Advise on WLP670 Saison I brewed

[RmikeVT]

I brewed a pretty simple 1.050 Saison, 70/30 Pilsner/Wheat Malt back in the beginning of May. I made a starter w/ an old vile of WLP670 and pitched it. As of now the beer is a little over 4 months old, still in primary and I am not really seeing much of a pellicle. Maybe a handful of pellicle looking bubbles but nothing that screams brett pellicle. I try not to mess with the beer but last time I tasted it, a month ago, it tasted like a pretty typical non-brett saison and the gravity had not really dropped much or at all since the beer was 1 month in.

They vile was kind of old and I did make a healthy starter for it, is it possible that age killed off most of the brett and when I made the starter it just made a big population of Sacc. I know I am only 4 months in, but at this point it looks like I don't have any Brett activity, so I am thinking about just kegging it up and drinking as is. I'm just looking for advise or similar experiences....

 

[botigol]

I read somewhere that pellicle formation was more a factor of the presence of oxygen in conjunction with bacterial growth, rather than from the bacteria it/themselves. I have only brewed one sour and it was at least a few months before I noticed anything that resembled a pellicle, other than some stray bubbles that just wouldn't go away. That said, that batch is still going and I have intentionally left it undisturbed, so I cannot make any reference to whether the bugs did their job.

 

[m00ps]

Ive bottled every brett and sour saison Ive made in under 4 months. As long as the gravity is stable, you dont try to ridiculously carb it, and it tastes good go for it. Just be sure to save like half the bottles or more to try in another 4 months where the flavors will keep developing

the pellicle will really only appear if you keep taking samples and more oxygen gets in there. If its in a carboy with a narrow neck, this can help prevent it. Its not a bad thing, either way you arent going to be drinking it

 

[secondbase]

A pellicle is not an indication that the brett is working. A pellicle is formed in the presence of oxygen. I've had great brett beers that never formed a pellicle. The brett in this blend can be somewhat mild. If you're unhappy with it, leave it alone for another couple months. If you're impatient and the gravity is table, go ahead and bottle. Brett will outlast sacch by a very long time, so no need to worry about the brett being gone. It'll develop brett character over time.

 

[RmikeVT]

A pellicle is not an indication that the brett is working. A pellicle is formed in the presence of oxygen. I've had great brett beers that never formed a pellicle. The brett in this blend can be somewhat mild. If you're unhappy with it, leave it alone for another couple months. If you're impatient and the gravity is table, go ahead and bottle. Brett will outlast sacch by a very long time, so no need to worry about the brett being gone. It'll develop brett character over time.

You think it is fine to leave in primary? I've just been leaving it alone aside from staring at it. I was thinking about giving it 6 months in primary before messing with it. I'll probably bottle half and keg the rest.

 

[RmikeVT]

A pellicle is not an indication that the brett is working. A pellicle is formed in the presence of oxygen. I've had great brett beers that never formed a pellicle. The brett in this blend can be somewhat mild. If you're unhappy with it, leave it alone for another couple months. If you're impatient and the gravity is table, go ahead and bottle. Brett will outlast sacch by a very long time, so no need to worry about the brett being gone. It'll develop brett character over time.

You think I am safe leaving it in primary for 6 mix or so? I was probably going to keg half and bottle half at that point. I am in no rush, but if i did something to mess up the Brett might as well just drink it.

 

[secondbase]

Any beer with Brett is fine to leave in primary. Some people like to rack to secondary to minimize headspace but I haven't had an issue with that.

 

[RmikeVT]

Any beer with Brett is fine to leave in primary. Some people like to rack to secondary to minimize headspace but I haven't had an issue with that.

Ok, thanks for answering my questions. I'm just going to leave this guy alone until it hit six months. Just keeping my fingers crossed it will develop some Brett character. As i said, I don't really like messing with my beer after I pitch my yeast so I'll be patient with this one and wait until i hit six months to taste and take another gravity reading. In the meantime i should get another Brett beer going.

 

[allouez86]

If it makes you feel any better, I've had a couple batches that used just wlp670 and weren't overly funky after 4 months. They seemed to have just a hint of funk to compliment the saison spiciness. If you're looking to experiment, I recently pitched a vial of wlp644 alongside wlp670 and let that go for 4 months. Reeeeaaaaalllly good tropical and funk notes on that beer.

 

[BGBC]

In the meantime i should get another Brett beer going.

Yes to this. Always this.

 

[RmikeVT]

FYI - I just kegged it up on 2/14/2016. I left for 9 months in primary and the beer is fantastic. I think the funk is quite subtle for the reason I listed in my original post, I think it would have been more pronounced if I had used it when it was fresh. But, I am really happy with the beer. I got down to 0.998 or something like that.