WLP644 -Brett B Trois

[mhenry41h]

Fortunate change of plans for the Golden Strong. I managed to come across a vial of East Coast Yeast ECY09 (Belgian Abbaye), I will do a mixed starter of ECY09 and Brett B Trois and let it run. I cannot wait to brew this.

 

[AmandaK]

Bumpin' it up.

Any updates as to who has brewed this yet?

 

[lacticacid]

Bumpin' it up.

Any updates as to who has brewed this yet?

I have a batch fermenting now. The fermentation appears more vigorous then the batch fermenting with 3711. It smells pretty tropical as it is fermenting.

 

[AmandaK]

I have a batch fermenting now. The fermentation appears more vigorous then the batch fermenting with 3711. It smells pretty tropical as it is fermenting.

Very nice! What was your starter size and did you aerate?

 

[dwarven_stout]

I need to get my hands on this before it goes away.

 

[lacticacid]

Very nice! What was your starter size and did you aerate?

I used a 1000mL 1.040 starter pitch into 4 gallons of ~1.040 wort.

For the batch I diluted 6 gallons of 1.80 worth 50/50 with bottled water. To aerate I shook the Carboy.

 

[eastoak]

i have a buddy fermenting a beer with this strain, i'll be teaching him how to wash yeast and snagging some for myself to ferment a 1.050 blonde ale hopped with galaxy hops. can't wait.

 

[Almighty]

This Brett strain and most of them have very low flocculation. You may need to assist the yeast to floc out with a cold crash and a bit of pressure. But then separating it from the trub should be pretty easy.

 

[smokinghole]

I just ordered two vials of this before it left the shelves. I plan on a 100% trois wit, and maybe using that as a washed yeast for a dubbel recipe. I will then probably start my own saison blend and use this the brett in the blend.

 

[adc123]

Did people's starters get going immediately? I have made a 500 mL starter and the next morning there was definitely activity. People say brett starters need more time to get going, but perhaps Trois is faster? I am just wondering if I have sacc in there too on accident.

 

[mhenry41h]

My experience with Brett is that it will take off quickly but will go through cycles. Watch it closely as it should stop and start again...perhaps even twice or more. I read that a week to 10 days is the sweet spot.

 

[Almighty]

adc - the initial lag phase is similar to Sacc, it is the growth phase that is longer and hence why you need a longer starter time.
http://www.beer-brewing.com/beer-brewing/brewers_yeast/yeast_life_cycle.htm

 

[loctones]

Check out this part from Chad Yakobson's thesis. WLP644 is supposed to be the same as what's listed as BSI-Drie on the chart. It hits it's max growth after about 8 days. I either read or heard (on the Brewing Network interview) that this data was gathered with the starter on a stir plate at 80 deg.

http://www.brettanomycesproject.com/dissertation/propagation-and-batch-culture-growth/propagation-results/

I have my vial waiting to be pitched into the starter, but haven't gotten it going, yet.

 

[adc123]

Thanks guys. Makes sense for the difference. I just usually here from people that brett starters are quite silent, but this strain is quite a different beast from other bretts.

 

[Quaker]

My vial was just pitched into a 750mL starter this morning. It's currently not on my stirplate. I thought I'd let it go a few days as is to see how it performs first. I can always put it on later in the week if its not doing much. Plan to brew next weekend.

 

[Quaker]

Pic of my starter after only 12 hours with no aeration. Room temp is about 24C (75F).

 

[Quaker]

About 22 hours after pitching, and you wouldn't think it was anything special. It looks and smells like a slightly fruity Belgian strain. This has been with no aeration or agitation.

 

[Coff]

I just pick this up yesterday, I hope to get it in the fermenter within a week. Thinking about doing a citrusy Pale Ale but not sure.

 

[JLem]

I started a thread about my recent experience using wlp644 in a 100% Brett beer over in the Yeast and Fermentation forum. I hadn't thought about putting it here, but AmandaK suggested I post a link on this thread so as to add it to the discussion. (thanks AmandaK!) https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/dilemma-100-brett-not-337296/

The gist of the story is that I made a starter of wlp644, but did not have the time to let it go for the full recommended 7-8 days. I gave it about 2.5 days instead. It looked/behaved just like every other non-Brett starter I've done. I pitched it into a 1.045 farmhouse-style wort with a grist that was ~33% raw, non-barley (spelt, red wheat, and quinoa). Fermentation took off in under 12 hours at an ambient temp of 70°F. After 5 days, the gravity is down to 1.020. I know it is early still, but I had hoped it would be lower than that by now. I've wrapped a heating pad around the fermenter to get the temp up a little more.

The hydrometer sample smelled and tasted spectacular - full of tropical fruits.

pic of my wlp644 starter @ 24 hours:

 

[AmandaK]

Cheers to you all for helping me keep a central log of this interesting yeast!

I'm really interested to see how this all pans out. I will most likely be able to get a few beers going with this yeast around January, so by the time they're done it'll be spring time again and I'll be ready for some fruity business.

 

[Quaker]

As reported by others, mine went idle after about 2 days of high activity. Since I wanted to build it up anyways, I added fresh wort this morning to increase it a little more than 1.5L rather than just wait until it hit it's next growth phase. And then based on reading this presentation by Chad Yakobson posted by Stubbornman in the All Brett Starter thread, I've decided to put my starter on the stir plate. I also had the chance to finally listen to the BN Sunday Session with the CY interview. When people reported acetic production when aerated, it caused me to be overly cautious, not aerating my starter even. But after listening to the interview and reading that presentation, is sounds like any acetic production results in just a minor sourness. So screw it, it's hitting the stirplate to get some more serious growth and activity.

 

[digitalbullet]

Going to brew with 644 tonight! Excited.
Grist:
Belgian pils 6.5 lbs
Wheat 3 lbs
brown sugar 1 lb
Aromatic malt .5 lbs

1 oz saaz @ 60
.5 oz saaz @ 10
1 oz citra @ flameout
1 oz dry hop

We'll see what happens!

 

[Almighty]

Quaker - in my experience the acetic acid production is very minor. It gives the beer a more rounded tart nose and taste. I am not a big fan of acetic acid in my sours and did not think the amount produced was even detectable as acetic acid.

I think the important part is that you want to think about if you want the tartness in your beer. For example, I didn't want it in my 100% Brett Best Bitter were the tartness would not mix well with the high dryness and firm bitterness. However, I do want it in my 100% Brett Table Saison were I want the tartness to accentuate the fruit flavors and spice notes.

 

[Quaker]

That's what i picked up from the interview and presentation which changed my mind. Actually in this batch i was planning to bottle about a six pack of 100% Brett samples, them top off the wort and toss a lacto coated cherry or two from my Berliner Weiss and let it ride for a year. So i don't fear sourness or tartness, i feared the acetic/vinegar sourness which apparently isn't warranted. That said, This morning I can smell some sourness after a night on the stir plate. I'll probably sneak a taste after work tonight.

 

[Quaker]

Brewed today. Mostly trouble free other than a nearly stuck sparge. I used my "countdown" grist which is the base for most my beers lately, so named for the decreasing amounts of various base grains. Added oats due to Chad Yakobsen's comments on the BN. Plan to ferment it in my kettle as usual, then rack onto 1.5 lb. each halved mangoes and apricots with pits with 20g of oak chips soaking in Grand Marnier. Then I'll ignore it for a long while. In a few months I plan to add lacto from my Berliner Weiss. This will be the 4th sour batch which will hide from me in the crawlspace until next summer when I will either keg up individually or experiment with blending. When I rack to secondary, I'll bottle up a few samples to bottle condition and taste young.

Recipe: Countdown BB3

Wort Volume Before Boil: 28.75 l
Wort Volume After Boil: 22.0 l

Actual Pre-Boil Gravity: 10.0 P (1.040)
Actual OG: 11.7 P (1.047)

Predicted IBU (using Tinseth): 19.3
Mash Efficiency: 76.2 %
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins

Fermentables
Chinese Pilsner Malt 4.00 lb (36.4 %) In Mash/Steeped
German Vienna Malt 3.00 lb (27.3 %) In Mash/Steeped
German Wheat Malt 2.00 lb (18.2 %) In Mash/Steeped
German Munich Malt 1.00 lb (9.1 %) In Mash/Steeped
Rolled Oats 1.00 lb (9.1 %) In Mash/Steeped - toasted in a wok until browned and very aromatic

Mash Schedule
Mash Type: Full Mash
Single Step Infusion (69C/156F)
Batch Sparged

Hops
NZ Pacific Jade (14.2 % alpha) 10 g Bagged Pellet Hops used First Wort Hopped
US Amarillo (9.3 % alpha) 15 g Bagged Pellet Hops used 5 Min From End

Yeast: White Labs WLP644-Brett. Bruxellensis Trois - 3L starter, decanted down to 2L

 

[AmandaK]

Quaker, can you elaborate on how you "ferment in your kettle as usual"?

 

[adc123]

he probably means he boils and cools in his kettle, then pitches directly in there, maybe into a fridge for temp regulation. I have heard of that before; its just one less vessel to clean. However, kettles need to be extra-clean and sanitary(all the nooks and crannies) to prevent infection.

 

[AmandaK]

he probably means he boils and cools in his kettle, then pitches directly in there, maybe into a fridge for temp regulation. I have heard of that before; its just one less vessel to clean. However, kettles need to be extra-clean and sanitary(all the nooks and crannies) to prevent infection.

I realize that. I just thought that portion could use a bit more elaboration since its a big part of the process. You know, so people can repeat his process when they read this thread later.

 

[Quaker]

I finish the boil, chill with an immersion cooler, aerate by stirring aggressively, pitch, stir more, then put a snug fitting lid on. I normally stir once more about 12 hours later. I mentioned it above, because it does mean trub and all is in my fermenter. I use hop sacks which limit hop debris in the wort, but any break material is still in there. Normally I don't use a secondary or you could consider my keg a secondary. I keg directly from the kettle after 2 weeks. I let them condition a week or more in the keg before chilling and carbonating. In this case it will go into a plastic carboy once the fermentation is slow enough that I won't need much head space.

 

[Quaker]

Fermentation 24 hours in looking as active an any hefe or Belgian yeast.