Recipe critique - All Brett Brown ale

[Beehemel]

I've finally got the equipment to start doing sours, and I'd like to do a Brett only Brown ale. Here's my first attempts at a recipe. Let me know if I'm out of line on anything.

Brett Brown 1 - American Brown Ale
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Batch Size: 5.000 gal
Boil Size: 6.000 gal
Boil Time: 60.000 min
Efficiency: 60%
OG: 1.066
FG: 1.017
ABV: 6.5%
Bitterness: 24.3 IBUs (Tinseth)
Color: 28 SRM (Morey)

Fermentables
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Name Type Amount
Briess - 2 Row Brewers Malt Grain 8.000 lb
Rye, Flaked Grain 1.000 lb
Munich Malt Grain 2.000 lb
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L Grain 1.000 lb
Wheat Malt, Bel Grain 3.000 lb
Black (Patent) Malt Grain 8.000 oz
Total grain: 15.500 lb

Hops
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Name Alpha Amount Use Time Form IBU
Cluster 7.8% 1.000 oz Boil 60.000 min Pellet 24.3

Yeast
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Name Type Form Amount Stage
WLP653 - Brettanomyces lambicus Ale Liquid Big-Ass starter Primary

 

[Weezy]

Looks interesting to me as is. Do you plan on it sit in a secondary or keg for a while after primary is done?

 

[Beehemel]

Definitely plan for a loooooong secondary. I'd like it to develop that Brett character, so I'm going to give it all the time it needs

 

[dcp27]

Definitely plan for a loooooong secondary. I'd like it to develop that Brett character, so I'm going to give it all the time it needs

then you shouldn't be doing it as a primary strain. lambicus is the only one i havent done as a primary strain, but for the rest primary is clean and not the typical brett character so i'd expect the same here. if you're going for funk, add it after primary.

 

[Beehemel]

I was under the impression that even if I do an all brett fermentation, the character would come out the longer it sits. Is that incorrect? So the initial fermentation might be clean, but over time it will develop

 

[Beehemel]

I was also thinking about using WLP644 BRETTANOMYCES BRUXELLENSIS TROIS as White Labs' site says it is used traditionally for 100% Brett fermentations. Anybody have any experience with that strain?

 

[dcp27]

I was under the impression that even if I do an all brett fermentation, the character would come out the longer it sits. Is that incorrect? So the initial fermentation might be clean, but over time it will develop

It could, but that seems like an odd way to get to that point. if you want the funk, why not just go the direct way which it comes out in a few months vs hoping for it to develop somewhere down the road?

I was also thinking about using WLP644 BRETTANOMYCES BRUXELLENSIS TROIS as White Labs' site says it is used traditionally for 100% Brett fermentations. Anybody have any experience with that strain?

theres a whole thread devoted to experience with that strain. as a primary strain its quite fruity & tropical, IME a brown wouldnt be a good base for it

 

[Weezy]

I've never done primary in Brett. I always primary with sacc, then secondary with the wild stuff. There's a loot mixed info on 100% Brett fermentations, based a lot on preference. It's not definitive enough for me to say not to try it. I've had good success with East Coast ale as a primary yeast. Low attenuation and clean, leaving a lot of room for the Brett to do its thing.

 

[Beehemel]

I've never done primary in Brett. I always primary with sacc, then secondary with the wild stuff. There's a loot mixed info on 100% Brett fermentations, based a lot on preference. It's not definitive enough for me to say not to try it. I've had good success with East Coast ale as a primary yeast. Low attenuation and clean, leaving a lot of room for the Brett to do its thing.

Sounds good. Looks like I'm going to do this or something similar. Thanks for the pointers!

 

[MileHighBrewer]

What are you looking to get from this beer? This is where we can really start

 

[Beehemel]

The original idea was to ferment with nothing but Brett, but I want the barnyard/horse blanket/funk of Brett to be present (I want people to know it's a Brett beer). My first name is Brett, so I thought it would also be a fun thing to try nothing but Brett. The character to me is more important, so if that means I have to start with another yeast and finish with the Brett, I'll go that route. This will be my first attempt at anything other than a normal Sacc beer, so I don't have any experience with Brett fermentation to this point.

 

[dcp27]

if you want characteristic brett, then as secondary is the way to go. sounds like brux is the one you want

btw, you should read this if you're new to brett: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f127/understanding-brett-flavors-298943/#post3734990

 

[MileHighBrewer]

Agreed, brux would be great. Used as a primary you won't get the character you're after. Maybe instead of wlp or wyeast, you could try another yeast source? I think L2B had some ecy03 brett left, and TYB has 3 brett strains. Their Lochristi might work. Pm Biobrewer, he's always happy to discuss his yeasts and new ways of using them

 

[MileHighBrewer]

Or a few bottles worth of Orval dregs