Bottling with Brett

I have brewed a saison fermented with WLP565 and want to split the batch in half and add Brett. But its already 2 weeks into the secondary. Can I add it when bottling, use champaign bottles, wire it down and age it? If so what gravity should I bottle at and how long do I let it sit?

Rule of thumb is 1 vol CO2 from .002GP, so if you bottle at 1.004 you can expect 2 vol co2, meaning you only want to add enough priming sugar for 1.5 vol if you want 3.5 total. I think this might lead to eventual gushers if the beer goes past 100% apparent attenuation.

I underlined it and still forgot.

I've had good luck pitching Brett at bottling. Surprisingly in reasonably dry beers it seems to produce a noticable flavor without wildly increasing the FG. I'm sure it depends on the strain and the profile of the residual carbohydrates, but so far so good.

It seems Brett works off the esters created by Sacc yeast, so you don't need high gravity to get Brett flavors.

I have not found Brett to be super-attenuative. Yes it will lower the FG of a beer, but will not necessarily take it down to 1.000 or even close. How far it will go in any particular batch is anyone's guess.

Champagne bottles will hold a decent amount of pressure; probably 6 volumes and more with no problems.

Thanks for the advice everyone, I will update with pictures in the near future when I split the batch and add the Brett.

How long are you storing the bottles before consumption oldstock? Should I keep them at room temperature, 67-72 degrees or down in the cool basement at temps of 55 or less?

safest thing would be to pitch the brett in secondary and give it a few months there, then bottle after the brett have had a chance to do some munching.

champagne bottles may be able to hold 6 volumes but that doesn't mean you want your beer getting that carbonated... it would all foam out of the bottle and you'd have nothing left to drink (and a big mess on your hands).

store the bottles at room temp.

2ShortHairs said:

Thanks for the advice everyone, I will update with pictures in the near future when I split the batch and add the Brett.

How long are you storing the bottles before consumption oldstock? Should I keep them at room temperature, 67-72 degrees or down in the cool basement at temps of 55 or less?

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I try to keep them in the mid 60s. Open one a month until the character is where you like it, and then chill the rest to slow the advance. Opening frequently is a good check for CO2 as well. As other have suggested, bulk aging is safer, but it is easy/fun to bottle the same beer with several different strains of Brett to compare. Usually I start tasting the Brett by month #2, and it hits its stride between 6-12 months.