Is a brett beer done at 1.000?

[tko17]

Hey folks,

So I'm working on my first funky/sour/brett beer. I brewed up a strongish saison and pitched 3711 simultaneously with dregs from a couple of crooked stave bottles (batch 1 and WWBI).

I took a sample after a little over a month just to see how things were coming along, and it had fermented completely down from 1.060 to 1.000! So I figure that no more sugars means no more fermentation activity means I can go ahead and rack it onto the blackberries I have waiting.

But then I look at it again today and I find a newly formed healthy pellicle.

I know the WWBI has bacteria in it as well, so... is this beer done? I know the pellicle is just the reaction to me introducing oxygen to the fermenter when I took the sample and I figure that at 1.000 the brett can't do too much more. But maybe the bacteria is just getting started? There wasn't too much sourness in the sample I took. Should I let it sit for a while before I rack it onto the blackberries?

Thanks!

 

[TNGabe]

The reading you take with a hyrdrometer is apparent gravity. Alcohol weighs less than water, so the actual gravity is higher than the apparent because sugars in the wort have been converted to alcohol. So just 1.000 doesn't mean there is nothing left to ferment. Not sure if that's helpful to you, but I hope so.

 

[bradjoiner]

How long ago did you brew this beer? Even if the fermentation has stopped doesn't mean the beer is finished. When making wild ales taste is king. You will know when the beer is finished when it tastes right.

 

[tko17]

Thanks for your replies!

I brewed it about 5 weeks ago. I know that's a very very short time for a Brett, but I was surprised that it attenuated so fully so quickly.

It tastes great. Lots of saison aroma and flavor, but only a hint of funky/sour. I know that will continue to develop with age, but I guess my main question is should I rack onto the blackberries for a couple of months now or should I wait for a while long before taking it off the cake.

Thanks!

 

[bradjoiner]

You can rack it off it's yeast cake now if you would like, there are plenty of bugs still in suspension. I would wait until you are sure you are within six months of bottling to add fruit or else the fruit will fade before you are ready to drink the beer.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

Brett eats everything so even if the beer is dry in the sense there are no more sugars or starches to break down brett will find something to consume. Brett can metabolize ethanol so it still has plenty of food, you may just dislike what it is eating.

 

[tko17]

Crazy. And cool.

What are the byproducts that brett produces when it consumes ethanol?

Thanks for all the help. I'll probably let it sit a few weeks or a month and then rack it on to the fruit. Is this way outside the normal timeframe for a beer with brett and bugs? I was expecting this to take several more months...

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

It depends on the environment and the particular strain. Usually you get an output of acetic acid and more funk. Brett custersianus can convert ethanol into citric acid.

Beers with brett in secondary usually take 3-6 months but 3711 is a very voracious strain and leaves a very dry beer so there's very little left in terms of sugars and starches for brett to consume. That's why the beer hit 1.000 so fast. You were probably within just a handful of gravity points by the end of primary fermentation.