Bruxellensis v Lambicus?

[Brew_Meister_General]

I brewed my first Brett beer using a Bells best brown ale recipe. I cut back the bitterness to 20 ibu's, and pitched US-05 and Brett B at the same time. Kept the beer upstairs so it was around 68 ambient temp.

Did you aerate it? As I heard this causes the brett to produce acetic acid which gives it a sour or vinegar flavour.

 

[stpug]

It's the long term exposure to oxygen (post-primary fermentation) that causes the acetic acid production. You can certainly ferment a beer completely with 100% brett yeast and proper aeration without any acetic production; and it will also keep the funky brett qualities very mellow too.

 

[Oldsock]

It's the long term exposure to oxygen (post-primary fermentation) that causes the acetic acid production. You can certainly ferment a beer completely with 100% brett yeast and proper aeration without any acetic production; and it will also keep the funky brett qualities very mellow too.

Brett will produce acetic acid anytime oxygen in available, including during propogation. However, if it is the only the small amount dissolved in the wort at pitching, this amount should be below threshold.

I don't find that oxygen is correlated with the funkier aspects of Brett. Those phenols tend to be produced when the Brett works on ferulic acid, phenols from the brewer's yeast, and other phenols from the malt. This tends to be slow, so quickly consumed 100% Brett beers usually don't exhibit much funk.

 

[Brew_Meister_General]

I don't find that oxygen is correlated with the funkier aspects of Brett. Those phenols tend to be produced when the Brett works on ferulic acid, phenols from the brewer's yeast, and other phenols from the malt. This tends to be slow, so quickly consumed 100% Brett beers usually don't exhibit much funk.

Oh really, I heard that the Brett produces the funk flavours by consuming esters, hence why I was planning to turning my heater up to 25c during my next fermentation, but if its phenols it consumes then I should let it sit at 20c.

 

[Oldsock]

Oh really, I heard that the Brett produces the funk flavours by consuming esters, hence why I was planning to turning my heater up to 25c during my next fermentation, but if its phenols it consumes then I should let it sit at 20c.

Interesting experiment addressing the issue here: http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Brettanomyces_secondary_fermentation_experiment

Turns out the primary strain isn't all that important, while Brett does convert 4VG to 4EG, this is a relatively small amount of the total 4EG produced.