Finished fermenting 100% brett

[DrunkenCanuck]

I am wondering what I should do with this beer. I started two 1 gallon batches with the same wort on the 19th of June. Starting gravity was 1.050 and it finished at 1.035 (did a BIAB so I don't think the efficiency was very good). This was a first run test batch because I started reading about sours and came across 100% brettanomyces primary fermentation

Anyway, I have kept the fermenting jars in a dark place and the gravity has leveled off, which seems weird because I thought they would have taken longer (honestly I didn't even check them until a week ago after the first week).

But I am curious, should I just bottle them as is with some priming sugar? They definitely smell funky, but I think one batch got a bit more yeast (oops) in the other as the slurry at the bottom is a bit thicker and it certainly had a lot more foam. Or could I rack them over to secondaries and add something to them? I used the same White Labs yeast vial for both batches. One seems a little more clear than the other, but here's hoping they actually taste good once I figure out what to do with them.

 

[xpops]

i've never used a 100% brett, but i have made some sours.

you're saying they've leveled off at 1.035, after about 3 weeks? more experienced mixed/wild/sour brewers can step in and correct me, but i'm extremely confident that the gravity points will continue to drop! i'd hold out on bottling so you don't end up with bombs!

 

[DrunkenCanuck]

i've never used a 100% brett, but i have made some sours.

you're saying they've leveled off at 1.035, after about 3 weeks? more experienced mixed/wild/sour brewers can step in and correct me, but i'm extremely confident that the gravity points will continue to drop! i'd hold out on bottling so you don't end up with bombs!

Fair enough. After a few weeks of some aggressive fermentation (one was on the verge of bubbling out of the fermenter, it seems to have gone dormant. I wonder if this is a temperature issue, as the temperatures haven't been very consistent and maybe the yeast has just gone dormant. Based on everything I have read, it should take a lot longer to ferment. I wonder if I should put them in a fridge.

 

[Clef051]

Every beer I've made with brett ends up under 1.010, usually closer to 1.000. I'd say to wait awhile longer.

 

[crane]

Fair enough. After a few weeks of some aggressive fermentation (one was on the verge of bubbling out of the fermenter, it seems to have gone dormant. I wonder if this is a temperature issue, as the temperatures haven't been very consistent and maybe the yeast has just gone dormant. Based on everything I have read, it should take a lot longer to ferment. I wonder if I should put them in a fridge.

A 100% Brett fermentation should not take much longer than a clean beer with only sach, assuming you had a good healthy pitch of yeast. I've read that it is recommended to use lager pitching rates for these types of beers. If you under pitched and have let temperatures drop after primary fermentation began, then I would not be surprised that it stalled out. You should have seen it drop down towards 1.010 or lower, but it should have fermented to completion in a few weeks max with a healthy fermentation.

Also there is a huge difference between 100% Brett fermentations and mixed fermentations. Brett will act more like sach in the former, in terms of a quicker time to a finished product will little to no funk. When used along with sach, then you can expect a much longer timeframe to develop the funky flavors Brett is known for. You can also expect Brett to ferment to a lower final gravity in this case.

No matter how you cut it you have a stuck fermentation. I would pitch more yeast to finish it out. I would definitely not put it in a fridge as that will completely stop any further activity.