Hops and Brett

[Spurtrax]

Anybody have any advise on making hoppy sours. Is there any hops which don't react well with Brett? I'm thinking of making a hoppy brett saison with Citra or Lemon drop.

Any thoughts?

[WhamFish]

Any hop you would regularly use for dry hopping is fair game. I'd just look for hops that complement the characters you get from the mixed fermentation. In general people are using a lot of the citrus and tropical fruit hops but you can go out side of that for sure.

Things to keep in mind: it may suppress additional souring so I'd be sure your happy with the sour profile you have. If you want actual bitterness I'd either sour wort then boil and add hop additions in boil then do a mixed ferment after that or divide the wort, sour half and boil with hop addition the other half then blend.

[mobrewer]

I'm a sour beer novice (brewer not drinker) but most sourness doesn't come from Brett. Brett produces more of the musty, sweaty, horse blanket flavors. While some Brett strains can produce a little sourness most sourness comes from lactobacillus and pediococcus producing acids such as lactic acid. From what I've heard and read bacteria is generally intolerant of hops. This is why lambic brewers use aged hops. The best way to get a hoppy sour is from dry hopping after fermentation.

[mobrewer]

To piggyback off what WhamFish said make sure the hops complement the beer. Citra may work. Boulevard uses Amarillo in their Tank 7 and it's awesome.

Also, Saisons aren't really all that sour. While there may be a slight sourness, it's not the predominant flavor. I usually think of Saison as having peppery phenols from the yeast. Pitching Brett as the only yeast for primary fermentation will result in a clean beer. Some brett (Brett C) can give tropical flavors that may go well with Citra hops. Pitching brett mixed with brewer's yeast or in a secondary will result in more of the horse blanket.

[brewinhard]

+1 to Mobrewer. Brett can produce mild amounts of acetic acid in the presence of oxygen (most often noted in stir plate starters) but typically does not make a beer sour. As stated bacteria (lacto or pedio), sour mash, or acidulated malt are necessary for that.

If you are looking to use Brett as a primary yeast paired with hops then I have had good results with Brett trois paired with amarillo, nelson sauvin, and a touch of citra/galaxy. Brett trois can produce moderate tropical fruit notes (mango, pineapple, papaya) and pair well with the fruity style hops.

Keep us posted with what you decide to do...

[TimmyR]

American Farmhouse yeast, reasonable bittering, Galaxy...I open fermented some time back and it was amazing...goal was Tank 7...not close but captured the spirit for sure.

[mobrewer]

Boulevard uses Amarillo but that sounds good. Saturday I brewed an ale with Brett Trois and Amarillo. I can't wait until it's done!

[brewinhard]

I really like both Amarillo and Galaxy with brett as a primary yeast.