Brett Saison Tasting Notes

So this was fun:

http://hoppyface.blogspot.com/2015/01/saison-with-brett-recipe-and-tasting.html

 

I haven't used any of TYB's strains and I look forward to going ham on those brett blends. I may have missed it, but how long did you let it go in secondary with these strains? And how long did they spend in bottles before opening? Cool writeup. Cheers

 

Thanks! The Brett was added mid-April, and they were bottled mid-November, I think. They weren't in the bottle more than a month before I tasted them, probably only a few weeks.

 

Mind sharing how you carbonated the beer? How much priming sugar, volume, etc.. And what you would do differently next time in relation to carbonation?

 

I decided not to add any dry yeast, and since I wanted to err on the side of caution, I used one of the online calculators to find out how much table sugar to add to get to somewhere between 1.5 and 2 volumes, if I remember correctly. Next time, I'll probably add a small amount of dry yeast and carb as normal, to at least 2.5 vols. The gravity had been stable for a long time, so I really didn't have anything to worry about. That's ok, though, lesson learned!

 

Thanks! I'm looking to bottle a Brett Saison of my own in a month or so.
I wonder if giving it another month in the bottle your saison will become more carbed.

 

It has slightly, but not much. I think it's about as carbed as it's going to get.

 

If the gravity is stable for a while then you can just carb like normal. I usually do my brett saisons with sach first and then add the brett. I let them go for a few months and then bottle. I like my saisons carbed pretty high so I usually add about 6 oz of sugar. I do have a big stash of heavy bottles and use them as a precaution. I have never had one overcarb.

I love my saisons with brett. I have three at various stages of aging right now. Brett adds some wonderful flavors to saisons, as your tasting notes show.

FYI.. bottle dregs from various beers that have brett in them work great. Adding a few different ones gives some nice variety.

Here is a great list that the Mad Fermentationist put together.

http://www.themadfermentationist.com/p/dreg-list.html

 

Awesome review! Glad to hear the Brett blends worked out for you. One thing I have definitely noticed with the Lochristi is the fruitiness really comes out with a little extra age. Also have gotten a lot of reports about underpitching that blend and getting absurdly high amounts of strawberry-like flavor and aroma.

 

Thanks Nick! I just tasted one again the other night, and the strawberry is definitely becoming more prominent. When I first tasted these, I preferred the Brussels blend, but as they age, and the Lochristi becomes more complex, I think that one might be my favorite. They're both very enjoyable, and I'll be redoing this on a larger scale in a couple months.

Also, I can't wait to try your lager strains!!