Wyeast 3031 Brett Saison 3rd Generation Pitch

[jmyers04]

This beer is the 3rd generation of this yeast. I pitched sloppy slurry from my second batch. It was 50% wheat 50% pilsner. No hops as it is a sour. First pitched a carton of goodbelly for 2 days to sour then pitched the sloppy slurry of the 3031. First generation there was more saison than brett flavor. Second generation there was tons more brett. This third pitch is kind of weird. It has fermented out just fine but with not as much brett. I figured the opposite would happen and it would almost be all brett by now. Pitched yeast on August 5th. Anyone have an input on this yeast and different generations and as to why there isn't much brett flavor this time?

 

[Grod1]

How long are you letting the previous batches sit and what brett(s)? The cell count for the saison might have dwindled but its still in there.August 5th is hardly anytime at all for brett to develop anything past the nose.

 

[Dcpcooks]

3031 is brett c, it should have a bit more fruit than sour/bretty at this pointin fermentation. It will be hard to guess the ratio of brett to saison yeast at this point in the process without doing a cell count. But I'd assume you have a larger percentage of saison yeast than what came out of the package. I think you'll develop more brett flavor over time.

 

[secondbase]

The lower pH can have an effect on how the brett asserts itself. Perhaps that's the issue you are having. I haven't experienced low brett character on third generation pitch of this blend. It was actually a bit of a brett bomb.

 

[Calder]

This beer is the 3rd generation of this yeast. I pitched sloppy slurry from my second batch. It was 50% wheat 50% pilsner. No hops as it is a sour. First pitched a carton of goodbelly for 2 days to sour then pitched the sloppy slurry of the 3031. First generation there was more saison than brett flavor. Second generation there was tons more brett. This third pitch is kind of weird. It has fermented out just fine but with not as much brett. I figured the opposite would happen and it would almost be all brett by now. Pitched yeast on August 5th. Anyone have an input on this yeast and different generations and as to why there isn't much brett flavor this time?

What the heck is 'Goodbelly'?

You did not provide any details of how long the brews/yeast was working before harvesting each batch, nor how much of the cake you used each time. These are important to understand what is happening with the yeast mix.

When you pitch a mix of sacc and brett, the sacc will multiply faster than the brett. The sacc will use the O2 in the wort, take-off and be done in about 2 weeks. Since the sacc takes al the O2, the Brett has to work anaerobically, which is a slow process, taking several months; still working at 18 months.

I suspect (but you didn't say anything), that the first harvest was after a decent length of time, which is why the Brett was the dominant yeast. The second harvest was quicker, and the sacc had a decent number of live cells to be dominant.

Leave the beer, and the Brett will slowly develop it's character.

 

[Grod1]

the goodbelly is a probiotic drink with Lacto in it that seems tro be popular right now in homwbrewing.

 

[Dcpcooks]

Good belly will lower your ph but that won't really impact brett much. If anything it would impact the sacc yeast but that doesn't seem to be a problem. It's a time thing in my opinion. More time more brett character!

 

[jmyers04]

Thanks, for all the responses. I was out of town and didn't see them. I will give it more time. I checked on it when we got home.....it has formed a monster pellicle. I will let it go and I wont bottle until it has the desired brett flavor. But it will still get more funky as it sits in bottles as well. It should be an interesting beer.