Brett Trials

[TriggerFingers]

Sunday I brewed a 5 gallon batch of a nice light base beer to try out some Brett Strains. Beer was 1/2 wheat, 1/2 pilsner, 20 IBUS with an O.G. of 1.050. I adjusted the pitching rates for 1 gallon instead of 5--25-30ml instead of 125ml. Since its a smaller batch size I am hoping they will be ready a little sooner (3-6 months, instead of a year).

#1- ECY03
#2- ECY04
#3- WLP644
#4- ECY03, 04, and WLP 644
#5- ECY01 slurry from first sour

7/28/14--the two bottles with Brett Trois are taking off nicely--no activity from the others yet.

7/29/14--activity from all except the ECY04. I am getting the fruity aroma from Brett Trois and hints of the funky ripe fruit from the ECY03. The one that is amazing me is the Bugfarm Slurry. The slurry has been in my fridge since January in a mason jar--took a glass medicine dropper and sucked up some liquid as well as the lightest yeast layer, leaving the trub behind.

7/30/14--Still nothing from ECY04. Pitched 20ml more and swirled. Activity within 12 hours.

8/3/14-- Looks like they have all finished (except for ECY04). Now going to leave them alone in the dark until winter and check back.

8/7/14--ECY04 still bubbling, but krausen is down. Aroma is currently candy like. (Think artificial hard candy or cotton candy).

8/16/14--ECY04 finished. Aroma is similar to vintage Topps waxpack baseball cards & gum.

 

[DarthCitra]

I made an ipa using only the WLP644 and i wasnt happy with it until it was done carbing in bottle. I cracked my first one open and was shocked how much it changed and how much it impressed me.
I read a few things on brett b trois causing bottle bombs after awhile, i hope it doesnt happen to me!

Looking forward to see how these differ! samples would be graciously accepted

 

[TriggerFingers]

So after nearly 3 months, I bottled these five 1 gallon mini-batches tonight. Had trouble getting a F.G. reading (tried thief, racking cane, etc.--all inefficient with a one gallon batch) so I just let it ride...under-primed with .5 oz cane sugar with 1/3 cup of water for each batch. A few of these tasted very dry to the point you could really pick up the alcohol in the beer. So after 3 months, going to call it done and we will see what happens =)

The lowdown:

ECY03-B
Nose: Subdued Apple Pie Spice and Apples on nose. No funk.
Palate: Pleasantly tart..not too complex
Conclusions: May work well in a hard cider or cyser recipe. Maybe nice with some caramel or brown sugar in a recipe.

ECY04
Nose: Solvent, rubbery, burnt hair (think hair salon aroma), secondary aroma of musty fruit --strawberry or maybe kiwi?
Palate: This one is past tart, to a nice mellow sourness. Simple funk.
Conclusions: Intriguing, but almost comes across as obnoxious. Maybe blend with a darker beer or use with different brett strains...the strawberry quality makes you want to smell it again, but the salon quality is a bit off-putting. Not a fan at this point in time, but it may change a little in the bottle.

WLP644
Aroma: Maybe a slight fruitiness? And I mean slight--think of like a muted fruity British Ale strain.
Palate: Honestly, not much at this time. It tastes like beer. Not funky or sour in any way. Not overly anything.
Conclusions: Drinkable. Nothing exciting as of yet. I am a little disappointed with this.

ECY03/04/WLP644
Aroma:ECY04 dominant, but a little more subdued. Secondary aroma of fruit but you have to struggle to find it. Not as in-your-face as straight ECY 04.
Palate: Subdued ECY04. A little sour, but again not as blatant.
Conclusions: This has me thinking that ECY04 blends well with other funky strains. These softer ones seem to get lost when blended in equal proportions.

ECY01 Slurry
Aroma: Complex. Leather, barnyard, dried fruit, white pepper, tree bark, mushrooms.
Palate: The most sour of the bunch with good complexity.
Conclusions: This is the winner for me. Against the single strains this just brings so much that makes you want to keep your nose in it. Saved the slurry from this 1 gallon for a batch of bread.


Overall, I am glad I did this. I only wish I would have had my vial of ECY34 Dirty Dozen when doing this trial, but oh well. Going to wait a month or so before sampling again.

 

[ChefRex]

Please update!
Speaking of bread, bottled a brett "B" last week and started another and used some of the dregs in a sourdough loaf, one of my most flavorful I have made, I see this as a reoccurring thing.

 

[TriggerFingers]

Chef,

That was probably my second favorite strain of what I tried. My main sourdough starter I am reviving from last year was made with an expired pack of Wyeast 3191--its utterly fantastic! Lots of cherry and sourness. Where in Central Jersey are you located?

 

[ChefRex]

Chef,

That was probably my second favorite strain of what I tried. My main sourdough starter I am reviving from last year was made with an expired pack of Wyeast 3191--its utterly fantastic! Lots of cherry and sourness. Where in Central Jersey are you located?

Woodbridge.

 

[TriggerFingers]

Right on man, I'm just north of Trenton on the river.

 

[TriggerFingers]

Ok.....

All told....here is an update on this project.

5th Place: 644 Brett Trois: If this was brett, it would have fooled me. Its beer, and tastes like...well a base beer with little to no yeast character at all. Let me put it this way--if I would have used Safale 04/05 I may have produced a better beer. Not sure yet whether I will dump all of these bottles.

4th Place: ECY04: This strain (the newer "anomala" strain) is just off-putting to me. It has an aroma that I can best describe as a mix of artificial strawberry/burnt hair/rodent feces. It has some character, which is why it isn't last. Also, its subtle so I can see it having a place with a mix of Brett strains to create complexity or perhaps in a dark beer, but alone in a light base beer, its something I wouldn't use again.

3rd Place: ECY03B/04/644: Again, the 04 dominates the aroma, but the 03 helps the flavor. Where the Brett Trois is....I have no idea...its....drinkable. However, varied brett really works better with ECY04.

2nd Place: ECY03B: I can best describe this as a little cidery and pleasantly tart. I've used the ECY03 blend with my super saison and it was fantastic. I would use it alone again.


The winner is.....

ECY01 Bugfarm! Man, this was a last minute substitution that really paid off! its sour and complex, but not like straight lambic. Almost like "lambic jr." There isn't a lot of funk, but with a light base it just seems like a nice easy drinking sour for those just getting started.