Mixed-Fermentation Sour Beer Brett Saison + Peach

[couchsending]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

3522

Yeast Starter

Yes

Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter

TYB185

Batch Size (Gallons)

3

Original Gravity

1.048

Final Gravity

1.004

Boiling Time (Minutes)

90

IBU

40

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

10

Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

60-90

Additional Fermentation

3 months on Fruit

Thought I’d post a recipe/process for a mixed ferment fruited beer. I’d brewed quite a few Brett Saisons but this was my first attempt adding fruit. I entered my last two small bottles last summer into our states Homebrew comp. I think it scored a 44 and a 46. I only had two bottles and the judges liked it so much they drank both so it didn’t make it to BOS table, ha. One judge who’s an assistant brewer at a large brewery, BJCP, certified Cicerone, etc said it was the best fruited sour beer she’d ever had. I’ve certainly had better but regardless.

Grain Bill
Honestly it doesn’t really matter. Some blend of Pils/Wheat or Pils/Rye or Pils/Spelt. I think mine was 70% Pils, 30% Malted Spelt.

Gravity
1.040-1.048
The Brett will really dry it out and I generally don’t make to many high ABV beers. The lower alcohol makes it easier to drink.

Yeast
Wyeast 3522 Ardennes
I like this yeast as it’s non diastaticus and floccs really well. One of the only Belgian yeast strains that does. Pitch at 68 and let free rise to 76/78 or so. Creates a decent amount of esters and phenols but nothing too overpowering. Depending on how you Mash it will leave a bit of residual sugar for Brett to munch on.

Ferment for 10 days in primary. Could probably get away with less as this yeast is pretty fast. At 10 days the beer should be pretty clear which is nice. You’re not transferring a ton of yeast to your secondary fermenter.

Pressure transfer to a secondary vessel. Do your best to minimize O2 exposure. I just used a glass carboy for this. I did my best to fill it with Co2 and keep the Co2 turned on while filling the carboy. Fill it right up to the neck of the carboys. Again you want to minimize headspace and o2 exposure.

Once transferred add Brett Brux strain TYB184 from the Yeast Bay. I love this Brett. It’s from one of the best producers of Brett Saison in the world and it works super fast. It usually takes gravity from 1.012->1.004 in less than a month (never actually checked before a month) and it creates a ton of flavor really quickly. It’s incredibly fruity with just a touch of funk. Funk will increase while in the bottle but it takes a while. It always stops at 1.004 for me. Again why I like it. Leaves a little bit more body. It also creates a bit of acidity. Most beers I’ve made with it finish around 3.8 -> 3.9. This isn’t really a “sour” beer. It’s lightly tart, plus depending on the fruit you add you can get additional acidity from the fruit.

I let the beer condition for 2 months. You could probably get away with 1 but I’m not sure.

Fruit:

I used local organic white peaches at a rate of 3.5lb/gallon. It wasn’t cheap that’s for sure. I cut the peaches up, put them in vacuum bags and froze them. They were actually frozen for a while before I got around to adding them but I’m not sure time is that important. I do think that freezing them is very critical however.

This was only a 3 gallon batch. I did this intentionally as I didn’t really have a great vessel that I could add a ton of peaches to and 5 gallons of beer. So I chose to make less beer and use a 5 gallon keg for the fruit refermentation. I used the dip tube screen that Scott Janish made popular for dry hopping lose in a keg. Added the globs of peach to the keg, purged as best I could, then force transferred from the carboy to the peaches. Once transferred I added a fresh dose of Brett. You could add another strain or the same. Just wanted some fresh yeast to start work on the peach sugars as soon as possible. I attached a blow off to the gas out and let it sit for 3 months. Once noticeable signs for fermentation stopped I pulled the blow off and would just release a bit of pressure with the PRV. Didn’t really get much after signs of ferment had stopped.

After 3 months I pressure transferred again to a purged 3 gallon keg. I added some champagne yeast and enough sugar to hit 3.5 volumes and let sit for a few hours. I then bottled in thick glass using a beer gun.

I know it seems like a lot of pressure transfers but I’m really trying to minimize O2 pickup at all costs. I’ve never experienced THP in any of my mixed ferment beers and I hope to keep it that way.

The peach character has held on for a really long time with virtually no fade. The beer had been in the bottle for 9 months when it was judged I think and the few remaining bottles I have around 16-18 months and the fruit character really hasn’t changed.

I used my well water for this beer. It’s generally horrific for Pale beer. 240 alkalinity, 650 TDs, etc. I preboiled it to get some of the alkalinity and hardness to drop out then decanted off. I do think it added a distinct profile to the beer. I actually only know the total hardness and alkalinity numbers. Mot sure the exact CL, So4, MG, Na numbers. Still need to get it tested for those.

You might be able to get away with less time on the peaches. This isn’t intended to be a quick turn beer. If you want to add oak I’d add maybe 1-1.5oz of medium toast French oak cubes to the Brett secondary stage. I’d say it the one thing this beer is missing, a little bit of oak structure.

 

[jsicotte]

This sounds awesome, yet intense for my rinky dink set up. Do you have your other non-fruited Brett beer recipes on this forum somewhere?

 

[couchsending]

Just make the beer outlined in the post but skip the fruit. It’s a great Brett “Saison” of sorts. Key is the Brett. Order strains from The Yeast Bay. You won’t regret it.

 

[TuOwl]

Just make the beer outlined in the post but skip the fruit. It’s a great Brett “Saison” of sorts. Key is the Brett. Order strains from The Yeast Bay. You won’t regret it.

Awesome write up! I am looking to do a similar beer but was going to use imperial sour batch as the yeast as it seems to combined a few different strains to get that sour Brett flavor I am looking for. I did have a few questions that maybe you have an opinion on:

I am going to do a 5.5 gallon batch and use 8lbs of peaches. I wanted to do primary in a conical fermenter then transfer it onto the peaches in a 7 gallon brew bucket. Do you think the 7 gallon brew bucket will be big enough to hold the peaches and the beer? I have never added fruit so I am worried that it wont be big enough.

I would presumably add another packet of sour batch after I move to the peaches but I could also add the brett strain from the yeast bay you are raving about. I am nervous to toss a third brett strain in but i guess this is all an experiment.

Did you use a filter when you transferred off the peaches? I am also trying to think of logistics as to not get a clogged racking port.

Any help is much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Qhrumphf]

No comment on your specifics but the combo of Saison + Brett + Peach is a winner for sure.

 

[Qhrumphf]

In my case, spent (multi turn and completely neutral) bourbon barrel filled with Saison fermented with a blend of Dupont and French Saison yeasts, aged a year with my house Brett culture (started with Omega All The Bretts but has evolved from, I share it among all my wild beers and have added in plenty of dregs so it's its own beast and likely not just Brett), then an additional 84 lb of Oregon Fruit peach puree (so 1.58#/gal), and allowed to ferment another 6 months.