The OFFICIAL 11-11-11 Old Ale Thread - The HBT Anniversary Series

[MDVDuber]

Could someone please direct me to the post, or the page in this post where the quote from Wyeast can be found. I'm interested in what this yeast brings to the table etc.

And not to thread hijack at all as I'm late to the party but brewing this beer this weekend...

Thanks to all of you for your hard work on the recipe!

 

[Barc]

http://www.wyeastlab.com/pc1q2009.cfm

That's from 09 but is relevant.

I'm pretty sure it is seasonal so it may well be another 8 months before it is released again.

 

[KingBrianI]

So here's a dumb question, this being my first brett beer. I'm not ready to bottle, but when I am, do I just punch through the pellicle and rack the beer like always? When I punched through for a gravity sample the pellicle broke up and looked like lots of little chunks in the glass. I'd like my bottles not to have the same chunks floating around.

 

[Barc]

It may fall on its own. But, they will eventually settle out. When you bottle, you'll probably get little pellicles in there. I've never had a problem with them staying in suspension.

 

[KingBrianI]

OK, good. That's what I was hoping. Thanks!

 

[heywolfie1015]

It may fall on its own. But, they will eventually settle out. When you bottle, you'll probably get little pellicles in there. I've never had a problem with them staying in suspension.

Do you ever kill the Brett with campden and then bottle with additional yeast? I'm not so sure I want little pellicles in my bottles. I'm planning on giving some to friends who won't know that the "skin" is nothing to worry about.

 

[Barc]

Do you ever kill the Brett with campden and then bottle with additional yeast? I'm not so sure I want little pellicles in my bottles. I'm planning on giving some to friends who won't know that the "skin" is nothing to worry about.

No. I wouldn't want to add campden. Also remember, Sacc will still be alive (if dormant) when you add priming sugar. The pellicle will be present but shouldn't be nearly as dominate / thick due to a) 0 O2 and b) minimal Brett activity for carbonation.

As I said, the little bottle pellicles will fall, especially during transport as the slightest movement causes them to break and fall. It will quickly become part of the trub at the bottom of the bottle. And you can always either tell them or inspect for the little pellicle before giving it to them (btw, flipping the bottle upside down and right side up after about 3 weeks will usually drop them permanently). Education is always better than overworking yourself, at least imo.

 

[heywolfie1015]

Education is always better than overworking yourself, at least imo.

Indeed. That's why I appreciate this board and post.

Thanks for the input. Makes perfect sense. Much appreciated.

 

[orangehero]

Is there any danger of bottle bombs if this is allowed to age for another year in regular bottles?

 

[Barc]

Is there any danger of bottle bombs if this is allowed to age for another year in regular bottles?

There really shouldn't be. There are no bugs in there helping the Brett break things down so when it stops fermenting, it should be done 100%. No idea how long that will take, though. At about 2 months before you bottle, I'd check the gravity then check it once every 2 weeks from there on in just to be safe.

 

[bierhaus15]

Any recommendations about oaking this thing? I have two small batches of this, one I'd like to oak and the other leave alone. I don't have much experience with adding oak cubes/chips, so what would be the best time and method to do so?

 

[heywolfie1015]

Any recommendations about oaking this thing? I have two small batches of this, one I'd like to oak and the other leave alone. I don't have much experience with adding oak cubes/chips, so what would be the best time and method to do so?

Here is a great thread on the topic. In general, you will want to get oak cubes (as opposed to chips). They are better for aging. How much you use will depend on the size of the batches, but the general rule is 1-2 oz. for five gallons of beer.

As for sanitizing them, it probably won't be a huge deal since you have so much alcohol and already introduced bugs with the Brett. However, I put mine in a small bowl with some water and nuked them for 30 seconds. I then let them cool (covered, of course) to a reasonable temp and dumped straight in, water and all. The smell was fantastic.

 

[bierhaus15]

Thanks for the quick response! I'll definitely read up on it.

 

[Barc]

I think I will put part of an oak spiral soaked in bourbon on half the batch about 2 months prior to bottling.

 

[smokinghole]

It appears my pellicle has fallen. It never really got thick but the house warmed up the end of last week due to the record Feb highs we had in PA and the brett started going crazy. When the good weather was done the pellicle had broken up and basically disappeared. So either there's no oxygen to form it or it's done. It's been three months and I'll give it another three or so. I guess I could pull a sample to check the gravity next time I'm poking around in the closet.

 

[orangehero]

I don't think this was brought up previously: is there an ideal temperature for aging and is there any information on the relationship between temperature and flavor/aroma production by brett?

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

I just pulled my first sample of this tonight, 4 months since brewing.

The color is spot on, rich dark mahogany. The aroma is oak, toffee, and whiskey. The flavor is raisins, dark plums, and sweet toffee with just a touch of brett character.

I never got any kind of pellicle, and I am detecting very little brett presence, but man this beer is good. I cant wait to have it in November when it's got a little age on it, and then throw half the bottles in the closet for another year!!

 

[AlphaWolf-Brewery]

These are pictures from mine today. There are some bubbles from the brett and it appears the cubes have some film over them. I have had them on the cubes for a couple months now. My plan was to leave them on the cubes until october at which time I would keg it. I hope this isnt too much time on the oak.

 

[bierhaus15]

One of my batches of this has a REALLY crazy pellicle growing. I swear it's getting thicker each week, though the other batch has only a thin, flakey film on it.

I'll take some pics tomorrow. The crazy one is freaking me out - never seen anything like it.

 

[jmo88]

One of my batches of this has a REALLY crazy pellicle growing. I swear it's getting thicker each week, though the other batch has only a thin, flakey film on it.

I'll take some pics tomorrow. The crazy one is freaking me out - never seen anything like it.

Cool. I was hoping for some wicked pellicle on mine, just for aesthetics. It doesn't matter though. Mine is nothing crazy. Just a flaky pellicle with a couple bubbles. This didn't occur until I took a sample though. The pellicle isn't necessary to create brett flavors and it should only show if there is oxygen around.

 

[smokinghole]

These are pictures from mine today. There are some bubbles from the brett and it appears the cubes have some film over them. I have had them on the cubes for a couple months now. My plan was to leave them on the cubes until october at which time I would keg it. I hope this isnt too much time on the oak.

I forget where I read it, I think on Stavin's site, that at the six month mark the cubes are full extracted. So once you're past six months it doesn't matter how long you leave them.

 

[bierhaus15]

Here are the pics my two smaller batches. Both are 9097, though one has a pretty crazy pellicle going. The first one looks pretty normal, though the other looks almost like it has some other bug - maybe cross contamination from my other sours?

 

[jmo88]

Here are the pics my two smaller batches. Both are 9097, though one has a pretty crazy pellicle going. The first one looks pretty normal, though the other looks almost like it has some other bug - maybe cross contamination from my other sours?

Gnarly! I love a good pellicle pic, but never seen brett look like that. Maybe you have something else going on there. It looks like a fluffy layer of cotton. The first
one looks normal though.

 

[KingBrianI]

Nice pics! I'll try to remember to post a pic of mine when I ge home. The pellicle was pretty impressive before I took a sample a couple months ago, but since then it has really gone crazy. I guess I let some oxygen in while taking the sample. Bubbles keep growing to about the size of a large egg, then popping and new ones grow.

 

[smokinghole]

Mine never got crazy and now it's basically gone. Weird how different the blend is acting for everyone.

 

[KingBrianI]

I should charge admission to see this thing.

 

[heywolfie1015]

I should charge admission to see this thing.

Ha! That thing is nasty.

 

[orangehero]

What's your temperature at?

 

[KingBrianI]

What's your temperature at?

Me? I have mine sitting at room temp, which is currently 65-67*F.

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

Me? I have mine sitting at room temp, which is currently 65-67*F.

same here.