Adding Brett to Sour a Cider

[MarkKF]

So here is my idea. Ferment Apple juice with a cider yeast. When fermentation slows and krausen settles top off with fresh juice and inoculate with Brett.

Has anyone done this? What were your findings? Are there any other suggestions? Thanks

 

[microbusbrewery]

Brett alone doesn't really sour. It will give you funk (barnyard, horse blanket, etc.) but doesn't really produce much acidity unless exposed to quite a bit of O2, and in that case it produces acetic acid. That said, I don't really have much experience with cider. The brett would likely completely dry out the cider, increasing the perception of tartness from the natural acids in the juice. If you want lactic acid like sour beers, you need to ferment with lactobacillus and/or pediococcus. If you use the latter, you'll want to also pitch brett because pedio will produce diacetyl which the brett will convert to more palatable compounds.

 

[dmtaylor]

I've done this. It doesn't sour the cider so much as it makes it taste like olives and leather and butt. I'm not a huge fan of Basque ciders but that's what it will make, if you're into that.

Txotx.

 

[mirthfuldragon]

I've had five gallons of cider on Wyeast 3031 saison brett for a couple of months, and I'm a bit disappointed in it. Not really all that funky. Not bad by any means, but not something I would look to drink either. I am going to let it sit for another couple of months. The gravity was at 1.003 when I checked it last, six or eight weeks ago, so it is bone dry and tart.

 

[bernardsmith]

If you were really interested in experimenting with Brett you could add Brett a week or so before you pitched the yeast. The Brett will have that week to do its work without competition from any yeast. After a week I imagine the yeast will more or lesstake over. My sense is from White Labs that Brett will not convert more than about 1-2 % of the sugar.

 

[MarkKF]

If you were really interested in experimenting with Brett you could add Brett a week or so before you pitched the yeast. The Brett will have that week to do its work without competition from any yeast. After a week I imagine the yeast will more or lesstake over. My sense is from White Labs that Brett will not convert more than about 1-2 % of the sugar.

Interesting. Brett Lamb, Brett Claus or Brett Brux?