All Brett Fermentation

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MikeMorrison
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All Brett Fermentation

Post by MikeMorrison » Tue May 01, 2018 11:24 am

Just working on a starter for my 2nd all brett fermentation. The first one is still sitting and has some issues. It was a festa kit that I seriously underpitched with Brett Brux Trois Vrai (WLP 648)Took forever to start so I made a starter with a second vial (probably still not enough) and it was very active but the gravity did not drop the way I had anticipated and it had a kind of raisiny/ burnt sugar sweetness. Haven't checked it for a few weeks but I will probaby end up pitching some sacch and see what happens.

So for the 2nd (all grain) attempt I did my homework and am building a 2 stage starter with The Yeast Bay Amalgamation. Started with about 1L of 1040 wort and let it go for a week. Cold crashed, decanted (and saved) the bulk of the liquid then added another 1.5 ish litres of wort. The plan is to pitch the entire 2-3 litres I end up with. So after all that here is the issue. The starter wort had the same taste and sweetness as the festa-brett experiment. I hope it is because both are only partially through their fermentation and that will go away. Any thoughts? Oh, and I did not check the gravity of the starter after a week. Oopsie!

Mike
Fermenting: Sticke Altbier, Amarillo Saison, DDH Amarillo IPA with Verdant Yeast
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jacinthebox
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Re: All Brett Fermentation

Post by jacinthebox » Tue May 01, 2018 11:38 am

sounds like your process is good.

things I've learned with brett.
multi step starter - 250ml-500ml ...give a week at warm temps (25c+). Then step up to 1000ml-1500ml an let go for another week. sometimes I'll even do a 3rd step. Brett vials are low cell count to start with so a slow build up has worked for me.
Use a yeast nutrient.

Leave the wort in the FV for a min of 8 weeks...longer the better IMO
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amartin
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Re: All Brett Fermentation

Post by amartin » Tue May 01, 2018 12:06 pm

Yeah, I'd think before adding sacc too. If you do, it'll create byproducts that the brett will then use to create it's own flavours. It's not a bad thing necessarily (it could even be good!), but it won't be the same as if it was 100% brett.

MikeMorrison
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Re: All Brett Fermentation

Post by MikeMorrison » Tue May 01, 2018 1:24 pm

jacinthebox wrote:
Tue May 01, 2018 11:38 am
sounds like your process is good.

things I've learned with brett.
multi step starter - 250ml-500ml ...give a week at warm temps (25c+). Then step up to 1000ml-1500ml an let go for another week. sometimes I'll even do a 3rd step. Brett vials are low cell count to start with so a slow build up has worked for me.
Use a yeast nutrient.

Leave the wort in the FV for a min of 8 weeks...longer the better IMO
I'm a bit worried I started a bit big but the starter fermentation was quite active so hopefully it's ok. Any comment about the raisiny/burnt sugar taste?

And do you do the long fermentation just for flavour development? I was under the impression that all brett beers can be ready in a pretty short period of time (reading the Meek brewing blog + Michael Tonsmeire). I let mixed fermentations go for as long as I can stand but I was hoping to turn this one around a little quicker.

Thanks for the response. I believe we met at Breton Brewing when you guys did the first batch of 7 Years. Still my go to at BB!
Fermenting: Sticke Altbier, Amarillo Saison, DDH Amarillo IPA with Verdant Yeast
On Tap: Good Morning Spider Hop Harvest IPA

MikeMorrison
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Re: All Brett Fermentation

Post by MikeMorrison » Tue May 01, 2018 1:27 pm

amartin wrote:
Tue May 01, 2018 12:06 pm
Yeah, I'd think before adding sacc too. If you do, it'll create byproducts that the brett will then use to create it's own flavours. It's not a bad thing necessarily (it could even be good!), but it won't be the same as if it was 100% brett.
Agreed. This one was a festa kit and an experiment from the start. It's just taking way longer than expected so I might continue the experiment by pitching some S-04 to see if the gravity will drop and see if it's drinkable. Thanks!
Fermenting: Sticke Altbier, Amarillo Saison, DDH Amarillo IPA with Verdant Yeast
On Tap: Good Morning Spider Hop Harvest IPA

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Re: All Brett Fermentation

Post by jacinthebox » Wed May 02, 2018 8:49 am

MikeMorrison wrote:
Tue May 01, 2018 1:24 pm
jacinthebox wrote:
Tue May 01, 2018 11:38 am
sounds like your process is good.

things I've learned with brett.
multi step starter - 250ml-500ml ...give a week at warm temps (25c+). Then step up to 1000ml-1500ml an let go for another week. sometimes I'll even do a 3rd step. Brett vials are low cell count to start with so a slow build up has worked for me.
Use a yeast nutrient.

Leave the wort in the FV for a min of 8 weeks...longer the better IMO
I'm a bit worried I started a bit big but the starter fermentation was quite active so hopefully it's ok. Any comment about the raisiny/burnt sugar taste?

And do you do the long fermentation just for flavour development? I was under the impression that all brett beers can be ready in a pretty short period of time (reading the Meek brewing blog + Michael Tonsmeire). I let mixed fermentations go for as long as I can stand but I was hoping to turn this one around a little quicker.

Thanks for the response. I believe we met at Breton Brewing when you guys did the first batch of 7 Years. Still my go to at BB!
We def met at Breton...
Brett gives off weird smells and flavors before it's ready. I've only done a short (5 week) all brett beer with one recipe. and it's a hoppy IPA (3lb of mosaic for 10gal). I didn't have any burnt sugar flavors.
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MikeMorrison
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Re: All Brett Fermentation

Post by MikeMorrison » Thu May 03, 2018 9:05 pm

So in case anyone is interested in the Festa-Brett experiment I mentioned here are some notes:

Jan 24th- Seriously under pitched Brett Brux Vrai into a Continental Pilsner kit which was 1050
Made a starter with a second vial and put that in a few days later.
Feb 6th somewhere around 1048
Feb 15th 1036 ish
April 3rd 1016 (raisiny, sickly sweet)
Today 1010-1011 Slightly tart with just a hint of brett character. Still a bit of raisin.

So instead of pitching dry ale yeast tonight as I was planning I'm just going to tuck this away for a few more months and try it again.

Cheers!
Fermenting: Sticke Altbier, Amarillo Saison, DDH Amarillo IPA with Verdant Yeast
On Tap: Good Morning Spider Hop Harvest IPA

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Re: All Brett Fermentation

Post by jacinthebox » Fri May 04, 2018 9:20 am

I like that plan
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