Brett beer fermentation

[cytorunner]

Hey guys,

I am sure this had been asked before but I can't seem to find a satisfactory answer.

I brewed a 100% Brett Beer on the ninth of December. I pitched a 3L starter and I have had thin pelical (sp)/krausen for about a week. I am wondering if I should rack to a secondary to age for a few months or leave it in the primary for a month or two. It's my first attempt at a sour so I am flying a bit blind.

Thanks all

Jim

[brewinhard]

Definitely leave that one in the primary until a proper terminal gravity has been reached. Depending on what strain you used, aeration levels, mash temps, and OG, your beer could be done within two weeks. But sometimes brett beers can take much longer. I would take a gravity reading at two weeks old and see where you are at. If you are within a reasonable terminal gravity range given the perameters above, then you can either rack to secondary or package it.

Do not expect the brett to behave in primary as it does in secondary (ie super-attenuate). Of the many 100% brett beers I have made with all of the different strains, most finished anywhere from 1.008 - 1.014 with a pale grist of moderate gravity (1.060 or so) and were just fine to package (I keg). 3 L is a good sized starter for a 5g. batch of brett beer and should you attenuate fairly quickly. If at two weeks, you are still at a higher than normal gravity, then by all means let the beer sit in primary until it has fully fermented out. Do not be afraid leaving your brett beer in the primary for an extended period of time as risk of autolysis and off flavors from brett is minimal as it will consume/convert any materials released from dying cells as it runs out of sugars to ferment. Be patient and don't rush it. If you want, you can raise the temps to 70F or so to help the beer finish out.

[cytorunner]

Thanks for the reply Brewinhard, I have a couple of follow up questions. Have you tried bottle conditioning Brett beers? I assume its the same as regular beers but was curious. You mentioned kegging your Bretts, do you condition them at room temp or at lager temps and how long do you feel the beer should condition before like it? I used the Brett. B strain from White Labs if that helps.

Thanks

Jim

[brewinhard]

Thanks for the reply Brewinhard, I have a couple of follow up questions. Have you tried bottle conditioning Brett beers? I assume its the same as regular beers but was curious. You mentioned kegging your Bretts, do you condition them at room temp or at lager temps and how long do you feel the beer should condition before like it? I used the Brett. B strain from White Labs if that helps.

Thanks

Jim

I have bottle conditioned my 100% brett beers before. Just be sure that you have reached an acceptable terminal gravity before bottling. I have found that anything below 1.010 seems to be pretty fine. Just be wary of adding back too much priming sugar in case your brett continues to work in the bottle a bit over time. They will form a pellicle in the bottle over time which is pretty normal for brettanomyces. Nothing to be concerned about.
As far as kegging is concerned, once the beer has finished in the primary I will cold crash the fermenter to drop out the stubborn brett cells, then keg the beer. I will usually put it right into the fridge and let it condition OR carb it up if I feel like it based on what else I have on tap. I have found though, that sometimes the beers will go through a phase where they either don't taste like they used to or they taste off. I have made the mistake of dumping a couple before thinking that the beer was infected. I now know that they do develop and change over time as the brett continues to metabolize certain byproducts of fermentation, even at cold temperatures. So don't dump them, as they will evolve and start tasting better again if they happen to go through this phase for you. Good luck, and have fun. I have even used one strain of brett for primary, then secondaried with another strain to increase complexity and depth of the beer. Weird experiments!

[BrewerJ]

Have you tried bottle conditioning Brett beers? You mentioned kegging your Bretts, do you condition them at room temp or at lager temps and how long do you feel the beer should condition before like it?

Bottle as you would normally as long as the beer doesn't have a high FG, under 1012 you should be ok.

If you condition warm the brett works fast and seems to dry the beer out with less of a flavor contribution. I personally like the brett beers to age at cellar temps until they reach a desired flavor profile. Then off to the kegorator they go. Just as brewing hard mentioned the brett will still work in the cold just don't expect any drastic changes.

Timeline is completely subjective, I have had brett beers hit the spot i am looking for within a couple weeks and also have had some take more than a year.

[Cody]

The only other thing I would mention (just to align your expectations) is that a 100% brett beer will not get very sour. You will need bacteria to get real sourness. I have found that in certain circumstances brett alone can make a beer taste tart, but I haven't identified those specifically.

[brewinhard]

The only other thing I would mention (just to align your expectations) is that a 100% brett beer will not get very sour. You will need bacteria to get real sourness. I have found that in certain circumstances brett alone can make a beer taste tart, but I haven't identified those specifically.

Agreed. Brett does not "sour" a beer. If you want to brew a true sour beer, then bacteria must be added (lactobacillus, pediococcus). Some brett strains can lend a tartness to a beer and are actually capable of producing acetic acid as they convert fermentation byproducts during the long aging process.

[BrewerJ]

I have noticed that when brett is exposed to large amounts of oxygen such as bulk aging in a carboy not filled to the top it seems to increase acetic acid production. That is one reason I don't recomend aging brett beers in carboys for long periods.