Brett in my barleywine

[BrokenKnucklesBrewery]

Well....after 2 weeks in the secondary, i went and checked today and found this nice piece of heaven floating on top of my barleywine.



A couple of questions though....

1. WTF caused this?? I've been brewing for close to 3 years now and brew at least 2 batches a month and I've never seen ANYTHING like this.

2. Is it salvageable? I've been told to maybe cold crash it for a few days and then transfer into a new carboy and see if it comes back. I would think that once a beer is infected...there's no going back.

and

3. Would it be worth trying to make a crazy sour out of it? It's sitting around 10% right now. Maybe let it sit for another couple months and then rack it onto some bourbon soaked oak cubes, cherries...something..??

Any help is good help!

 

[JLem]

Wow...that is impressive. Definitely an infection. I would guess Brett...Lacto can also do this sort of thing, but I'd be surprised if Lacto could take hold that quickly in a barleywine. It is not salvageable if, by "salvageable", you mean "will taste like the barleywine I set out to make". However, if you enjoy Brett-spiked beers, you could have something still worth drinking here. Personally, I would set it in a corner and let it sit for several months and see how things go. However, if Brett beers are not your thing and/or you don't want to wait months to see what happens, you should dump it. Since it is a glass carboy, you should be able to clean and sanitize it.

 

[BrokenKnucklesBrewery]

JLem, by no means do i expect to have a barley wine at the end of this journey. At least not at this point. I figured it was a Brett infection....my only question is that it's been in the secondary for 2 weeks now and as of 3 days ago showed NO sign of infection....all of a sudden today...bam!

I'm more interested now in knowing if it could possibly be a good sour, which i like. See question 3 in my OP......do you think something like that would work?

 

[JLem]

JLem, by no means do i expect to have a barley wine at the end of this journey. At least not at this point. I figured it was a Brett infection....my only question is that it's been in the secondary for 2 weeks now and as of 3 days ago showed NO sign of infection....all of a sudden today...bam!

I'm more interested now in knowing if it could possibly be a good sour, which i like. See question 3 in my OP......do you think something like that would work?

Well, Brett alone will not really make this sour...it will make it funky, and maybe a bit tart, but not really sour. If you want sour, you'll need Lacto and/or Pedio - you could add some dregs of a commercial sour, perhaps. There really is no way to know where this will go. I would sit on it for awhile and then decide what to do next - no need to rush things. Cherries do sound interesting though.

 

[neosapien]

I vote for cherries and letting it go for 6+ months.

 

[edecambra]

I vote for cherries and letting it go for 6+ months.

This would be great and I bet you'll have a beer you wished you could replicate in the end of it

 

[Austin_]

Hop on and hang on for the ride.

If it were me, I'd take a sample asap and taste it and get a gravity reading. If it is Brett, I'd just let it sit for several months and see what develops. You won't get any souring in the sour beer sense. Certain brett strains can throw off a little acid, but it'll mostly be funk. Depends on the Brett strain. After a few months I'd see where it's at and if fruit or European oak might be a good addition. It could be fine on its own, or it might could benefit from an addition. Your call. You're the one drinking it.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Given that you don't know exactly what strain of brett you've got, or if you have anything else in there, I'd suggest you pitch a commercial sour yeast like Roeselare, just to try to make sure you get the souring you want.

 

[GuldTuborg]

At 10%, and with the hopping a 10% barley wine usually has, it's most likely brett, as others have suggested. Some strains of brett are prominent, others are pretty mild. I'd let it ride as is for a few months. If it's bad at that point, you can dump or add something else later on. Anything you add or otherwise do to it now, you're stuck with. May as well see how it turns out as is first. Who knows, it may be turn out pretty tasty. Many English old ales get the brett treatment, and it may end up something more like that, which isn't all bad, after all.

 

[Austin_]

Given that you don't know exactly what strain of brett you've got, or if you have anything else in there, I'd suggest you pitch a commercial sour yeast like Roeselare, just to try to make sure you get the souring you want.

I'm assuming OP's IBUs are well over the desirable threshold for making it a sour.

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

I'm assuming OP's IBUs are well over the desirable threshold for making it a sour.

Pedio/Lacto are alpha inhibitive, brett on the other hand is not effected by AA

Op, Such a great shot!
I would guess its brett also with the hopping rate, let it ride and see what you get!!
If not buy a commerical strain like 644 or 655, the 644 brus trois is one of my favorites, VERY fruity when green but nice and leathery as it ages. Great strain.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I'm assuming OP's IBUs are well over the desirable threshold for making it a sour.

You're correct. My bad.

Thanks!

 

[BradleyBrew]

I made a traditional Old Ale using the Wyeast Old Ale Yeast Blend. Couldn't be happier with the results. Brett adds some unique characteristics to a already "colorful" beer style. You might as well sit on it and see how it turns out. I wouldnt transfer it or move it around because you surely want to isolate whatever is in that carboy.

 

[BrokenKnucklesBrewery]

Update on the thread. I pulled a sample today and gravity is still around 1.020. It has already started tasting tart. Guess ill see what another couple months does to it.