I made a farmhouse ale with this yeast and kegged and carbed as per my normal routine. Hydrometer was low and appeared stable but I have no idea what the final gravity would end up being. It was around 1.008 or 1.006. When I taste the beer, it’s good but it doesn’t really seem any different from other saisons I’ve made without Brett in the blend.
Is Brett generally slower to work (I assume it is).
Should I take it back out of cold storage and give it more warm time? I’m sure the Sach. was done but will the Brett continue to work away slowly over time? Will this continue to change the longer I leave it out? I’ve had straight saisons get lower FG than this so I’m wondering if I’ve rushed this. It was brewed on July 29 and stayed on the yeast in primary for about a month.
Thanks
I would pull it from cold storage and let it age for a while warm. brett does take longer to work and the funky character particularly takes longer.
Yep, it will take time for the brett character to come through. Depending on your process it may take several months.
…and at 1.006, the brett character will be very slight, if noticeable.
I just bought this blend - to give the brett a bit more sugar to work with, I was going to hold fermentation at standard ale temps (rather than 75-80F for saison)
gmac - did you go with higher (saison) fermentation temps?
No, basement temps which are 68-70 this time of year. I’ve pulled it back out and set it aside for further warm againg.
yeah, if you want to increase the brett character and shorten the time needed to pick up the brett you can add some sugar directly to the fermenter. That will speed it up nicely.
I’ll account for this in the recipe formulation. Sounds like a good excuse to use some local honey or maple syrup. One supplier barrel-ages their syrup!
BBL aged maple syrup sounds awesome!
Best pancakes I’ve ever had. Been looking for an excuse to use it in beer!
Bourbon notes in a traditional saison I’m not sure of, though. May have to make one with a darker color, with some roasted or rye malts.
Where do you find barrel aged syrup?!?!?!?! Canadian Breakfast Stout comes to mind, AKA Founders!
They have it at williams sonoma. but 29.95 for 12.6 oz!! come on! good grade B dark amber syrup already has lovely wood notes. add a touch of bourbon and your good to go and you can usually get grade B for about 12-15 bucks a lb.
+1. I’ve got friends who own a maple shack. Funny that everyone wants light syrup which costs more when dark or amber costs less and tastes so much better.
Want to try something awesome, they picked up a cotton candy machine and make cotton candy from pure maple syrup. Fantastic.
oh yeah, I get maple cotton candy at the field days when I am back east.
Just to follow up. I can’t wait any longer. I’m drinking this now and it’s good. The beer has some definite citrus flavours but otherwise nothing too weird. It would be a great summer brew. It’s good now but nothing like I was expecting.
I used this yeast for 4 batches this Summer. As expected, there was less Brett character with each brew. I had the same experience as you. It’s a great yeast, but not really too Funky. Fruity, if anything. Question, did you make a starter? I did, and I think that was a mistake. I think just throwing the vial in would stress both yeasts out and get funkier flavors. On another note, I made a Baltic porter with Brett B trois, 100%. It is really fruity, but no Brett Funk to speak of. I really think that, to get that Funky Farmhouse flavor, we just have to add Brett to the secondary of a Sach ferment, and let it age for a long time.
I’ve heard the sach in this is similar to wy3711 which is a huge attenuater so there may also be very little left for the Brett to work on.
I did make a starter and I think it’s worth the experiment to do another without. Even better would be a 10 gal batch split between starter and no starter but I only have one vial left.