WLP644 -Brett B Trois

[JLem]

Didnt take any longer to carb than sach. After 3 weeks i wasnt crazy about my beer, but its really getting good now after 6 weeks or so. the brett really does floc under pressure. Mine is progressively getting really peachy and slightly more tart.

This had been my experience as well, although I thoroughly enjoyed mine at 3 weeks when the hop character was fresh. Mine's now approaching 5 months old and I'm getting some slight lemony sourness that either wasn't there before or was hidden by the hops. Dropped crystal clear quickly and has been a delicious beer all the way through.

 

[spenghali]

Main brew in Hillsboro, OR has trois. Just ordered a tube and crossing my fingers they don't call me in the morning and tell me it's sold out. Just noticed they have some Nelson pellets, hopefully I can call them early tomorrow and add that to my order before it is packed up.

 

[dstar26t]

FYI,

We got some old vials a few weeks ago, dated 11/4. White Labs uses 6 months for expiration on Brett vials vs. 4 months for sacch. On 10/22, we put 2 vials into a 240 mL 1.040 starter on a stir plate for 8 days and counted 104 Billion cells. We took out 16 Billion to bottle condition a Saison which left us with 88 Billion cells. Added some more 1.040 wort to the flask up to 550mL which should have made a 1.025 combined wort. Let that go for 8 days and counted 237 Billion cells.

Just wanted you all to see how this yeast propagates. It's much more efficient than sacch.

 

[spenghali]

oh yea, www.mainbrew.com

 

[highgravitybacon]

Main brew in Hillsboro, OR has trois. Just ordered a tube and crossing my fingers they don't call me in the morning and tell me it's sold out. Just noticed they have some Nelson pellets, hopefully I can call them early tomorrow and add that to my order before it is packed up.

Fantastic. Thanks for the tip. Put an order in today. They said ice packs are included at no extra charge. Good price on some 2011 Simcoe and Amarillo whole cone too.

 

[WilliamWS]

So, brewed tues evening and the kreusen has dropped today. Fermentation is still going but very slowly. It took my RIS from 1.094-1.034 in 2 1/2 days-pretty good. I'm hoping it'll finish somewhere between 1.025 and 1.030 but if it gets a little drier it won't be the end of the world (just hope it doesn't dry out too much)

It smells great but I'm not getting as much fruitiness as I would have expected. I was under the impression that the fruitiness is there from the start. Of course, I may have over-pitched causing it to go extra clean. We'll see-can't wait.

 

[Coff]

The fruitiness will come, my Saison was pretty clean at 2 weeks but once I bottled at 5-6 weeks it was very tropical.

 

[bogwart]

Thanks for the responses gentlemen. I checked a bottle after two weeks (i know...too early) and it had taken on a cidery quality like it had been brewed with a large amount of simple sugar. I hadn't noticed that at all before it went into the bottle and I'm hoping it will disappear with time.

 

[highgravitybacon]

oh yea, www.mainbrew.com

Sold out. My order got cancelled. They said it went fast in the past couple of days.

 

[lunshbox]

Sold out. My order got cancelled. They said it went fast in the past couple of days.

Same here. Too bad.

 

[Quaker]

Just prepped a 2L starter to revive my salvaged yeast from this summer's 2 brews. Next weekend I'm planning a Amarillo pale ale with it. I haven't fully decided the grist yet, but likely same as my first Countdown Blond: 4/3/2/1 of Pils/Vienna/Munich/Wheat + 1 pound of flaked oats as a Brett treat.

I've gotten distracted by barley wine recipes, so this starter is going to sleep for a bit. I also have a near full keg of pale ale on tap and another in waiting. So I don't need to worry about my hoppy pipeline for a bit.

 

[flyingfinbar]

Has anyone had any issues fermenting this in a typical bucket? In doing research, I've found that some get overly acidic results from a long primary in a bucket due to the introduction of oxygen through the plastic. Would it be an issues if I only kept it in primary for ~5 weeks? I only own one glass carboy, and it's only a 5 gal.

 

[JLem]

Has anyone had any issues fermenting this in a typical bucket? In doing research, I've found that some get overly acidic results from a long primary in a bucket due to the introduction of oxygen through the plastic. Would it be an issues if I only kept it in primary for ~5 weeks? I only own one glass carboy, and it's only a 5 gal.

I don't think you'll have a problem in that time frame. If you were leaving it in there for several months you might see some effects of increased oxygen, but I doubt you'll notice anything after just 5 weeks.

 

[badlee]

I'm thinking of using my BrettTrois,built up from ok cubes(thanks A.) to brew a Belgian IPA.
2.5gallons
2lb Munich
2lb Vienna
1lb two-row
1lb pils
a handful or two of flaked wheat
1oz of Zythos at 15,10 and 5
Is this the kind of thing that will go well with this Brett strain?

 

[mhenry41h]

I don't know what sort of age requirements have of necessary for the beers you all have brewed with this strain, but mine is taking a while to "get right.". At first (Golden Strong), mine was overwhelmingly fruity, I mean intense. Now, it's really starting to come in to it's own. I'm likely to sit on these for a considerable time.

 

[badlee]

was that maybe just the Brett interacting with the hops?

 

[mhenry41h]

This had been my experience as well, although I thoroughly enjoyed mine at 3 weeks when the hop character was fresh. Mine's now approaching 3 months old and I'm getting some slight lemony sourness that either wasn't there before or was hidden by the hops. Dropped crystal clear quickly and has been a delicious beer all the way through.

I completely agree with these sentiments. I wasn't happy with it being super fresh (although mine did take forever to carb). I agree that I'm developing a lot of stone fruit type esters and there is a decided tartness that was completely unexpected with a Brett strain.

 

[highgravitybacon]

I actually found perhaps the last known vial of WLP644 in the English speaking world for sale. It is in my possession now. I know some people were unable to obtain it because of the freakishly short supply. So I'd be glad to share the wealth and culture it up and mail some out to people living in the Continential US. You'll have to cover postage. It was hard to find this stuff and I didn't think it was fair to not share it. It's 8 months until it gets released again.

I'm not going to promise sterility here, but I do promise that my kitchen is probably cleaner than your average east coast compounding pharmacy. So no meningitis in the yeast. And I'm not going to promise viability since I'm just some dude in the suburbs. But, if you're cool with that, shoot me a PM and I'll figure out if it will work.

 

[flyingfinbar]

I actually found perhaps the last known vial of WLP644 in the English speaking world for sale. It is in my possession now. I know some people were unable to obtain it because of the freakishly short supply. So I'd be glad to share the wealth and culture it up and mail some out to people living in the Continential US. You'll have to cover postage. It was hard to find this stuff and I didn't think it was fair to not share it. It's 8 months until it gets released again.

I'm not going to promise sterility here, but I do promise that my kitchen is probably cleaner than your average east coast compounding pharmacy. So no meningitis in the yeast. And I'm not going to promise viability since I'm just some dude in the suburbs. But, if you're cool with that, shoot me a PM and I'll figure out if it will work.

Very generous/cool of you to do

 

[othellomcbane]

I don't know what sort of age requirements have of necessary for the beers you all have brewed with this strain, but mine is taking a while to "get right.". At first (Golden Strong), mine was overwhelmingly fruity, I mean intense. Now, it's really starting to come in to it's own. I'm likely to sit on these for a considerable time.

I think the overwhelming fruitiness is what a lot of people, including myself, liked about Trois. Even in a fairly plain beer, it produces a super intense aroma and flavor that's unlike anything else I've experience.

I think it really shines when paired with a lot of hops, though... the bitterness helps balance all that fruitiness. I'm sure you could use in in tangent with some other Brett strains to cut down on the fruitiness for a Golden Strong, too.

 

[mhenry41h]

It's definitely not a bad thing, but I have a feeling that people who don't know the unique ester profile of this Brett will be making something different than what they expect if "traditional Brett" flavors are what they were expecting. At first I was really reminded of Victory's Golden Monkey (note: brewers who haven't used your vial yet - I did a mixed fermentation with a Belgian Sacc strain). It's changing, for the better in my mind, with time. It's been in the bottle 2 months.

 

[JLem]

It's definitely not a bad thing, but I have a feeling that people who don't know the unique ester profile of this Brett will be making something different than what they expect if "traditional Brett" flavors are what they were expecting. At first I was really reminded of Victory's Golden Monkey (note: brewers who haven't used your vial yet - I did a mixed fermentation with a Belgian Sacc strain). It's changing, for the better in my mind, with time. It's been in the bottle 2 months.

Case in point - my 100% Brett beer that I entered into competition. Though it actually landed a silver medal (so I'm not really complaining) the judges comments included things like "not enough Brett character", "looking for more Brett sourness", "nice beer, but the Brett is undetectable". I was disappointed by the lack of understanding of what to expect...or maybe the judges prefer "traditional" Brett flavors.

 

[othellomcbane]

Case in point - my 100% Brett beer that I entered into competition. Though it actually landed a silver medal (so I'm not really complaining) the judges comments included things like "not enough Brett character", "looking for more Brett sourness", "nice beer, but the Brett is undetectable". I was disappointed by the lack of understanding of what to expect...or maybe the judges prefer "traditional" Brett flavors.

I think this is a running problem that 100% Brett beers face — many people, even accomplished brewers, just don't know what to expect. They think that because it's "100%" that means there's going to be a super intense funk character and they think it's a flaw of the beer when it's not.

I'm not BJCP certified myself, so I don't know what the training is like, but it seems like it might not be keeping pace with some of these new experimental styles that are just gaining traction.

 

[othellomcbane]

Been drinking my second Trois beer for a few weeks now, got a write-up posted on my blog. I'm pretty surprised how different it came out compared to my first Trois beer, which was a session / white IPA. With all the hops in that one, the flavors focused on the big tropical / guava / mango notes that I expected. Second batch has that too, but a whole other range of flavors as well.

My second Trois beer has a pretty simple recipe and low-hopping, for a focus on the yeast, and its character leans a bit more toward a tart-berry thing. It's very interesting and very enjoyable. The tropical notes are definitely still there, but I think the hops really helped to bring those out in the first beer. Also, this second batch ended up with some extra head space in the carboy and a week longer of aging, so I think it developed more acidity. That extra little bit of sourness enhances the "tart berry" character. And unless I'm just imagining that, Trois seemed to develop tartness a lot faster than the other Brett strains I've used in 100% Brett fermentations.

So happy Trois is going to be year-round next year. Such a great yeast.

 

[barrooze]

So happy Trois is going to be year-round next year. Such a great yeast.

I hadn't heard that! Great news! I can't wait to get it into my arsenal!

 

[highgravitybacon]

I hadn't heard that! Great news! I can't wait to get it into my arsenal!

Yes, to be released mid January per email I got from White Labs.

 

[monkeybox]

Been drinking my second Trois beer for a few weeks now, got a write-up posted on my blog. I'm pretty surprised how different it came out compared to my first Trois beer, which was a session / white IPA.

I have some cultured WLP644 (Thanks highgravitybacon!) and am deciding on a WLP644 recipe right now. I was planning on something like your White IPA, but the recipe is a bit complex for my liking. I prefer to keep things down to a couple grains and a couple hops, but I'm willing to do more if it's a really great beer.

Which of your recipes did you like better? Any changes you'd suggest to either recipe?

Anybody else have recipes for 100% WLP644 that they think are fantastic?

 

[othellomcbane]

I have some cultured WLP644 (Thanks highgravitybacon!) and am deciding on a WLP644 recipe right now. I was planning on something like your White IPA, but the recipe is a bit complex for my liking. I prefer to keep things down to a couple grains and a couple hops, but I'm willing to do more if it's a really great beer.

Which of your recipes did you like better? Any changes you'd suggest to either recipe?

Anybody else have recipes for 100% WLP644 that they think are fantastic?

Not sure if you meant the other one rather than the White IPA. The White IPA was only three malts, which I wouldn't consider particularly complex. I think the main trick with formulating the recipe is getting some body and mouthfeel into the beer, as 100% Brett beers tend to be thin and a bit watery. With the white IPA, you could probably just do two grains, a base malt and somewhere around 30% wheat. I think a bit of carapils or C20 helps too, but I guess it's not crucial. I would shoot for at least 5% ABV too. For the hop bill, you could go simpler. Really, any good IPA hop bill should work, since the yeast blends in with the hop aroma so thoroughly. Northwest hops or New Zeland hops should work best.

I guess if I had to pick a favorite, I prefer the white IPA... I think the extra hops really balance the fruity sweetness Trois creates. The "Belgian pale ale" version was very good too, though, so it really depends what you're looking for, hoppy or simpler and sweet. If you wanted to simplify that recipe, you could cut the Munich. The bit of honey malt obviously added to the sweetness there, and I think helped accent the "berry" like flavors, so you could adjust that to your preferences.

Hope that helps!

 

[Almighty]

monkeybox - I really liked my ESBrett I did a while ago. It was the second runnings from a barley wine, but is basically an ESB base. As othellomcbane discussed, the Brett can produce a thinning of the mouthfeel so I think some crystal malts really help. Plus I have found that the more complex sugars in your wort the more intense and fruit forward notes are produced by Brett Drie.

I happen to really like Nelson hops and they reinforce the flavors produced by the yeast. I think anything tropical goes nicely.

Here is my right up - http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/05/brett-series-extra-special-bretter.html

And tasting notes - http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/2012/05/homebrew-tasting-100-brett-drie-100.html

 

[AmandaK]

I was disappointed by the lack of understanding of what to expect...or maybe the judges prefer "traditional" Brett flavors.

It's hard to find good judges. It's especially hard to find good judges for every competition.

That being said, how many people even know of this strain of yeast? And how many of those people are judging in comps? I wish there was a better way of educating the BJCP, but with it being a volunteer based organization, it's kind of hard.