Brettanomyces added to my Black IPA?

[worksnorth]

Ok I need some opinions from any of you fellas that have Brettanomyces experience.
Recently have really really enjoyed some craft beers I've bought that have been secondaried with Brettanomyces. They were rather hoppy ales and I thought they were fantastic. Very different tasting!
I've got a Black IPA in the secondary on dry hops right now, was thinking about just bottling it with some Brett added to the bottling bucket but have read a few things that concern me. The fact that the Brett will actually ferment the beer quite a bit farther down than it already is (1.014) in a bottle doesn't sound good at all. Soooooo, I'm thinking about racking it off the dry hops into a tertiary ferment and at this time add in the Brettanomyces. Let it ferment out and then bottle.
Any thoughts on this? Taste/method/?
Curious what others may have done in the past with success.. or not. : )
Thanks!
Cheers!

 

[Calder]

Adding it at bottling and using regular bottles, you are asking for bottle bombs.

Adding it to tertiary, and letting it ferment out, you will be waiting 12 months before you can bottle. Brett works slowly as a secondary yeast.

 

[Qhrumphf]

+1 on the tertiary. Although you'll want to dry hop again, as I wouldn't leave it with the Brett for any less than 6 months (12 months is better), and at that point you'll have lost all of the goodness from the dry hops.

 

[worksnorth]

All right, all right very good. Thanks guys!

 

[nofootbreak]

A 100% brett beer can take 4-8 weeks max. Brett ipas can be great, id go for a 100% brett black ipa. Brett can play with dark malts in intersting ways.

 

[worksnorth]

For what it's worth...
Tertiaried the black with Brett. let er sit for about 2 weeks and bottled. It turned out excellent, you get the hopped black IPA and you get the Brett. It's really an interesting combo and I'll do it again. No bottle bombs, they carbed up perfectly.
Cheers

 

[dinnerstick]

why not bottle some clean and transfer some to a smaller vessel for the brett? best of both worlds

 

[beerandloathinginaustin]

I recently bottled a couple batches with WLP644 Brett B Trois. A month in and so far no bombs & good carb. I did bottle the majority into Belgian style (thicker) bottles and cork & duct tape them (cause I'm ghetto homebrew-lous). The regular bottles have been separated in a plastic container & covered. I wear my sunglasses when I pick them up. lol

 

[AmandaK]

I did bottle the majority into Belgian style (thicker) bottles and cork & duct tape them (cause I'm ghetto homebrew-lous). The regular bottles have been separated in a plastic container & covered. I wear my sunglasses when I pick them up. lol

All of this is awesome.

 

[Ton]

All of this is awesome.

Don't encourage him

 

[worksnorth]

why not bottle some clean and transfer some to a smaller vessel for the brett? best of both worlds

I'd had an IPA bottled by a Micro Brewery here in Alaska. They had used Brett and I LOVED it, so I wanted the whole 5 gallons done this way. Really glad that I did it this way too!

 

[weremichael]

I always think of modern IPAs as a fresh beer (to preserve the hops aroma). Why brett at secondary or tertiary? I have brewed IPAs with only Brett. B., Brett. C, and Brett L. and actually prefer Brett L. with a huge amount of hop bursting of the C hops. It makes a candy-like taste that works well with the cherry taste of Brett L. (think jolly ranchers).

Edit: I just listened to the most recent Mitch Steel interview on the Brewing Network and learned that the original IPAs actually were secondaried (unintentionally) with Brett. I stand corrected. You should definitely go Old School.

 

[eastoak]

Adding it at bottling and using regular bottles, you are asking for bottle bombs.

Adding it to tertiary, and letting it ferment out, you will be waiting 12 months before you can bottle. Brett works slowly as a secondary yeast.

bottle bombs can happen with any yeast, using brett does not mean the danger of bottle bombs goes up. there is a perception that brett will super attenuate - it will not on it's own. brett does not work so slow that you have to wait months to bottle, i brew 100% brett beers and they don't take much longer than any other yeast. brett beer does continue to develop flavors over time.

 

[beerandloathinginaustin]

bottle bombs can happen with any yeast, using brett does not mean the danger of bottle bombs goes up. there is a perception that brett will super attenuate - it will not on it's own. brett does not work so slow that you have to wait months to bottle, i brew 100% brett beers and they don't take much longer than any other yeast. brett beer does continue to develop flavors over time.

Sure, but it only seems to act like Sacc when run solo. If we're talking adding it at bottling, it's going to continue to chew on things which over time might contribute to bottle bomb levels of CO2. That's my understanding at least.

 

[eastoak]

Sure, but it only seems to act like Sacc when run solo. If we're talking adding it at bottling, it's going to continue to chew on things which over time might contribute to bottle bomb levels of CO2. That's my understanding at least.

if you bottle at too high a FG that may happen but it would happen anyway with any yeast. i have never had a bottle bomb and i bottle with brett more often than not.

 

[milldoggy]

Brett and pedio super attenuate, not brett along