month. that is another fantastic sour beer.
 
That looks good! I remember Jamil saying he was aiming for Rodenbach Grand Cru with his recipe. Personally, I like to use all Vienna and unmalted wheat, because I have read that brett likes the starch from unmalted grains. You have to remember that brett acts totally different in the presence of dissolved oxygen. It will grow like normal yeast, ferment and attenuate like normal yeast and won't really make the beer too sour.
 
Iordz said:
That looks good! I remember Jamil saying he was aiming for Rodenbach Grand Cru with his recipe. Personally, I like to use all Vienna and unmalted wheat, because I have read that brett likes the starch from unmalted grains. You have to remember that brett acts totally different in the presence of dissolved oxygen. It will grow like normal yeast, ferment and attenuate like normal yeast and won't really make the beer too sour.

My first Brett beer was bottled the other day(need to update that thread), and I know this one will not be sour like rodenbach......yet maybe. As I see it I have three options for this beer:
1. Bottle as is, won't be too sour or at all
2. Blend with some sour beer I already have
3. Add Roeselare Blend and make it a 'real' Flanders

Once its close to done I'll taste it and see what my best option will be.

And yes avidhomebrewer, I have made one Berliner Weisse with apricots. Its loosely styled off Dogfish Head Festina Peche - only better;) I'd really like to make a 'to style' BW soon though.
 
Bringing this one back from the dead ;)

Ive been thinking about an all Brett L brew lately and was curious how this one turned out?
 
Well his last activity was back in May, don't expect a reply soon...

I have a 100% Brett B. (WLP-650) beer planned and the base will be mostly Pilsner Malt. I'll start a thread when I get that one going in a couple weeks.
 
Well his last activity was back in May, don't expect a reply soon...

I have a 100% Brett B. (WLP-650) beer planned and the base will be mostly Pilsner Malt. I'll start a thread when I get that one going in a couple weeks.

wlp650 has sach, brett, lacto and pedio in it, not just brett B.
 
You're thinking of the sour blend. I'm looking at the vial right now...

Brettanomyces bruxellensis WLP 650

White Labs

"WLP650 Brettanomyces bruxellensis
Medium intensity Brett character. Classic strain used in secondary fermentation for Belgian style beers and lambics. One Trappist brewery uses this strain in secondary fermentation and bottling to produce their characteristic flavor.''
 
ah yes I was thinking of 655. Had to go to my fridge and check as well.

In fact I was thinking white labs didn't have a good selection of bugs. I've always got the majority of my bugs from wyeast.
 
Ive done a 100% brett c before, and it was great, but I havent come across anyone using Brett Lambicus for the primary, thought Id give it a shot

the brux should be pretty good, its a pretty subtle strain of brett (at least the wyeast version is) I used it in an old ale a few years ago, and that bere has been one of my favorites

I would also suggest you might want to use some acid malt to drop the pH a bit in the wort, as brett likes a lower pH, I would cap your mash when your sparging so as not to mess with the mash pH
 
... I would cap your mash when your sparging so as not to mess with the mash pH

What is "cap your mash"? I only get 2 hits on Google and no explanation.


I picked up a vial of B. lambicus.
I'm going to make a small starter this weekend and brew next.

Any last-minute advice?
 
ah yes I was thinking of 655. Had to go to my fridge and check as well.

In fact I was thinking white labs didn't have a good selection of bugs. I've always got the majority of my bugs from wyeast.

I think white labs has all the same bugs available except I don't think they have a separate vial of pedio available, but it is in their sour blend.
 
What is "cap your mash"? I only get 2 hits on Google and no explanation.

Capping = adding grain which is only steeped by the sparge and not mashed.

Usually capping is used for partigyle beers where you add some fresh crystal malt, the sugars come off with the runnings giving a more full bodied small beer. In a sour beer capping with 2-row will put unconverted starch in the beer for the bugs. I think it's a good idea, when I do my sour beer I had already thought about doing this...
 
Capping = adding grain which is only steeped by the sparge and not mashed.

Usually capping is used for partigyle beers where you add some fresh crystal malt, the sugars come off with the runnings giving a more full bodied small beer. In a sour beer capping with 2-row will put unconverted starch in the beer for the bugs. I think it's a good idea, when I do my sour beer I had already thought about doing this...


Bringing this tread back from the depths.....

That's an awesome idea! I'm about to start the mash on what I hope will turn out to be a sour brown. I'm using mostly Pilsner malt and 3278. It'll be my first attempt with Brett. I hope the acid malt will add enough sour as I won't be doing a sour mash (can't hold temp long enough)

I'll be researching my beer as i'm mashing. Nothing like brewing on the fly :D
 
If you're asking me, mine's still sitting in secondary. Er....third-ary to be exact. My brew sat on some oak chips for a couple weeks in secondary before being racked again. I'm in no rush to bottle, though my only concern is not having enough yeast to carbonate in the bottle. I may very well bottle this one in the next month or so, as soon as I make some more empty bottles.
 
How long is everyone letting their 100% brett beer sit before bottling? I brewed up a beer with Brett B and Brett L. Was wondering if I should leave it atleast 6 months, of if i should bottle before then?
 
Bringing this one back from the dead huh.....

Bottle when its stable, A brett only beer, will generally finish out just like a normal sacch only beer (doesnt super attenuate on its own, it really needs pedio etc), and for my normal beers I generally go about 6-8wks before bottling (helps clarity etc) I dont see any reason why you would need to go longer than 3 or 4mos really

The last 100% brett L beer I did was ready in about 3wks, although I let it sit quite a bit longer
 
mine's still got a thin layer of what looks like mold. It was much worse before racking out of primary. I just assumed that's what Brett does? I'm not worried :)
 
I've done a few all-brett beers now. The first was with WLP Brett C, and the second was with WLP Brett L.

Brett C generally takes a longer time to get started with initial fermentation. I pitched a good 3/4 liter starter of Brett C and it took 4-5 days to show activity in the wort.

The Brett L batch had a good amount of acidulated malt in the grist and was initially *very* sour in the primary, to the point where I was worried I'd have to use it solely to blend in small amounts to add sourness to other beers, but after a few weeks the Brett had worked a bit of magic and the sourness was completely gone. The result was quite smooth, actually. Both all-brett beers have had a decent fruit element to the taste as well.

I wouldn't bout the layer on top. It's most likely just a pellicle. My brett C beer got a small one for a couple weeks. The Brett L beer didn't develop one, but shortly after racking to secondary I added 4 lbs of dried cherries, blended in some pinot noir wine, and added a vial of WLP Brett B. With all those cherries floating around, it's tough to tell whether it wants to make a pellicle or not.

As Ryane mentions above, all-brett beers tend to behave a lot more like normal ales and the brett will normally not super-attenuate. (My brett-c batch ended with a FG of 1.016, as an example.)
 
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