Good morning!
I will have a spare fermenter in a few weeks and I thought about using that one for the bretty stuff. I always wanted to brew a nice beer including brettanomyces, but this should not be a brettanomyces only beer and not a sour. Tart would be ok, but not a real sour. I would like to be able to drink this as fast as possible, but still be able to taste the impact of the brett. I am aware that this will need possibly months to develop, still months is better than a full year. This thread is kind of a brainstorming thing, everybody can bring in his experience and let's see where we end up.
So far I see two big obstacles.
1. I bottle and brett likes to continue chewing the longer sugars. This means, bottling too early is risking bottle bombs. I do not want to use enzymes.
I thought about using a Saison Yeast to solve this issue. Belle Saison brings down a lower abv wort which was mashed for fermentability to 1.0 FG in nder two weeks. That would solve the Bottle bomb potential problem.
2. Brett needs time to develop the desired flavours. It is what it is. Let's see what the smallest time fram is, one can get away with.
The Flavour:
I like these bretty flavours, earthy, "horse blanket" type of flavours. I also like the fruity touch some bretts can impart, generally, I love brettanomyces induced flavours. My understanding is, that a big part of this flavour comes from transforming existing esters and phenols into something different. Belle Saison is a clean yeast, so there is probably not much that the brett can transform.
Adding a second yeast? But which type? Some phenols producing yeast, like for example a German wheat beer strain? Or an fruity esterbomb like Verdant IPA? A mix of both?
And then, let's say belle really brought it down to 1.0. How much time does the brett need to deliver these complex flavours I am after?
Many questions....
Thanks for everyone who chimes in.
M
@RPh_Guy You were the first person I thought about, you probably have a lot of experience to share.
I will have a spare fermenter in a few weeks and I thought about using that one for the bretty stuff. I always wanted to brew a nice beer including brettanomyces, but this should not be a brettanomyces only beer and not a sour. Tart would be ok, but not a real sour. I would like to be able to drink this as fast as possible, but still be able to taste the impact of the brett. I am aware that this will need possibly months to develop, still months is better than a full year. This thread is kind of a brainstorming thing, everybody can bring in his experience and let's see where we end up.
So far I see two big obstacles.
1. I bottle and brett likes to continue chewing the longer sugars. This means, bottling too early is risking bottle bombs. I do not want to use enzymes.
I thought about using a Saison Yeast to solve this issue. Belle Saison brings down a lower abv wort which was mashed for fermentability to 1.0 FG in nder two weeks. That would solve the Bottle bomb potential problem.
2. Brett needs time to develop the desired flavours. It is what it is. Let's see what the smallest time fram is, one can get away with.
The Flavour:
I like these bretty flavours, earthy, "horse blanket" type of flavours. I also like the fruity touch some bretts can impart, generally, I love brettanomyces induced flavours. My understanding is, that a big part of this flavour comes from transforming existing esters and phenols into something different. Belle Saison is a clean yeast, so there is probably not much that the brett can transform.
Adding a second yeast? But which type? Some phenols producing yeast, like for example a German wheat beer strain? Or an fruity esterbomb like Verdant IPA? A mix of both?
And then, let's say belle really brought it down to 1.0. How much time does the brett need to deliver these complex flavours I am after?
Many questions....
Thanks for everyone who chimes in.
M
@RPh_Guy You were the first person I thought about, you probably have a lot of experience to share.