I'm bret curious. What kind of taste profiles can I expect from an all-brett beer?

[Chadwick]

I've heard the "wet-horse" blanket expressions before. But to be honest with someone that has never done a brett fermentation before, what can I expect if I try it? To clarify, "Try It". I'm thinking about making a 1.075ish wort through normal 2-Row malt mashing and pitching just brett.

Is this a bad idea? Seriously folks, I have no idea what to expect. I'm as ignorant to the outcomes/possible outcomes as anyone can be.

 

[rodwha]

I've always read that it's sour.

I'm scared of it! That's something I'm not inclined to try as it seems it's more of a mistake that something desired. But we all have our taste, and it could very well be something I'd enjoy.

I've had some scary looking stuff in my bucket and just racked under it and all was well in my world.

 

[microbusbrewery]

You can get some mild sourness but not much from brett alone. You'd have to use lacto or pedio to get a sour/tart profile. You'll also get different results from doing a 100% brett fermentation vs combined brett and sach. I'd suggest trying some commercial examples to make sure you like them because they definitely aren't the same as sach beers. That said, I've had good results doing a 100% brett fermentation with brett brux trois (WLP644). Lots of tropical fruit flavors when young developing into darker fruit combined with overripe fruit as it ages.

 

[jrfehon]

You could also use a sacc strain for primary and split when transferring to secondary then pitch a brett strain in one half. That way if you don't like the brett beer you still have half clean. Just keep in mind that brett in the secondary will act differently than if used as the primary yeast strain. It'll produce more funk. First do what Microbus suggested and get a few commercial brett beers before diving in. Rayon Vert is a good funky brett beer that's pretty easy to find so is Sofie from Goose Island.