thasnazzle
Well-Known Member
I'm designing my second all-brett beer, which I'd like to be a dark malty beer (brown, stout, winter warmer, belgian dark strong) that has a mild funkiness and some fruity characteristics from the brett. I plan on using brett b. As I work on building this recipe, I have a few questions:
1) I know that the fruitier characteristics in brett come from it turning lactic acid and ethanol into ethyl lactate (oldsock explains here). What's the best method for doing that? I don't want to add lactobacillus to my fermentation. So I could: 1) add lactic acid to mash 2) add lactic acid after mash 3) pre-boil sour some wort with lacto 4) add acidulated malt as a percentage of the grist. Is there any notable difference between any of these? What quantity of acid/soured wort/acid malt should I be looking to add? I haven't been able to find anything that really distinguishes between these methods or talks about the quantities you should be looking to add.
2) I know all-brett doesn't attenuate as much as brett in the secondary, but I'm hoping to keep the body as substantial as I can. Any tips? I have heard adding oats as about 10% of the grist can help - anyone tried this?
3) I plan on pitching around 75-80 and letting it rise naturally, which I understand is OK for lighter-bodied brett beers. Is that too high for this?
4) Finally, planning on primarying in glass, so I don't risk contaminating my plastic fermenters. Since it's so warm I plan on rigging a blowoff, but should I be concerned at all with the brett getting enough oxygen?
1) I know that the fruitier characteristics in brett come from it turning lactic acid and ethanol into ethyl lactate (oldsock explains here). What's the best method for doing that? I don't want to add lactobacillus to my fermentation. So I could: 1) add lactic acid to mash 2) add lactic acid after mash 3) pre-boil sour some wort with lacto 4) add acidulated malt as a percentage of the grist. Is there any notable difference between any of these? What quantity of acid/soured wort/acid malt should I be looking to add? I haven't been able to find anything that really distinguishes between these methods or talks about the quantities you should be looking to add.
2) I know all-brett doesn't attenuate as much as brett in the secondary, but I'm hoping to keep the body as substantial as I can. Any tips? I have heard adding oats as about 10% of the grist can help - anyone tried this?
3) I plan on pitching around 75-80 and letting it rise naturally, which I understand is OK for lighter-bodied brett beers. Is that too high for this?
4) Finally, planning on primarying in glass, so I don't risk contaminating my plastic fermenters. Since it's so warm I plan on rigging a blowoff, but should I be concerned at all with the brett getting enough oxygen?