100% Brett beers, starter info please

[Twinkeelfool]

Guys, I brewed a couple of beers to brew with Brett c alone. I made starters for both on the stir plate, volume was probably on the low side ( 2.5litres for 4 gallon batch ). They're fermenting but a little slower than I'd expected.

Since pitching them I've read a few more things about all Brett beers. Mainly that the starters need a good week to establish a colony. I pitched both starters at around 48 hours on the stirplate.


Anyone got any advice? I have a lochrositi vial I want to use but want to get this one right.

Both of the beers are fermenting, I just thought they'd ferment a lot faster than they are. The IPA I pitched some Irish ale to help it along after a week, but the porter I've let go, as it seems to be fermenting slowly but surely.

Over 10 yrs and still a noob sometimes haha

 

[m00ps]

Well if its already fermenting Im guessing youre looking for adivce next time? Ive only done 2 all brett beers but did a ton fo research beforehand. From what I gathered, you need to allocate a few extra days to get the starter going and may be better off closer to lager pitching rates. I always gives my starts 4 days or so and dont agitate it 24 hrs before pitching in order to get a solid yeast cake at the bottom to decant. My brett beers just had an extra day in the starter and turned out fine. No lag time or anything in the fermentation

 

[Calder]

Starters do seem to take longer.

Pitch like a lager.

Ferment warm. In my experience Brett-C will ferment clean if you don't run it above 85 F.

 

[Twinkeelfool]

Thanks guys. They're fermenting just a bit slower than I'd thought. Next time I'll leave the starter longer, and pitch more

 

[MileHighBrewer]

Lochristi will be a slow starter no matter what when you make a beer with that one. A few sources suggest hybrid or lager pitch rates, so a good sized starter helps. With Lochristi i would would underpitch on purpose, I usually go 250-350k /ml, the stress REALLY makes that strawberry pop.

 

[SmCranf]

The school of thought with this is to pitch around lager amounts, iv seen that Al from EYC likes to pitch somewhere between lager and ale rates. And I can tell you from my experience that even under pitching has resulted in a fully attenuated beer, just takes a little bit longer to get them going

 

[Twinkeelfool]

Thanks guys, how long did you leave the lochristi starter going for before pitching?

 

[fermentology]

Thanks guys, how long did you leave the lochristi starter going for before pitching?

I've never used that particular strain, however, I normally give my Brett starters a week and step them up to a large pitch. Brett goes though two lag phases, which is part of the reason it takes it longer to get going. One way to increase the speed however, is to lower the pH. Brett works quicker at a lower pH. Make sure for your starter you still aerate. It's a yeast so it still need aeration.

 

[dantheman13]

Thing is, the yeast pitching calculators aren't programmed for Brett. Brett has 5-7x the cell density capabilities that Sacch does. So, an actual lager rate for a 5 gallon batch of 1.060 wort is actually like 600 mL. People normally are pitching 2000 mL, and getting good results. But they aren't pitching at lager rates.

Here is some more info: http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Brettanomyces#Starter_Information

 

[Twinkeelfool]

Cheers guys.

Dan, i just pitched a mild onto the yeast cake. I'm guessing massive overpitch then?

 

[DaftCaskBC]

Guys, I brewed a couple of beers to brew with Brett c alone. I made starters for both on the stir plate, volume was probably on the low side ( 2.5litres for 4 gallon batch ). They're fermenting but a little slower than I'd expected.

Since pitching them I've read a few more things about all Brett beers. Mainly that the starters need a good week to establish a colony. I pitched both starters at around 48 hours on the stirplate.


Anyone got any advice? I have a lochrositi vial I want to use but want to get this one right.

Both of the beers are fermenting, I just thought they'd ferment a lot faster than they are. The IPA I pitched some Irish ale to help it along after a week, but the porter I've let go, as it seems to be fermenting slowly but surely.

Over 10 yrs and still a noob sometimes haha

I just create 2L starters with amber DME and let it sit for about a week or so if I can.

How did you find the flavour profile of Brett c? I have a packet sitting in my fridge ready to go that I planned on throwing into a gratzer malt bill...

 

[m00ps]

Ive also read that its best to use blends of brett. There are strains that can fully ferment beer wort, but it seems the results can be pretty 1-dimensional. I like using a few strains or more in a blend and it definitely seems to help with a more "normal" fermentation

 

[Calder]

How did you find the flavour profile of Brett c? I have a packet sitting in my fridge ready to go that I planned on throwing into a gratzer malt bill...

My experience is that you have to ferment Brett-C above 85 F right from the start, otherwise it is a clean fermenting yeast.

 

[Twinkeelfool]

The porter has peated malt in it, which is quite strong in presence ( I like it ). The IPA has tropical aromas so far but not huge amounts.

 

[Twinkeelfool]

My experience is that you have to ferment Brett-C above 85 F right from the start, otherwise it is a clean fermenting yeast.

Thanks mate, the mild I pitched onto the yeast cake has had the heat belt on from the start. Pitched yesterday and quite active today.

 

[dantheman13]

Cheers guys.

Dan, i just pitched a mild onto the yeast cake. I'm guessing massive overpitch then?

I really don't know. It all depends on where the idea that "lager pitching rates are good for Brett beers" came from. I don't know if the people who started that were counting Brett cells and pitching actual lager pitching rates, or if they were using the Sacch yeast calculators and just thinking that they were pitching lager pitching rates.

I don't brew many 100% Brett beers, and the ones that I have, I've used the Sacch yeast calculators and they've come out pretty decent. I really am not a big fan of 100% Brett beers in general though. I don't know if that is because of the "over-pitching", or if I just don't like the lack of glycerol (or other Sacch-only byproducts).

 

[Twinkeelfool]

The glycerol thing I'm hoping to counter with some flaked triticale. Lots of protein so hopefully it can add some body. Either that or use 3711 haha.

The mild dropped to 1.012 in a few days. Think I'll keg it now, so it keeps a little body.

 

[Twinkeelfool]

My experience is that you have to ferment Brett-C above 85 F right from the start, otherwise it is a clean fermenting yeast.

Tasted the kegged mild last night, I had the heat belt on the whole time and yep, it's quite clean haha