Long story, TLDR version: barleywine with Brett has become sour somehow.
I brewed 6 gallons of barleywine in July 2014, split it in half, bottled one half and pitched a vial of Brett C into the other (carboy was kept at room temperature in a closet the entire time).
The FG at the time was 1.024. Over the next 6 months the Brett only took it down to 1.022, then finally down to 1.020 by June 2015. I assumed that since I pitched the Brett into such a high alcohol environment it probably got shocked and that's why it went much slower than Brett normally does for me.
Around July 2015 I decided that in order to drop the gravity faster I would pitch some more Brett. This time I bought a pack from Wyeast and made a 2 step starter (small steps over the course of 10 days). The final step would have around 8-10% ABV, that way the Brett would be ready to go in the barleywine. The gravity dropped all the way from 1.020 to 1.016 in about 2 months, getting a nice leathery funky barnyard note.
This week I was reading someone else's thread on trying to do this and decided to try a sample again. The gravity is now at 1.013, so I know something is chewing away in there. BUT, it has a distinct sour flavor. I still really like it, I almost considered blending it with some of my Oud Bruin at one point, but now it's sour on it's own.
I am just confused, how the hell did the beer turn sour just from Brett? On top of that, the beer is +12% ABV at this point and has somewhere around 50 IBU, not a great environment at all for bacteria.
A few things come to mind:
1. The starter had a decently strong sour smell to it. I believe Brett can produce acetic acid when oxygen is present, but the flavor of the beer is not a harsh acetic acidity. I also keep a close eye on the air lock level and purge the carboy with CO2 after most samples (I did plan on allowing for some oxidation to add to the flavor). Maybe I do have a low level of acetic acid that is being rounded out by the overall maltiness of the beer?
2. I use a stainless steel baster to take gravity samples. I use the same one for all of my beers (brett, lager, ale, sour, etc). I flush and rinse it after each use, both the stainless section and the rubber bulb (even do a iodine wash most times, but not every time). Is it possible that the rubber bulb could somehow still cause a transfer of bacteria from a sour despite never coming into direct contact with the liquid?
3. Most far fetched: the carboy sits directly next to my sour carboy. Contamination via air?
I just hope that as the brett continues to chew through the remaining sugars it doesn't get too harsh, because right now it is a nice touch of sour with funk, layered over a nice malty backbone with a tinge of the right oxidation character.
I brewed 6 gallons of barleywine in July 2014, split it in half, bottled one half and pitched a vial of Brett C into the other (carboy was kept at room temperature in a closet the entire time).
The FG at the time was 1.024. Over the next 6 months the Brett only took it down to 1.022, then finally down to 1.020 by June 2015. I assumed that since I pitched the Brett into such a high alcohol environment it probably got shocked and that's why it went much slower than Brett normally does for me.
Around July 2015 I decided that in order to drop the gravity faster I would pitch some more Brett. This time I bought a pack from Wyeast and made a 2 step starter (small steps over the course of 10 days). The final step would have around 8-10% ABV, that way the Brett would be ready to go in the barleywine. The gravity dropped all the way from 1.020 to 1.016 in about 2 months, getting a nice leathery funky barnyard note.
This week I was reading someone else's thread on trying to do this and decided to try a sample again. The gravity is now at 1.013, so I know something is chewing away in there. BUT, it has a distinct sour flavor. I still really like it, I almost considered blending it with some of my Oud Bruin at one point, but now it's sour on it's own.
I am just confused, how the hell did the beer turn sour just from Brett? On top of that, the beer is +12% ABV at this point and has somewhere around 50 IBU, not a great environment at all for bacteria.
A few things come to mind:
1. The starter had a decently strong sour smell to it. I believe Brett can produce acetic acid when oxygen is present, but the flavor of the beer is not a harsh acetic acidity. I also keep a close eye on the air lock level and purge the carboy with CO2 after most samples (I did plan on allowing for some oxidation to add to the flavor). Maybe I do have a low level of acetic acid that is being rounded out by the overall maltiness of the beer?
2. I use a stainless steel baster to take gravity samples. I use the same one for all of my beers (brett, lager, ale, sour, etc). I flush and rinse it after each use, both the stainless section and the rubber bulb (even do a iodine wash most times, but not every time). Is it possible that the rubber bulb could somehow still cause a transfer of bacteria from a sour despite never coming into direct contact with the liquid?
3. Most far fetched: the carboy sits directly next to my sour carboy. Contamination via air?
I just hope that as the brett continues to chew through the remaining sugars it doesn't get too harsh, because right now it is a nice touch of sour with funk, layered over a nice malty backbone with a tinge of the right oxidation character.
