Bootleg Biology: Mad Fermentationist Brett Saison

[cmhaynes]

Hmmm... no idea. Can you post a photo? I once had a few bottles of hard apple cider develop a purple tint and never did figure out why.

OK...here's a photo. There's a slight tint to the liquid as well, which might not be that obvious.

 

[Oldsock]

OK...here's a photo. There's a slight tint to the liquid as well, which might not be that obvious.View attachment 546780

Yikes, never seen anything like that. There are occasional issues of sour beer going purple-ish when exposed to oxygen... but nothing like that!

 

[cmhaynes]

Yikes, never seen anything like that. There are occasional issues of sour beer going purple-ish when exposed to oxygen... but nothing like that!

Haha...well, now what? I'm guessing I shouldn't use it, right? I guess I could build up some bottles dregs or just buy a new pitch.

 

[TravelingLight]

The risk is that the Brett will be converting that acetic acid to ethyl acetate, which has a strong solvent character at higher levels. Depending on how it tastes now, cold might be better if it is an option.

I can absolutely move it to the keezer if need be. I'll pull a sample tonight and see how it tastes. Thanks.

 

[Oldsock]

Haha...well, now what? I'm guessing I shouldn't use it, right? I guess I could build up some bottles dregs or just buy a new pitch.

Yeah, I wouldn't use it. I've built it up from kicked kegs, it is a hardy blend! Dregs should be fine.

 

[505-Brewer]

OK...here's a photo. There's a slight tint to the liquid as well, which might not be that obvious.View attachment 546780

Is that harvested yeast in a small jar?
Any chance you sanitized w iodophor and fed fed it new wort too?
TL

 

[cmhaynes]

Nope...I just scooped some of the yeast cake out of primary after bottling and put it in a small mason jar.

Is that harvested yeast in a small jar?
Any chance you sanitized w iodophor and fed fed it new wort too?
TL[/QUOTE

 

[jpb2716]

Hello all.

I ordered a pack of this the last time it was available from Bootleg and I'm getting ready to use it soon. This will be the first time that I've made a starter with Brett. I've read that Brett starters need more time to build up, as compared to Sacc, but I wasn't sure if that was the case with this since it's a blend of Sacc, Brett and Lacto.

So my question is, how long are you guys letting this spin on the stir plate before use?

Thanks in advance!

 

[TravelingLight]

Hello all.

I ordered a pack of this the last time it was available from Bootleg and I'm getting ready to use it soon. This will be the first time that I've made a starter with Brett. I've read that Brett starters need more time to build up, as compared to Sacc, but I wasn't sure if that was the case with this since it's a blend of Sacc, Brett and Lacto.

So my question is, how long are you guys letting this spin on the stir plate before use?

Thanks in advance!

IIRC, I followed my normal routine on the stir plate when I spun this up last year. Just a few days to let it ferment out. I will say, however, I did not decant this one after cold crashing like I normally do. We know brett/bugs don't crash out as easily as sacc does, and I didn't have time to wait weeks for it to fully crash out, so I pitched the whole thing.

 

[jpb2716]

IIRC, I followed my normal routine on the stir plate when I spun this up last year. Just a few days to let it ferment out. I will say, however, I did not decant this one after cold crashing like I normally do. We know brett/bugs don't crash out as easily as sacc does, and I didn't have time to wait weeks for it to fully crash out, so I pitched the whole thing.

Excellent, thanks for the advice!

 

[cmhaynes]

Excellent, thanks for the advice!

What are you brewing?
I just brewed with it yesterday: a hoppy petite saison with Amarillo and Crystal. Last time the only hops I used were a 2-ounce dry hop, and it was nicely tart. This time I hopped it to about 23 IBUs, and I'm only doing a 0.75 ounce dry hop in a 3.5 gallon batch.

 

[jpb2716]

What are you brewing?
I just brewed with it yesterday: a hoppy petite saison with Amarillo and Crystal. Last time the only hops I used were a 2-ounce dry hop, and it was nicely tart. This time I hopped it to about 23 IBUs, and I'm only doing a 0.75 ounce dry hop in a 3.5 gallon batch.

I'm going to brew a low abv saison. Probably around 4-4.5%. I'm thinking all Amarillo and pushing the ibu's to around 35.

 

[cmhaynes]

Has anybody else gotten any sulfur smells from this blend? I made a 1-liter starter from a 6-month old pack, and pitched it almost 3 days ago at about 73F. It's been fermenting at ambient temps since then which have ranged from 68-74F. The thermometer strip on the bucket got up to about 78F or so at the height of fermentation, and now it's sitting around 72F. Fermentation took off pretty quickly, and at first it was putting off amazing hoppy smells, but then about 2 days in I could smell a sulfur note.

 

[TravelingLight]

Has anybody else gotten any sulfur smells from this blend? I made a 1-liter starter from a 6-month old pack, and pitched it almost 3 days ago at about 73F. It's been fermenting at ambient temps since then which have ranged from 68-74F. The thermometer strip on the bucket got up to about 78F or so at the height of fermentation, and now it's sitting around 72F. Fermentation took off pretty quickly, and at first it was putting off amazing hoppy smells, but then about 2 days in I could smell a sulfur note.

Damn, I've only used it once, but haven't gotten that. Mine got too acetic, but that was my fault for exposing the brett to too much O2. Gonna have to blend that out.

 

[505-Brewer]

Damn, I've only used it once, but haven't gotten that. Mine got too acetic, but that was my fault for exposing the brett to too much O2. Gonna have to blend that out.

Good luck. Hard to do. Acetic really sticks around and seems to have a low threshold. Let is know what works.

 

[cmhaynes]

Has anybody else gotten any sulfur smells from this blend? I made a 1-liter starter from a 6-month old pack, and pitched it almost 3 days ago at about 73F. It's been fermenting at ambient temps since then which have ranged from 68-74F. The thermometer strip on the bucket got up to about 78F or so at the height of fermentation, and now it's sitting around 72F. Fermentation took off pretty quickly, and at first it was putting off amazing hoppy smells, but then about 2 days in I could smell a sulfur note.

OK...false alarm. I'm just being paranoid. There's no sulfuric smell. I think I'm just looking for something to worry about. I should have just listened to my wife when she said she only smelled hops

 

[TravelingLight]

Good luck. Hard to do. Acetic really sticks around and seems to have a low threshold. Let is know what works.

Looking forward to it, I've never blended before. Thankfully the acetic is not super powerful. I did some initial tastings this weekend and it's looking like possibly around 70/30 blender/base. Going to try and nail that down this weekend since they're both ready to go.

 

[Oldsock]

OK...false alarm. I'm just being paranoid. There's no sulfuric smell. I think I'm just looking for something to worry about. I should have just listened to my wife when she said she only smelled hops

Glad to hear! I had one batch that went a little sulfury with my original blend. I believe it was a similar situation, reviving it after a few months in the fridge. Eventually pressurizing the keg and venting scrubbed it out.

 

[cmhaynes]

Glad to hear! I had one batch that went a little sulfury with my original blend. I believe it was a similar situation, reviving it after a few months in the fridge. Eventually pressurizing the keg and venting scrubbed it out.

Well, I bottled this yesterday, and there was no sulfur!

 

[Yeroc]

Looking for advice on how to deal with an old slurry of the Mad Fermentationist yeast blend for a new beer.

I saved about a 1/2 liter of yeast from one of my brews last year that used the MF yeast. This 1/2 liter was probably 4 generations in from the originally purchased yeast. All the batches were between 1.044 and 1.054 for this particular slurry, and most were fairly low hopped (I branched out with a different MF slurry for a super high gravity beer - another story).

The last beer with this was brewed on 7/30/17. So my questions are...

- How best to make a new beer with this saved slurry?
- Do I create a starter to wake things up? If so, how much slurry do I use in the starter? What sized starter?
- Do I just pitch the whole 1/2 liter into my next beer without making a starter?

My plan is to brew the same beer that I first brewed when I purchased this yeast last year (recipe listed much earlier in this thread). It's a fairly light and low hopped saison.

I've only every used fresh slurry in the past and never saved one for so long (almost 8 months). I really like this yeast blend and figure I'll start over sometime this summer with a freshly purchased batch, but I want to keep experimenting with it and see what I get with this slurry.

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[Braufessor]

Looking for advice on how to deal with an old slurry of the Mad Fermentationist yeast blend for a new beer.

I saved about a 1/2 liter of yeast from one of my brews last year that used the MF yeast. This 1/2 liter was probably 4 generations in from the originally purchased yeast. All the batches were between 1.044 and 1.054 for this particular slurry, and most were fairly low hopped (I branched out with a different MF slurry for a super high gravity beer - another story).

The last beer with this was brewed on 7/30/17. So my questions are...

- How best to make a new beer with this saved slurry?
- Do I create a starter to wake things up? If so, how much slurry do I use in the starter? What sized starter?
- Do I just pitch the whole 1/2 liter into my next beer without making a starter?

My plan is to brew the same beer that I first brewed when I purchased this yeast last year (recipe listed much earlier in this thread). It's a fairly light and low hopped saison.

I've only every used fresh slurry in the past and never saved one for so long (almost 8 months). I really like this yeast blend and figure I'll start over sometime this summer with a freshly purchased batch, but I want to keep experimenting with it and see what I get with this slurry.

Thanks for any suggestions!

I would definitely make a starter for sure. I don't know that I would use the whole half liter. Honestly, I think I might make a 1L starter to get it going, cold crash, decant liquid and then make a 2 L starter. Pour half of that off to keep for any future beers and ditch what is left from your stored yeast. But, I think I would step it up twice just to make sure it seems healthy and good before dumping it into a beer. I recently used some that was a couple generations old and had sat in the fridge for about 3 months. I made a 1 liter starter with it. Used it to ferment a kettle sour (lacto) and then added cherries to it. Bottled it today - it was great.

 

[Yeroc]

I would definitely make a starter for sure. I don't know that I would use the whole half liter. Honestly, I think I might make a 1L starter to get it going, cold crash, decant liquid and then make a 2 L starter. Pour half of that off to keep for any future beers and ditch what is left from your stored yeast. But, I think I would step it up twice just to make sure it seems healthy and good before dumping it into a beer. I recently used some that was a couple generations old and had sat in the fridge for about 3 months. I made a 1 liter starter with it. Used it to ferment a kettle sour (lacto) and then added cherries to it. Bottled it today - it was great.

Thanks for your thoughts Braufessor. I like the idea of a two step starter also. Just not sure how much of the slurry to start with. Since it's packed pretty dense after all these months, maybe I start with about 3/4 cup (177 ml) and step that up twice. Totally guessing here.

 

[Oldsock]

FYI the blend is available again for a limited time, pre-orders through 3/11: http://bootlegbiology.com/product/the-mad-fermentationist-saison-blend/

Thanks for your thoughts Braufessor. I like the idea of a two step starter also. Just not sure how much of the slurry to start with. Since it's packed pretty dense after all these months, maybe I start with about 3/4 cup (177 ml) and step that up twice. Totally guessing here.

I haven't let the blend go quite that long between uses, but it has started up well after 3-4 months for me. Two stage starter sounds like the best bet to me as well.

 

[LemonJelly]

Just got my score sheets back from the NHC finals...good scores but no medals. It's a basic Saison base with Ekuanot hops. A little over a year old and still tasting great. Thanks for letting us try your awesome yeast!

 

[Oldsock]

A ~34/37 with an Ekuanot Saison is a triumph in my experience!

 

[NothingRhymesWithCurtiss]

I just pre-ordered from Bootleg Biology and expect my yeast some time in December. That said, I don't have a stir plate to do a starter. (I got excited and ordered without thinking things through.) Any experience with pitching directly versus creating a starter?

In addition, since I want to harvest this, I should be able to just grab a few jars of slurry after I transfer to my bottling bucket, right?

 

[TravelingLight]

I just pre-ordered from Bootleg Biology and expect my yeast some time in December. That said, I don't have a stir plate to do a starter. (I got excited and ordered without thinking things through.) Any experience with pitching directly versus creating a starter?

In addition, since I want to harvest this, I should be able to just grab a few jars of slurry after I transfer to my bottling bucket, right?

You don't have to have a stir plate for starters. Before I had one, I did my starters in growlers. I'd just swirl it around whenever I thought about it or walked by.

 

[NothingRhymesWithCurtiss]

You don't have to have a stir plate for starters. Before I had one, I did my starters in growlers. I'd just swirl it around whenever I thought about it or walked by.

So I should just heat up and cool some DME and use that in a growler with an airlock?

Any disadvantage to just pitching the yeast into the carboy?

 

[TravelingLight]

So I should just heat up and cool some DME and use that in a growler with an airlock?

Any disadvantage to just pitching the yeast into the carboy?

Yeah, but you don't even need an air lock. I just cover the top with a piece of sanitized aluminum foil. Just shoot for a 1.040ish gravity.

No disadvantage, depending on the OG of the wort you're adding it to.

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

I pre-ordered this as well, pretty excited to see the funky saison I can create with this. Got the parfait one too, and Chardonnay.

I have seen some people question using a starter for a mixed pitch, due to throwing off the balance of the different yeasts maybe? I will probably make a starter for this one as well though, I don't use a stir plate, just shake as TravelingLight said above.