Low funk Brett strain

[STMF]

I have brewed quite a few kettle sours that I really enjoy and like. However, I would like to dip my toe a little bit more into the funky world.

I'm looking for a low funk Brett strain that is more to the fruity side than barnyard. I plan to use it as a secondary strain after fermentation with a Sacc. I have been reading a bit but it is somewhat a jungle when you are new.

I would appriciate any reccomendations that anyone would have. I have access to White Labs, Wyeast, The Yeast Bay and Imperial Yeast.

 

[couchsending]

Brett Claussenii is much more tropical than most. Pretty sure it’s available from the bigger yeast labs.

I get all my Brett strains from either Dregs of The Yeast Bay. I personally love 184 (touch of funk, but really cool lemon/fruit character). Funk will increase over time once bottled but it takes a while. It works really quickly as well. Creates a lot of great Brett character rather quickly.

207 is great too although it takes a little longer. It’s got a cool “sweet tarts” like character to it.

261 and 415 I’m still playing with but both descriptors are pretty fruit forward.

If you can find some Crooked Stave bottles, they have some great Brett beers that don’t use bacteria. Their Brett strain/strains are nice and fruit forward.

 

[STMF]

Thank you very much for your reply.

One more thing if I may. Since my plan is to use it only after a primary fermentation with a normal ale yeast, should I add a bit more sugar or will the Brett do it's thing anyway?
I plan to rack it to another vessle for the Brett and then force carb it in a keg whenever the brett is "finished".

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Or you could try WLP644. Technically it's a Sacch strain, but is more like a fruity Brett from what I've read (I'm just about to try it myself, following the Milk the Funk Gose (kettle sour) recipe).
http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Gose

 

[RPh_Guy]

I haven't really used many commercial Brett-only cultures, but I would suggest Wyeast 5526. It's tasty and cherry/fruit forward. Wyeast 3278 is awesome too, if you're looking for a blend with bacteria included. I have a starter going right now with TYB Lochristi blend and it smells great -- stone fruit and strawberry.
I agree WLP644 is an excellent fruity Sacc strain.

You should consider pitching the Brett with the Sacc (and bacteria?). This should emphasize more fruit character.

FYI: It's also possible to do mixed fermentation (sour + funky) in a much shorter timeframe (a few weeks) with a particular method, rather than waiting 3-12 months or more.

Cheers!

 

[couchsending]

Thank you very much for your reply.

One more thing if I may. Since my plan is to use it only after a primary fermentation with a normal ale yeast, should I add a bit more sugar or will the Brett do it's thing anyway?
I plan to rack it to another vessle for the Brett and then force carb it in a keg whenever the brett is "finished".

You can skin this cat so many ways, which is also the fun of wild and sour brewing.

If you are nervous about “infecting” a primary vessel then yes adding brett to secondary is fine. This is how I’ve done most but not all of my 7 or so Brett saisons. I typically primary with 3522 which isn’t diastaticus so it leaves a little more food for the Brett to chew on. It’ll normally stop at 1.010 and the Brett strains will take it down to 1.004/1.005 within a month. I’ve given them another two months to make sure the gravity is rather stable and at least with what I use it never gets lower than that. I think with 184 you could bottle after a month in secondary with this method.

You could also copitch Brett and Sacch yeast. If you want more fruit character use a more fruit forward/estery Ale strain. Some people even use English Ale strains fermented warm.

Of you could simply bottle condition with Brett. This is a little more complicated depending on your final gravity, how high a carbonation you want, how much sugar to add, how strong your glass bottles are, etc. you’ll get a little more funk this way though.

Force carbing a keg is totally a good way to go but in the future I’d try bottle conditioning some in some heavy glass bottles. It’s just cool to see how the beers change over time.

 

[MileHighBrewer]

Brett doesn't need anything to "chew" on. It can take compounds and process them into new compounds without any carbohydrate source. Use a POF+ yeast strain and let it rip.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Brett doesn't need anything to "chew" on.

But how is it going to keep its teeth from growing too long without something to chew?

 

[FatDragon]

But how is it going to keep its teeth from growing too long without something to chew?

You're mistaking brett for beavers again. Honestly, it's a common enough mistake because they both start with the /b/ phoneme, but brett is actually a microscopic fungus while beavers are semi-aquatic mammals about the size of a bread box. If you find yourself struggling to distinguish brett and beavers in the wild in the future, here's a handy trick: if you can see an individual, it's a beaver; if you can see a congregation of billions, it's brett. Those rules of thumb will hold in most circumstances, though we might experience trouble with the latter if Randall Munroe of XKCD gets a chance to play with the control box for the universe.