Minimum time to age Brett saison

[BrewingTravisty]

I'm going to brew a Saison for this summer when I go on a roadtrip. I would really like to make a Brett saison, which I've never brewed with brett. If I brewed it next weekend would I be able to get away with bottling it by the end of may? Or is that not enough time? I'll just brew a regular saison if not.

 

[beergolf]

If you are trying to get it done that fast you could start the fermentation using a regular saison yeast that is a beast. 3711 or Belle Saison. They should get the gravity down real low in a couple of weeks ( brett does not need sugar to work) Then pitch some brett and let it go. This will give you close to three months with the brett. I do it this way but usually give it 4 months but you can do three and be OK.

Saisons with brett are great and I have gotten to the point that I rarely brew one without brett. And I brew a lot of saisons. I have three batches of saisons sitting on brett right now.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

If you are trying to get it done that fast you could start the fermentation using a regular saison yeast that is a beast. 3711 or Belle Saison. They should get the gravity down real low in a couple of weeks ( brett does not need sugar to work) Then pitch some brett and let it go. This will give you close to three months with the brett. I do it this way but usually give it 4 months but you can do three and be OK.

Saisons with brett are great and I have gotten to the point that I rarely brew one without brett. And I brew a lot of saisons. I have three batches of saisons sitting on brett right now.

Awesome thanks! That's actually exactly what I was thinking of doing, I'm also thinking of getting a small portable keg set up to bring with me instead of bottles. Got any recommendations on fairly cheap portable keg options? Preferably that can fit 2 5 gallon kegs? I'm gonna make a cream ale as well, I'll be visiting a lot of friends so I wanna make enough beer for everyone.

 

[NTexBrewer]

Look into WLP 670. For me it was at down to 1.002 in 60 days and stable

 

[BrewingTravisty]

Look into WLP 670. For me it was at down to 1.002 in 60 days and stable

I'll see if my LHBS has that thanks! It has some really good reviews and looks like it's exactly the flavor profile I'm looking for.

 

[tagz]

You might co-pitch the Brett and sacc at the start or go for a blend as recommended above. The shortest timeline is probably 2-3 months, but many would recommend waiting longer. Just make sure you hit FG.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

You might co-pitch the Brett and sacc at the start or go for a blend as recommended above. The shortest timeline is probably 2-3 months, but many would recommend waiting longer. Just make sure you hit FG.

I'll probably leave some behind to age longer. As longer as it tastes good enough to drink with the friends I see on my road trip.

 

[secondbase]

I've seen brett character develop in a week and I've had it take 4 months. I usually leave my beers 2-3 months on brett before bottling, but you can package as soon as you have consecutive gravity readings (a couple weeks apart).

 

[BrewingTravisty]

I've seen brett character develop in a week and I've had it take 4 months. I usually leave my beers 2-3 months on brett before bottling, but you can package as soon as you have consecutive gravity readings (a couple weeks apart).

Thanks! I'm gonna get a couple kegs and an igloo cooler and make myself a portable keg set up for my road trip, so I don't have to bottle condition it. So I just gotta force carb it and I'll be good.

 

[mitchard]

4 months seems to be the golden number as far as stable gravity with enough Brett character goes for 100% Brett and Brett blend fermentations.

Of course it varies and time means nothing compared to stable gravity readings, but I keep seeing that number over and over.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

4 months seems to be the golden number as far as stable gravity with enough Brett character goes for 100% Brett and Brett blend fermentations.

Of course it varies and time means nothing compared to stable gravity readings, but I keep seeing that number over and over.

Awesome that's what I wanna hear. I'm also curious, I've got a blonde that I messed up (added WAY too much sugar like an idiot) and ended up with a thin 12% beer, which tasted like rocket fuel when I first brewed it. I decided to try adding some fruit and juice to it... Because why not, can't hurt it lol so I added cranberries and apple juice. Turns out I guess it went over the alcohol tolerance of the us-05 and now it's overly sweet. I haven't tasted it since December, which it had already sat for a couple months. I would guess it's probably close to 14% now. Would I be able to add Brett to sour it and dry it out a bit? Or is it too high alcohol? I'd like to save this beer some how lol even if it's so high abv that you can't drink much of it.

 

[m00ps]

brett wont sour a beer by itself. It will give a bracing tartness and sometimes some leathery barnyard flavors. To get an actual sour, youll need lacto or pedio, and having brett in the mix is usually recommended. If its got too much simple sugars, maltodextrin might help boost the body without upping the alcohol too much, but it may be best to not mess with it more. A lot fo my sours have a contradictingly full body given their low FG so that may work but im no expert

 

[mitchard]

You could always try re-pitching a Sacc strain with a higher alcohol tolerance to finish it out and spike it with some Brett.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

brett wont sour a beer by itself. It will give a bracing tartness and sometimes some leathery barnyard flavors. To get an actual sour, youll need lacto or pedio, and having brett in the mix is usually recommended. If its got too much simple sugars, maltodextrin might help boost the body without upping the alcohol too much, but it may be best to not mess with it more. A lot fo my sours have a contradictingly full body given their low FG so that may work but im no expert

Yeah, I don't want to sour it too much but a nice little tartness/funkiness I think would improve it drastically. As it is right now, it's not so much the body as the sweetness. When I added the juice it didn't ferment out much, so it left it cloyingly sweet.