I brewed a Saison Brett (Brett B) back on May 5. Its been in the primary now for roughly 5 months. I added the Brett after my initial Saison yeast was nearly finished (ramped it up to 85 degrees slowly, then let it hit about 70 before adding Brett). I am wondering if the 5 months is a sufficient amount of time in the primary and if it is okay to keg this beer. I am asking because recently over the past few weeks there has been a white bubbly film forming on top of the brew and I am wondering if that is the brett just beginning to do its thing. Should I transfer to the keg and secondary in that for another month or so? Or do you think this is good to go.
how does it taste? that is the only way to really answer your question. I find that you get a nice brett character pretty quick but your situation is different than mine and brett is a fickle beast.
the film is likely from the brett, unless you got some other form of infection as well. and you are fine to leave it for a while, or keg half of it and leave the other half longer.
Next time, you may transfer to a keg before adding brett. Its frees up a fermenter, its easier to taste-test, and you get the beer off the yeast cake / trub.
I have something similar going myself. I brewed a Saison de Garde using 3711 at the end of April, then racked it to secondary and pitched a vial of Brett Trois the last week of May.
I just took my first tasting sample last week and it was pretty boozy (1.080 OG - didn’t take enough for a current gravity sample). There was a hint of horseyness (sort of like Sarah Jessica Parker), and not much else Brett character - certainly none of the fruitiness I was hoping for. I’ll check back in another month or two, but if there’s no new development then I might add in some woken-up dregs from either Orval, Ommegang Biere de Mars, or one of the Brett-aged Allagash brews I have in the cellar (Confluence & Interlude). With beers like this, they’re ready when your palate tells you they are.