NuclearRich
Well-Known Member
So I brewed a wit bordering on 2 months ago. I did 10 gallons and wanted to split half onto 100% brett, and the other half i keep as my standard recipe.
I built a starter of the WLP650 for something like 10 days (dont have my notes on had, but will check). Hearing that 100% brett fermentation should be pitched with lager-like rates, I put the vial in 300mL wort and then built it to a liter maybe 5 days later. It seemed to grow perfectly well, smelled like a dirty saison: funky barnyard. It was aerated occasionally by shaking (had the other yeast on the stir plate anyway). Probably could have used another step, but my other yeast was built up from dregs and ready to go, so I brewed.
I bottled the regular recipe a month ago, and after I was done I checked on the Brett bucket. Whoah did it smell awful. Burnt rubber, sharp horse sweat funk. Most interesting part to me was the big ole pellicle. I decided to let it ride a bit longer. A few weeks later I bottled the fruited part of the reg. wit and checked on the brett half again. The burnt rubber was more subdued, the pellicle larger. SG was around 1.010 (which is right around where the reg. wit finished). I held my nose and tasted the gravity sample. WHOAH. So lovely. A big tart flavor, lemony and soft. I decided to let it go a few more weeks to make sure the gravity is stable and I didnt get any other bugs in there.
I will be bottling soon, so long as its got a stable gravity. I also will be putting some on fruit the same way that the regular wit was handled. I am really excited to see how this turns out, after tasting that sample. However, I am slightly confused by all of the 100% brett fermented characteristics that others have found. Usually any tartness is percieved to be more acetic in nature, and even more often it seems that it is a rather boring yeast without much of a flavor impact.
Input? Questions? I will update as I go.
I built a starter of the WLP650 for something like 10 days (dont have my notes on had, but will check). Hearing that 100% brett fermentation should be pitched with lager-like rates, I put the vial in 300mL wort and then built it to a liter maybe 5 days later. It seemed to grow perfectly well, smelled like a dirty saison: funky barnyard. It was aerated occasionally by shaking (had the other yeast on the stir plate anyway). Probably could have used another step, but my other yeast was built up from dregs and ready to go, so I brewed.
I bottled the regular recipe a month ago, and after I was done I checked on the Brett bucket. Whoah did it smell awful. Burnt rubber, sharp horse sweat funk. Most interesting part to me was the big ole pellicle. I decided to let it ride a bit longer. A few weeks later I bottled the fruited part of the reg. wit and checked on the brett half again. The burnt rubber was more subdued, the pellicle larger. SG was around 1.010 (which is right around where the reg. wit finished). I held my nose and tasted the gravity sample. WHOAH. So lovely. A big tart flavor, lemony and soft. I decided to let it go a few more weeks to make sure the gravity is stable and I didnt get any other bugs in there.
I will be bottling soon, so long as its got a stable gravity. I also will be putting some on fruit the same way that the regular wit was handled. I am really excited to see how this turns out, after tasting that sample. However, I am slightly confused by all of the 100% brett fermented characteristics that others have found. Usually any tartness is percieved to be more acetic in nature, and even more often it seems that it is a rather boring yeast without much of a flavor impact.
Input? Questions? I will update as I go.
