Bootleg Biology: Mad Fermentationist Brett Saison

[goodolarchie]

I'm very curious as to how JK controls the acidity in it.

Hops, temperature, oxygen control, and blending generally. It's worth noting that what lives on in the dregs are NOT 1:1 with what did most of the work to make the beer in primary for them. It's a big'ol competition, and when a lot of the early strains die out, the strong survive. Sometimes the strong can do a really good job souring even hoppy wort. I love dregs, I call it cutting in line, but it's jesus-take-the-wheel.

 

[cactusgarrett]

This thread has inspired me to look into using this, but it appears it's Out of Stock. Any ideas as to when this would be available again?

Finally available again! Cheers to BB and them getting this filled and shipped out ASAP!

 

[brownni5]

Would it have been too difficult to have it available last week when I ordered the Berliner Blend and GF Oslo? Might have made me feel better about the shipping...

 

[cactusgarrett]

Right? At least I was able to snag some this time - I felt like a schmuck jumping on it so quickly, but when i checked back a few hours later it was all sold out. Sounds like This Is The Way, with this one.

 

[brownni5]

Ok, I just cracked open a bottle brewed with MF last spring. For the first 9 months or so, it was dull - really dull. Then it started to come around. Now it's apricot candy. Nothing but actual fruit should taste this good. No acidity from the lacto - too wimpy to deal with the hops.

1.036 I think, mostly pils, some wheat, Munich and flaked rye. Hopped with H Blanc and Styrian Goldings to maybe 20 IBU.

 

[brownni5]

The blend is once again available online. Seems they're making cultures available more often, perhaps just during the pandemic?

 

[cactusgarrett]

Finally got a chance to make a saison with it. Amazing. I'll definitely maintaining a slurry of this in my brewhouse for as long as i can.

 

[goodolarchie]

I have a keg of MFB saison that's now 12+ months old, at 4 IBU it got quite sour, too lactic at first. But now it has a wonderful raspberry lemonade quality, I've been using it as souring stock for all-brett beers that need a little boost. I also managed to snag last week's propagation from jeff... wish I could have gotten the berliner culture.

 

[user 263363]

I snagged a pack of this a couple days ago. My plan is to brew a low abv "table beer" style brew with it for late summer enjoyment. I think I've about collected enough thick bottles to bottle a batch in. It seems most people here are going with moderate to high abv with this mixed culture. Will there really be any downfall to a lower abv (less than 4%) using this?

 

[brownni5]

I snagged a pack of this a couple days ago. My plan is to brew a low abv "table beer" style brew with it for late summer enjoyment. I think I've about collected enough thick bottles to bottle a batch in. It seems most people here are going with moderate to high abv with this mixed culture. Will there really be any downfall to a lower abv (less than 4%) using this?

See my post above. A 1.036 beer (right around 4% ABV) turned out fantastic, but it took a while. It's been some time since I brewed a Saison above 1.042 - I love low gravity farmhouse beers!

 

[user 263363]

See my post above. A 1.036 beer (right around 4% ABV) turned out fantastic, but it took a while. It's been some time since I brewed a Saison above 1.042 - I love low gravity farmhouse beers!

I guess I got sloppy after doing so much reading, I totally missed that. Thanks!

 

[user 263363]

I just bottled a small saison I brewed on 6-15. This thing dried out to .999. The taste was a bit bland to be honest, but I am hoping that the Brett will continue to develop as it bottle conditions. I probably missed the bus without dry hopping, but I was hoping to get a base line on a fairly traditional recipe.

 

[cactusgarrett]

Mike Tonsmeier has said that there are quite a few levers you can pull (ferment temp, IBU, mash temp, etc.) with this blend to get a variety of different flavors, so don't give up on it due to this one's blandness.

 

[user 263363]

Mike Tonsmeier has said that there are quite a few levers you can pull (ferment temp, IBU, mash temp, etc.) with this blend to get a variety of different flavors, so don't give up on it due to this one's blandness.

Oh there's no giving up. Even if it doesn't develop further, it will be a decent saison. The more I read about Brett, the more I think some time in the bottle will do it some good.

 

[brownni5]

I just bottled a small saison I brewed on 6-15. This thing dried out to .999. The taste was a bit bland to be honest, but I am hoping that the Brett will continue to develop as it bottle conditions. I probably missed the bus without dry hopping, but I was hoping to get a base line on a fairly traditional recipe.

In my opinion, a beer with this blend, at, what, 4 weeks(?), is in no shape to be judged just yet. I've brewed with it a few times and it takes a while to begin to shine. Give it at least a couple months in the bottle before you judge it.

 

[Oldsock]

It's definitely not the funkiest blend out there, but that's actually something I like about it. Makes it easier to mix with hops, and a crowd pleaser.

We just blended a 4 month old rye saison fermented with it and an old pale lambic-ish that had barrel-fermented for 18 months. Still remarkably fruity, with a balancing funk from the older beer. Excited to see how it develops!

 

[stealthfixr]

Just bought this yeast blend for a Brett Saison solera in a 0.5BBL foeder. Very much looking forward to trying it out!

I read above about the "different levers you could pull" for different results. Does anyone have those? Any suggestions for this use case?

 

[ShaLaH]

Figured I'd re-ignite this thread. I brewed a split-batch of Saison using The Mad Fermentationist Saison blend & Embrace The Funk. The TMF batch came out really bland, thin, watery, with nothing real interesting going on. The ETF batch turned out amazing! The subtle Brett came through very nicely - slight funk, pleasant esters, dry and balance. The beer was honestly as good as any top-tier commercial Saisons.