Brett Advice for Secondary

[shaneshepherd]

I'm brewing a Strawberry Brett Saison. It's currently fermenting with Wyeast Farmhouse Ale 3726 PC. The recipe calls for me to rack it onto 5lbs of strawberries and pitch the Brett in a little over two weeks.

I originally bought Brett Trois, but then read that Brett Drie might be a better fit...I'm having trouble distinguishing between these two to know what I should use, or where to get this thing called Brett Drie. Can someone clear this up for me?

Also, I read that the Brett vials from White Labs have a very low cell count and need a starter. I found this thread on making starters; is there anything different or special about making a starter for Brett?

 

[stpug]

I would pitch the brett either now or when you rack onto the strawberries. I would not use Trois since it's been identified as being sacc yeast (almost), and has been said to not perform well in secondary.

Wyeast is said to have a higher cell count than white labs.

 

[nicolas_james]

What about the Lochristi Blend from the Yeast Bay? Supposed to give "One strain provides a moderate funk and light fruitiness, while the other strain adds a more assertive fruitiness dominated by hints of strawberry."

http://www.theyeastbay.com/wild-yeast-and-bacteria-products/lochristi-brettanomyces-blend

 

[madscientist451]

Do any retailers currently have the WY 3726? I looked for it and it was sold out. If you haven't brewed a beer with just the 3726, you may want to consider splitting your current batch and letting 1/2 finish as it is with the 3726, (supposed to be a real good saison yeast) and the other half racking onto your strawberries and pitching WL 650 BRETTANOMYCES BRUXELLENSIS. The Bruxellenensis strain is supposed to be good for secondary pitching, but I haven't tried it.
I'd make a starter; you could even siphon off a few liters of your Saison, cold crash it, decant it off whatever settled, then grow up your starter in that and pitch the whole starter. Or you could make a starter the usual way with some DME.
I'd definitely brew another Saison and pitch the 3726 yeast cake in and see how that develops. Good luck! Cheers...

 

[trentm]

I originally bought Brett Trois, but then read that Brett Drie might be a better fit...I'm having trouble distinguishing between these two to know what I should use, or where to get this thing called Brett Drie. Can someone clear this up for me?

Also, I read that the Brett vials from White Labs have a very low cell count and need a starter. I found this thread on making starters; is there anything different or special about making a starter for Brett?

Interesting with all the clatter about Brett Trois actually being in the Saccharomyces species and that Brett Trois is putatively White Labs isolate from Brett Drie. Has anyone heard if Brett Drie is actually Brettanomyces or Saccharomyces? Here is a clip from a dated blog on the Mad Fermentationist web page:

"....and fermented with BSI Brett brux var. Drie and smaller amounts of a few other strains. Bright and citrusy hops with a complementary fruity-funkiness made for a unique IPA. With the release of White Labs Brett brux Trois, their version of Brett Drie...."

Note: BSI is Brewing Science Institute, a yeast supplier for commercial
breweries.

While the WL vials do not contain a large amount of yeast, for a secondary only small amounts are recommended. That said, I don't trust the viability in homebrew liquid yeast packages and therefore create a starter even for Brett. I use the same method as a Saccharomyces starter including stirring. The stirring will create and oxygenated starter and since it's Brett will be a bit acid (acetic acid I think). I like the acid, if you don't, don't oxygenate. Then I only pitch 100ml of the starter for a Brett secondary. You can save the rest by storing it at ~60F and feeding it every 2-3 months.

 

[shaneshepherd]

Do any retailers currently have the WY 3726? I looked for it and it was sold out. If you haven't brewed a beer with just the 3726, you may want to consider splitting your current batch and letting 1/2 finish as it is with the 3726, (supposed to be a real good saison yeast) and the other half racking onto your strawberries and pitching WL 650 BRETTANOMYCES BRUXELLENSIS. The Bruxellenensis strain is supposed to be good for secondary pitching, but I haven't tried it.
I'd make a starter; you could even siphon off a few liters of your Saison, cold crash it, decant it off whatever settled, then grow up your starter in that and pitch the whole starter. Or you could make a starter the usual way with some DME.
I'd definitely brew another Saison and pitch the 3726 yeast cake in and see how that develops. Good luck! Cheers...

I bought my WY 3726 on Northern Brewer a month ago...it's out of stock now. I'm guessing it'll be hard to get now since it's part of their Private Collection series.

Thanks for the suggestion on saving the yeast cake...I've never tried that before...but this might be the one to go for it on! Sounds like switching to the WL 650 might be the way to go instead of the 644. Thanks!

 

[mr_samsonite]

A vial of Brett brux is the way to go, for sure.

 

[youreanimpulse]

Interesting with all the clatter about Brett Trois actually being in the Saccharomyces species and that Brett Trois is putatively White Labs isolate from Brett Drie. Has anyone heard if Brett Drie is actually Brettanomyces or Saccharomyces? Here is a clip from a dated blog on the Mad Fermentationist web page:



"....and fermented with BSI Brett brux var. Drie and smaller amounts of a few other strains. Bright and citrusy hops with a complementary fruity-funkiness made for a unique IPA. With the release of White Labs Brett brux Trois, their version of Brett Drie...."



Note: BSI is Brewing Science Institute, a yeast supplier for commercial

breweries.



While the WL vials do not contain a large amount of yeast, for a secondary only small amounts are recommended. That said, I don't trust the viability in homebrew liquid yeast packages and therefore create a starter even for Brett. I use the same method as a Saccharomyces starter including stirring. The stirring will create and oxygenated starter and since it's Brett will be a bit acid (acetic acid I think). I like the acid, if you don't, don't oxygenate. Then I only pitch 100ml of the starter for a Brett secondary. You can save the rest by storing it at ~60F and feeding it every 2-3 months.

Drie is Brett and different from Trois. Chad Yakobsen did much of his Brett research on Drie and recently Milk the Funk has some genetic proof that it is Brett. Also some folks in that group are doing side-by-side batches with Trois/Drie and noticing very obvious differences.

 

[trentm]

Drie is Brett and different from Trois. Chad Yakobsen did much of his Brett research on Drie and recently Milk the Funk has some genetic proof that it is Brett. Also some folks in that group are doing side-by-side batches with Trois/Drie and noticing very obvious differences.

Thanks for the information and Milk the Funk. Have not heard of them.

 

[youreanimpulse]

It's a private FBook group, but if you ask to join they'll let you in. Lots more activity than here and more detailed. Scientists and pro-brewers are on there, lots of fun. I got my Brett Drie culture from a pro-brewer member there.