A few months ago I had the first Brett beer that I really liked - a Boulevard Saison Brett from 2015 (drunk around 3 years old) - and I've got the dregs kicking in some hopped starter wort (hopped for longevity since I'm not doing a full-blown starter right now). I'd like to use them in a saison to age for 8-12 months, and could use some advice, never having used Brett. I'm not aiming for an exact clone, but I could live with a clone if that's my best option.
What I plan on doing:
- Saison, target OG ~1.070 (I'm looking for 7-9% ABV).
- 2-row base (cheap Aussie grain malted in China) - it's a bit bready and low-potential, which means it takes more grain to reach the same OG and probably means more protein gets in the beer.
and probably:
- Primary with a sacc strain like Boulevard does.
- Bulk aging with Brett, probably without temp control (so I can save the chamber for regular brews), which in my brew room means as low as 28F in the winter (but usually more like 36-40F) and as high as 100F in the summer.
- Dry hop, probably some during fermentation and some shortly before bottling several months later.
- Bottling, but I hope to have it pretty much fermented out before I bottle so I can just prime like a normal beer without worrying how much extra carbonation the Brett's going to produce.
What I still need to figure out:
- What other grains should I add? Wheat? Rye (only if it really plays well with Brett)? Anything else? Simple sugars? Would a bit of caramalt contribute some extra food for the Brett to much on after the sacc poops out?
- What primary sacc strain? I've only used Belle Saison for saisons before, but I'm afraid it wouldn't leave much for the Brett to chew on. Unfortunately, I'm limited to dry strains here in China, but just about anything from Fermentis, Lallemand, or Mangrove Jack is available.
- Should I go all-in and pitch the bottle-harvested Brett from the start? With another primary sacc strain, or should I just trust whatever sacc strains are in there with the Brett already? If it comes later, do I need to make a big starter or will it be fine with a couple 500 ml steps in the bottle?
- How long to bulk age before the Brett stops fermenting enough complex sugars to make a significant impact on the carbonation level of the bottle?
What I plan on doing:
- Saison, target OG ~1.070 (I'm looking for 7-9% ABV).
- 2-row base (cheap Aussie grain malted in China) - it's a bit bready and low-potential, which means it takes more grain to reach the same OG and probably means more protein gets in the beer.
and probably:
- Primary with a sacc strain like Boulevard does.
- Bulk aging with Brett, probably without temp control (so I can save the chamber for regular brews), which in my brew room means as low as 28F in the winter (but usually more like 36-40F) and as high as 100F in the summer.
- Dry hop, probably some during fermentation and some shortly before bottling several months later.
- Bottling, but I hope to have it pretty much fermented out before I bottle so I can just prime like a normal beer without worrying how much extra carbonation the Brett's going to produce.
What I still need to figure out:
- What other grains should I add? Wheat? Rye (only if it really plays well with Brett)? Anything else? Simple sugars? Would a bit of caramalt contribute some extra food for the Brett to much on after the sacc poops out?
- What primary sacc strain? I've only used Belle Saison for saisons before, but I'm afraid it wouldn't leave much for the Brett to chew on. Unfortunately, I'm limited to dry strains here in China, but just about anything from Fermentis, Lallemand, or Mangrove Jack is available.
- Should I go all-in and pitch the bottle-harvested Brett from the start? With another primary sacc strain, or should I just trust whatever sacc strains are in there with the Brett already? If it comes later, do I need to make a big starter or will it be fine with a couple 500 ml steps in the bottle?
- How long to bulk age before the Brett stops fermenting enough complex sugars to make a significant impact on the carbonation level of the bottle?