brett in primary

[dhallila]

So here's the deal. I brewed this beer about a week and a half ago with a blend of yeasts. It's a farmhouse saison 10 gallon batch. In one of the primaries i threw in a vile of Brett trois. My question is how long should I keep the wort in primary with the Brett? Would it be better to leave in longer? The og was 1.055 so not high grav. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

On tap: Palol Ahole

On deck: Honey Farmhouse Ale
Honey Farmhouse Ale w/ Brett
Dry Schtout
Oktoburrfest

 

[mkeckjr]

Generally 1 vial of brett from White Labs is not enough to yeast to ferment even a low-gravity 5G batch of beer, which I'm assuming is how you split this up. Pitching rates for an 100% brett should be on the order of lager pitching rates. What exactly what your pitch rate?

If you did use a proper pitch rate, treat the fermentation like an ale. Shouldn't take more than a week to ferment out. When used as the primary yeast strain, 644 has a fairly fruity flavor that I think tends to go well in American IPAs; not sure how "saison"-like it will be. On the other hand, brett C. (WLP645) makes a very nice saison when used as the primary yeast.

 

[dhallila]

Generally 1 vial of brett from White Labs is not enough to yeast to ferment even a low-gravity 5G batch of beer, which I'm assuming is how you split this up. Pitching rates for an 100% brett should be on the order of lager pitching rates. What exactly what your pitch rate?

If you did use a proper pitch rate, treat the fermentation like an ale. Shouldn't take more than a week to ferment out. When used as the primary yeast strain, 644 has a fairly fruity flavor that I think tends to go well in American IPAs; not sure how "saison"-like it will be. On the other hand, brett C. (WLP645) makes a very nice saison when used as the primary yeast.

I used 3 viles total. One saison, one belgium golden ale, both blended in a starter. After racking into primary I pitched the Brett trois into one of the 5g. The other 5g is just the blend.

Thanks for the info! I just wondered if I would get more funk by leaving in primary for an extra week or something. After racking into secondary i plan on letting it sit on some oak cubes for a few months.

Cheers

 

[kmos]

When I have used brett in primary, it was the only yeast I pitched, so my experience may not be entirely applicable here. Nevertheless: what I did was make a big starter (2.2L or so for 5 gal) and had it on a stir plate for 4-5 days. Brett is much slower to start up than sacc strains.

I am not sure what your results will be. One scenario I could see is the sacc strains doing the hard work in early fermentation (while the Brett is waking up and reproducing) and then it kicks in for some added funk and attenuation. I wouldn't rush it, however. Give it a while and see where it goes. My latest all-Brett beer took quite a while (months) to get to terminal gravity. You've got to be patient with brett, and don't be afraid to give it the high temps too.

Let us know how it turns out.

 

[dhallila]

When I have used brett in primary, it was the only yeast I pitched, so my experience may not be entirely applicable here. Nevertheless: what I did was make a big starter (2.2L or so for 5 gal) and had it on a stir plate for 4-5 days. Brett is much slower to start up than sacc strains.

I am not sure what your results will be. One scenario I could see is the sacc strains doing the hard work in early fermentation (while the Brett is waking up and reproducing) and then it kicks in for some added funk and attenuation. I wouldn't rush it, however. Give it a while and see where it goes. My latest all-Brett beer took quite a while (months) to get to terminal gravity. You've got to be patient with brett, and don't be afraid to give it the high temps too.

Let us know how it turns out.

Thanks kmos! Good stuff to know. And I'll definitely post how our turns our but it probably won't be for a few months. Haha

 

[eastoak]

i doubt that beer will take months to ferment, probably 2-3 weeks like any other beer. a low gravity saison would probably not benefit from extended aging.