Yeast Bay--offering some Brett blends

[MeanDeuce]

Thanks, I checked again a little later last night and the start of a nice pillowy krausen had formed, by this morning it was full bore. Had a tiny amount of blowoff through the airlock so I think we're in business.

 

[coypoo]

Bumping this back up. How'd everyone's beers turn out??

 

[sweetcell]

i've bottled my saison with lochristi, which was in secondary for a little over a year.

the beer has an off-flavor that i'm pretty sure is THP, AKA "that cheerio flavor" or "mouse taint". i bottled conditioned without adding any new yeast so the brett was likely in bad shape and spit out the THP. it's been something like 2 or 3 months since bottling and it's starting to get better. i had one last night and it was almost drinkable, but still too strong to fully appreciate the underlying beer.

TL;DR: my lochristi saison is dealing with bottle shock because i didn't re-yeast at bottling. needs more time.

 

[coypoo]

Thanks for the update

 

[Biobrewer]

Nick here from The Yeast Bay, Thought I'd toss in the fact we actually just released some new cultures, including a number of single strain Brettanomyces bruxellensis isolates. Literally just fired out our news letter about it! All of the beta cultures below just became year round cultures propped at White Labs, so availability on the website will be consistent and commercial breweries and homebrew stores can order as much as they need.

Cliff notes:

Brettanomyces bruxellensis – Strain TYB 184 - This isolate is attenuative, produces a moderate acidic-like character and an ester profile of lemon/pineapple. Another notable characteristic of this isolate is the mild barnyard character it produces that doesn't take over the profile; rather, it balances the ester profile. The unique character balance in this strain is what makes it well suited for use on its own, in both primary and secondary fermentation.

Brettanomyces bruxellensis – Strain TYB 207 - This isolate exhibits good attenuation, and produces a moderate acidic-like character and an ester profile the combination of which produces a character reminiscent of sweet tarts. It's a fruity, funky tartness that's refreshing and crisp. This strain is well-suited for primary and secondary fermentation.

Saison/Brettanomyces Blend II – The cultures in this new and unique blend include two saison-style Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates (Wallonian Farmhouse II and Wallonian Farmhouse III) and two Brettanomyces bruxellensis cultures (TYB184, TYB207). This blend will produce a beer that is bursting with classic saison character with a rustic kick of Brettanomyces fruitiness and funkiness. While exhibiting a mild hay/barnyard component, the overall character is heavier on the fruit-forward end of the spectrum compared to our original Saison/Brettanomyces Blend.

Wallonian Farmhouse II – This is a single strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolated from the same source as our Wallonian Farmhouse strain, a well-known brewery hailing from the Walloon region of Belgium. Slightly less attenuative and exhibiting a more restrained phenolic and expressive ester profile than our original Wallonian Farmhouse, this yeast is a great choice for any classic saison style beer in which a balance of fruitiness and rustic farmhouse character is desired.

Wallonian Farmhouse III – This is a single strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolated from a well-known brewery hailing from the Walloon region of Belgium that's the producer of one of the most beloved and classic Saisons. This strain is as attenuative as our original Wallonian Farmhouse and exhibits a more balanced profile of ester and phenols. This yeast is similar in profile to a classic saison strain offered by many other yeast manufacturers, without the slow/low attenuation and stalling issues often observed in those cultures.

Flanders Specialty Ale – This is a single strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolated from a fascinating Belgian producer of a wide array of traditional Belgian beer styles. This is a versatile yeast that will ferment fairly dry and produce a balanced flavor and aroma profile laced with a myriad of esters and phenols. While fermenting to dryness similar to our Dry Belgian Ale, there remains a pleasant fullness in the mouthfeel and a malt backbone that shines.

We also have an exciting new Beta Brettanomyces culture coming out soon (Brettanomyces Single Strain Series – Isolate TYB242). The origin of this strain is a brewer of all things funky in the beautiful state of Colorado. The species identification of the culture is not yet known, but the flavor profile is large and in charge – intense stone fruit and citrus with a lovely complement of barnyard characters lurking in the background. Expecting to release this within the month of March sometime, so keep your eyes peeled.

 

[sweetcell]

i've bottled my saison with lochristi, which was in secondary for a little over a year.

the beer has an off-flavor that i'm pretty sure is THP, AKA "that cheerio flavor" or "mouse taint". i bottled conditioned without adding any new yeast so the brett was likely in bad shape and spit out the THP. it's been something like 2 or 3 months since bottling and it's starting to get better. i had one last night and it was almost drinkable, but still too strong to fully appreciate the underlying beer.

TL;DR: my lochristi saison is dealing with bottle shock because i didn't re-yeast at bottling. needs more time.

update: THP took several months to go away, but go away it did.

what lays underneath is really nice. i definitely get a pear ester.

apparently i'm not the only one who likes it: the beer took first place in category 28 of my NHC regional... i'm going to nationals, baby

 

[MeanDeuce]

Rolling with some Melange in an extract lambic similar to Oldsock's recipe. How long does it usually take for krausen to hit? About 24hrs in and not much going on yet. Its sitting in a fermentation bag around 65*.

Thanks, I checked again a little later last night and the start of a nice pillowy krausen had formed, by this morning it was full bore. Had a tiny amount of blowoff through the airlock so I think we're in business.

Going to finally move this onto some sour cherries and another batch of peaches and apricots next weekend. I've never gotten a traditional pellicile, just some thick yeast rafts. That's with addition of some Cantillon dregs. Am very curious to see what it tastes like after all this time.

 

[Biobrewer]

update: THP took several months to go away, but go away it did.

what lays underneath is really nice. i definitely get a pear ester.

apparently i'm not the only one who likes it: the beer took first place in category 28 of my NHC regional... i'm going to nationals, baby

Shoot me an email with the recipe in the same format as the ones on the winner's circle page and I'll get you up on the site.

http://www.theyeastbay.com/winners-circle/

Congrats, by the way!

 

[sweetcell]

Shoot me an email with the recipe in the same format as the ones on the winner's circle page and I'll get you up on the site.

http://www.theyeastbay.com/winners-circle/

Congrats, by the way!

thanks

recipe sent, and it's already up. fast turnaround!

edit: looks like its not linked on /winners-circle/ yet...

 

[Biobrewer]

thanks

recipe sent, and it's already up. fast turnaround!

edit: looks like its not linked on /winners-circle/ yet...

Linked! Sorry about that, it's also linked on the order page for the Lochristi Blend. Here is the link by itself:

http://www.theyeastbay.com/lochristi-saison

 

[Biobrewer]

For folks interested in the funky/sour stuff, thought I'd update this thread with some of the newer cultures we're offering:

TYB House Sour Blend
The Yeast Bay House Sour Blend is complex blend developed over three years of isolation work, currently consisting of the following organisms:

4 Belgian/Saison Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates
18 Brettanomyces sp. isolates
Saccharomyces fermentati
Lactobacillus brevis
Lactobacillus delbreuckii
Lactobacillus plantarum
Lactobacillus sp. ("uncultured Lactobacillus" sequencing result)
Pediococcus damnosus

This culture will produce a dry, acidic, complex beer over time with a complementary profile of lactic acid, pineapple/orange/lemon/floral esters and earthy funk. The Lactobacillus and Pediococcus have been maintained in the presence of moderate IBU (~5-10) with the hope that a slightly more hop-tolerant population will persist. However, as with the Mélange Sour Blend, if you want acidity quickly, we recommend keeping the IBU low (0-5 IBU), starting with a fermentation temperature of 70-72 ºF for the first few days and then raising the temperature to 75-80 ºF to encourage development of sourness (Lactobacillus, Pediococcus). For a slower developing beer that exhibits a rounded balance of funk (Brettanomyces) and sourness we recommend ~5-10 IBU, mashing on the high end, fermenting at 68 ºF and holding at that temperature for an extended period of time.


Brettanomyces bruxellensis Strain TYB261
Isolated from a unique mixed fermentation beer produced in the Midwestern United States, this Brettanomyces isolate exhibits a mild tartness and soft funk with a solid backbone of tropical fruit esters (papaya, guava, pineapple, guinep). It's great primary fermenter, but really shines in secondary fermentation following up a primary fermentation that produces a lot of flavor compounds. This strain is a true flavor modulator, and the more raw material it has to work with the greater the complexity that will be achieved in the finished beer. Sequencing results revealed it's Brettanomyces bruxellensis.

This strain will produce a massive, thick krausen, so be sure to use a blowoff tube or reserve plenty of fermentor headspace!


Amalgamation II
The next installment of our "Brett Super Blend", Amalgamation II is a blend of 5 Brettanomyces isolates: Brettanomyces bruxellensis - Strain TYB184, Brettanomyces bruxellensis - Strain TYB207, Brettanomyces bruxellensis - Strain TYB261, and both Beersel Brettanomyces Blend isolates.
This culture is the coalescence of all of the great qualities of each isolate: The balanced funk of the Beersel isolates and TYB184, the sweet tart character of TYB207, and the tropical bouquet of the combined ester profile of lemon/pineapple/guava/mango/papaya contributed by all the isolates.

Expect beers fermented with this blend to finish crisp, dry, tart and unbelievably fruity with just a touch of funk on the finish. This blend produces noticeable character only 3-4 weeks into fermentation and is well suited for faster turnaround beers. Amalgamation II shines as a primary or secondary fermenter, and is sure to please any brewer of Brettanomyces-driven beers.


If anyone has any questions about these newer funky/sour offerings, I'm happy to answer any questions. Cheers!