Sweaty horse blanket?

[PLOVE]

An oft description of beer fermented with some strains of brett. I'm just not sure what this description connotates. . .I have horses and by the end of a long winter they're outdoor blankets are certainly sweaty and smelly, but is this really a quality delivered by brett? Do we want this? I've also heard brett gives the "barnyard funk". I have a barnyard - pigs, chickens, goats, etc. I wonder whether any of these descriptions really captures the flavor/odor. Are we just at a loss for words, or are these terms actually on point?

 

[sweetcell]

i'm not sure how many people are familiar with the actual smell of a horse blanket, or of a barnyard. maybe it's because of this unfamiliarity that people use these terms... it's what they imagine horse blankets and barnyards taste like.

that being said, i have spent time on farms (in-laws raise sheep on working farm with chickens, cows, horses, etc) so i'm acquainted with these smells. again, i'm not sure it's spot-on but it's pretty close. you would think that these aren't qualities that you'd want in your drink but they work in funky beer. have you ever had smelly cheese? they don't smell great on their own, but once you've tasted them you end up craving them (well, some people do, like me). if your body produced that funky odor you'd be scaring people away, yet somehow it's alright if the right food or beverage has that smell and taste.

 

[gbx]

...and "fecal" or "baby diapers". I do like the brett funk that I've heard described as "horse blanket" but I don't think I'd like any of those things in real life.

 

[dantheman13]

Like it or not I think that some Brett beers do have a fecal smell to them, or bile, or sweaty armpit, stinky feet, etc. It can definitely be interpreted that way, and I am not sure there are better descriptors out there.

I think these descriptors are fine, but you have to know your audience. It sounds terrible, and to some it is terrible, but for those of us who like these heavy aromas from Brett, I don't think they are terrible descriptors to use amongst each other. If your audience is new to these beers, using these descriptors can be dangerous. However, I am not sure what else you would use other than the generic descriptor of "funk".

 

[Soilworker]

I would suggest its more of a lack of us to properly describe this smell but a smell in general is usually described by what is smells like and those seem to be descriptors people like to use.

The two compounds that Brett produces that are the primary contributors of this aroma are 4-ethylphenol and 3-Methylbutanoic_acid. As the articles suggest and Chad Yakobson's research supports, Brett doesn't always necessarily create these compounds so a lot of brett strains will contribute no "brett" aroma as we commonly think of it. For example, White Labs WLP644 Brett Bruxellensis Trois produces a tropical\pineapple aroma and no "barnyard funk".

I would say the descriptions of sweaty, horse blanket, barnyard funk, etc are OK at describing your "standard brett" aromas but really I'd recommend picking up some Brett beers and figuring out what you think it smells\tastes like. I personally don't think barnyards smell all that pleasant and wouldn't say certain brett beers smell that way. If you're looking for some good examples I'd try Epic brewing's Elder Brett or Logsdon Farms Seizon Bretta. But if you want to brew a beer, WLP670 - American Farmhouse Ale which has some Brett in it and brew up a saison with that is a good place to start.

Cheers!

 

[TANSTAAFB]

I imagine a barn full of hay when I hear barnyard--fresh and a little musty and funky all at the same time. How would you describe that smell other than barnyard? I don't think of the most pungent, nasty smells that CAN come from these environments (like a stock yard or pig ****), but I'd be hard pressed to describe the aromas and flavors I get when I walk into a horse barn on a balmy spring day--sunshine, hay, leather, tack, old sweaty horse blankets, manure, horses, wood, oats, grain...I can certainly see being hit with these wonderful memories when I open certain saisons or crisp, dry, Brett beers.

 

[BryanThompson]

I am a keeper at a zoo and smell the barnyard aroma quite often. Not when crap is all over the floor though. Think of how a stall smells after you've cleaned the floors, covered them in straw and put out a few flakes of alfalfa and orchard grass. It's a clean but funky layered smell.

 

[Gear101]

I like a little sweaty horse blanket, GI Militia is one of my all time favorite beers.

 

[PLOVE]

Think of how a stall smells after you've cleaned the floors, covered them in straw and put out a few flakes of alfalfa and orchard grass. It's a clean but funky layered smell.

This is definitely a smell I can get behind. Maybe it's all in the satisfaction of getting the job done, but a fresh stall does have a certain barnyard character to it - damp, musty, but with a touch of sweetness from the grass. Perhaps dank is better than damp? Horses don't actually smell bad IMHO, but they do smell - like horses.

Looking forward to a taste of horse blanket actually. . .

 

[BryanThompson]

I also get the aroma of goats in lambics too. I don't know if all goats smell the same but ours have a sweet musty aroma.

 

[BrasseurGeorges]

This hobby is rife with regurgitation. I'm not all that familiar with the smell of a horse, barn, or goat, so I don't use these as descriptors. As close as I can come is my take on brett brux (pear, leather, and hay).

More specific to your question... Sweaty horse blanket? Guess I'm not familiar, but that sounds absolutely disgusting. Barnyard funk? Strikes me as a bit of a cop-out in its lack of specificity.

I think we'd be a lot better off if people understood there are no wrong answers, just say what they taste, and be as specific as possible. I say some pretty off the wall stuff, to the point where my wife (who admittedly has a better palate than mine) thinks my palate is broken. But every once in a while I nail one. I think back to a wine tasting, where I tasted jalapeno in a rosé. My wife laughed, as did the sommelier, until they tasted it. They had gone through more than half of a bad bottle, and no one had said a word.

Sorry for getting on my soap box, this is a pet peeve of mine.

 

[PLOVE]

Totally agree. My comment wasn't so much about right vs wrong, but what people mean by using a certain colorful descriptor like sweaty horse blanket. Also probably true that our sensory taste experience will be influenced by our perception of the description. If you like horse blanket and that is the description then I'm betting you'll be more likely to enjoy the beverage. And vice versa.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

This hobby is rife with regurgitation. I'm not all that familiar with the smell of a horse, barn, or goat, so I don't use these as descriptors. As close as I can come is my take on brett brux (pear, leather, and hay).

More specific to your question... Sweaty horse blanket? Guess I'm not familiar, but that sounds absolutely disgusting. Barnyard funk? Strikes me as a bit of a cop-out in its lack of specificity.

I think we'd be a lot better off if people understood there are no wrong answers, just say what they taste, and be as specific as possible. I say some pretty off the wall stuff, to the point where my wife (who admittedly has a better palate than mine) thinks my palate is broken. But every once in a while I nail one. I think back to a wine tasting, where I tasted jalapeno in a rosé. My wife laughed, as did the sommelier, until they tasted it. They had gone through more than half of a bad bottle, and no one had said a word.

Sorry for getting on my soap box, this is a pet peeve of mine.

I get what you're saying, but I disagree that "barnyard funk" is a cop out if you aren't familiar with what the smell of horses or barns is. That may not be a descriptor that resonates with you, but for me, I know exactly what someone is getting at when they use it. I can be more specific-and I think we've done a good job elaborating what those more specific aromas and flavors are in this thread-but barnyard is shorthand for all those other things for us. For someone who grew up on the beach, I can TRY to describe what the smells of salt, seaweed, fish, docks, tide pools, suntan lotion, surf wax, fog, sand, tar, rotting sea things, weed, bonfires, etc. mean to me and not really capture what it actually means to me. But to someone who KNOWS? I only have to say that summer beach smell or this reminds me of the docks in winter and they know exactly what I'm talking about....I'll get off MY soapbox now! =]

 

[BrasseurGeorges]

I get what you're saying, but I disagree that "barnyard funk" is a cop out if you aren't familiar with what the smell of horses or barns is. That may not be a descriptor that resonates with you, but for me, I know exactly what someone is getting at when they use it. I can be more specific-and I think we've done a good job elaborating what those more specific aromas and flavors are in this thread-but barnyard is shorthand for all those other things for us. For someone who grew up on the beach, I can TRY to describe what the smells of salt, seaweed, fish, docks, tide pools, suntan lotion, surf wax, fog, sand, tar, rotting sea things, weed, bonfires, etc. mean to me and not really capture what it actually means to me. But to someone who KNOWS? I only have to say that summer beach smell or this reminds me of the docks in winter and they know exactly what I'm talking about....I'll get off MY soapbox now! =]

I can appreciate "barnyard funk" as a method of shorthand, but it doesn't tend to add much to the conversation. It's like saying an IPA is "fruity." Really? What fruit? I can only see using a term like this to describe the intensity of that flavor category ("light barnyard funk") before moving on to more interesting/specific things. As long as that's actually what you're getting. I'd hate for this to become the sour heads' version of "catty."

 

[gbx]

alright, this thread inspired me to pull a sample of a pale ale I pitched some wyeast brett b into back in october. All the late hops have been replace with full on "barnyard" and "horse blanket" and a little bit like rotten fruit. Absolutely delicious already.

 

[TriggerFingers]

I agree with Bryan,
When I first opened a vial of bugfarm I thought it smelled very reminiscent of manure --the aroma then started to smell a little more like silage the longer I had it opened.
Complex indeed!