Brett-Bottled Saison Gusher

[wobrien]

Brewed a saison that went from 1.069 down to 1.002. Bottled half normally, then I put a WL vial of brett b in the bottling bucket along with 2.7 oz of dextrose and bottled 3 gallons this way. That was 7/9/2014 (almost three weeks ago). Tried one last night and it looked like this:



Tasted good, got some funk already. But where was my mistake? Too much priming sugar? Too much brett? Should I worry about bombs?

 

[kbindera]

I'd worry about bottle bombs, if I were you, as it looks like you are using standard bottles. I'd get them into cold storage ASAP. Also, given that you were only bottling three gallons, maybe too much brett/sugar. That's a guess though, as I have never tried pitching brett to prime.

 

[wingedcoyote]

That's a decent amount of dex, and if my math is right Brett can turn the 1.002 into 1.000 with a whole 'nother volume of o2, or maybe even 0.998 with two more volumes. I'd put them inside a sturdy container.

 

[wobrien]

Ok, I'll get the regular bottles in the fridge (also used corked and caged 375's and some champagne bottles).

Anyone have advice for avoiding this in the future?

 

[jivex5k]

Carb low, or put the brett in a secondary.

 

[Osedax]

Cold will not completely stop brett. It will slow it down but, I had a bottle overcarb in the fridge after it was sitting in there for about 2 months.

My friends always look confused when I ask them to open up certain bottles outside.

How long did you throw the bottle in the fridge for? I have had a few gushers. Few days in the fridge and they were calm enough to pour without exploding everywhere.

 

[BGBC]

That's a decent amount of dex, and if my math is right Brett can turn the 1.002 into 1.000 with a whole 'nother volume of o2, or maybe even 0.998 with two more volumes. I'd put them inside a sturdy container.

This. 2.7 oz would put it around 2.5 vol I think, plus however much more the Brett takes down the FG (1-2 vol). The corked bottles are probably ok though.

Carb low, or put the brett in a secondary.

Brett in secondary and wait for it to stabilize is the safest bet.

Second the question on how long it was in the fridge before opening. More time cold could help settle it down too.

 

[wobrien]

This. 2.7 oz would put it around 2.5 vol I think, plus however much more the Brett takes down the FG (1-2 vol). The corked bottles are probably ok though.







Brett in secondary and wait for it to stabilize is the safest bet.



Second the question on how long it was in the fridge before opening. More time cold could help settle it down too.

It was only in the fridge for 24 hrs. I'm going to put most in a tough container and some in the fridge for a few days. Next time I try one, I'll degas a sample and test the gravity to see where I stand on that front.

 

[sweetcell]

But where was my mistake? Too much priming sugar? Too much brett?

it's not a mistake on your part. it's that brett is unpredictable. adding brett at bottling puts you at risk of over-carbing, or under-carbing, since there is no way of knowing where the brett will stop (unless you use the same strain and the same recipe over and over until you can predict its behavior in that specific setting).

so in this case, yes, too much priming sugar... not that you could have known in advance.

not too much brett. more brett just makes things happen faster, as far as i know. brett is going to do what it's going to do, fewer cells just means that it'll take longer to get there.

 

[TrickyDick]

I have two beers going in cornies (secondary). First is a triple that I got last about bottling and let it rest too long on the yeast. The second is a saison. I pitched some Brett into each in the corny at room temp with bourbon soaked oak spirals added to the triple. Connected some spunding valves and letting them rest for a few months. The triple is already tasting really awesome, but I'm waiting for it to turn clearer as well. The saison has really no Brett character yet, but it also pretty low gravity to begin with 1.005. Might add a dose of oak cubes or something for them to chew on. I have a small bags of maltodextrin, maybe add a couple ounces boiled in water.

Point is, that I felt uncomfortable bottling, but wanted to secondary under pressure. I suppose I corking on bottles would be an option. The spunding valve and pressure relief valve let me secondary under pressure without risking over carbonation. Later I'll probably bottle them once they achieve desired character and stable gravity over a few months. Not too excited about serving these in my standard beer lines because they cannot be easily exchanged.

TD


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[smokinghole]

Brewed a saison that went from 1.069 down to 1.002. Bottled half normally, then I put a WL vial of brett b in the bottling bucket along with 2.7 oz of dextrose and bottled 3 gallons this way. That was 7/9/2014 (almost three weeks ago). Tried one last night and it looked like this:

View attachment 214222

Tasted good, got some funk already. But where was my mistake? Too much priming sugar? Too much brett? Should I worry about bombs?

Your mistake could just simply be a contaminate organism. Some yeast or bacteria (I used to know what specifically but cannot recall at the moment) will cause your beer to foam like crazy. Another issue could be you didn't give the beer full proper time to absorb the carb and get cold enough in the fridge. I carb the hell out of some of my saisons. Granted I don't use standard 12oz longnecks, but when fresh they can FOB, but given a month or two everything settles down and while the foam will grow in the bottle it's easy enough to pour into a clean glass.

Of course its entirely possible you gave it plenty of priming sugar plus there was some fermentable extract left for the brett to turn into carb. I will also suggest cooling all these bottles. I've had an over carbed bottle hit the ground once because something fell in my garage. Glass blew everywhere but luckily nothing hit me. So the danger from exploding glass is real and you need to be careful.

 

[wobrien]

Another issue could be you didn't give the beer full proper time to absorb the carb and get cold enough in the fridge.

What kind of timeframe are you talking about? My first bottle was in fridge 24 hrs which has always been more than enough time for my clean beers...

 

[Osedax]

I usually give mine 48-72 hrs minimum. Some say 2 weeks to absorb nearly all of what it can. I can never wait that long, personally.

Usually I throw them in the fridge mid-week for the weekend. Should probably put some in the fridge tonight....

 

[smokinghole]

I tend to put beers in my fridge and forget about them for a while. I have too much beer around to be impatient with a batch anymore. Then between work and my commute I only really get to indulge on the weekends. I have one of my higher carbed brett saisons sitting in there right now and its been more than a week. Plus the beer has been bottled for almost 18 months too. I have a large stash of brew at my uncles house 100 miles away and at least 10 cases here at home. Makes patience easy.

 

[wobrien]

So last night I cracked open another one. I did it over the sink wearing a full hazmat suit just in case and....a regular, perfectly carb'd saison.

Now methinks that gusher was only a result of being the final bottle of the batch that had too much priming sugar? I may have overreacted since this is my first experience with brett.

I still de gassed a sample and tested the gravity. It was just a touch over 1.000, I'll call it 1.001, which means I got about half a volume extra from the brett, right?

Anyway, I'm hopeful for the rest of the batch, but I'm going to be cautious until I have a couple more good ones.

 

[smokinghole]

That's good to hear.