Keg or bottle my saison brett?

[Brett3rThanU]

I have a saison that has been aging with brett b now for 1 year and am planning to bottle/keg it this month, but I can't decide which. My initial thought is to just keg it because I hate bottling and don't want to risk bottle bombs, but I kind of like the idea of having bottles of this sit around for an extended period of time too.

If I keg I assume I'd need a dedicated tap line for brett to not risk infecting my other beers. Probably new O rings in the keg after the brett saison as well.

If I bottle, do I need to add additional yeast at bottling since this thing has been sitting for a year? If so, what kind? Will there be much, if any, of a risk of bottle bombs at this point? Last time I checked my gravity was 1.003 I think.

Do you guys typically bottle or keg beers like this?

 

[Cyclman]

Bottle at least some of it in heavy bottles, it's too much a waste not to get to see how it develops. You've been patient already, get the maximum enjoyment out of it now!

With brett, I don't think you need to pitch.

 

[MaddBaggins]

I love Belgian ales, but I only kegged one once. It wasn't what I wanted on tap every day. Now, I bottle them and drink over the course of a year or so.

 

[Chupacabras]

Once it's in the keg, it's probably in the fridge... I don't bother, aside from cleaning and sanitizing the keg well. If you're leaving the kegs around to keg condition, you might have an issue, but if you're consuming the beer reasonably quickly, no need to worry, the lines are what the beer goes through on its way to a glass. I mix lines between clean and Bretted beers all the time and no problems yet.

 

[kingwood-kid]

If it's been a year, you should be safe to bottle. Reyeasting isn't necessary, but it will speed things up, as there's not a lot of activity or viable sacch in there now. Given the low pH, wine yeast may be more fail-proof than beer yeast, although you're probably good either way. Bottling it will allow the flavors to continue to change, which won't happen in a cold keg. There's a small risk of bottle bombs, but it's doubtful you'll ever progress beyond the excessively foamy "have a glass ready when you open it" stage. But if you hate bottling that much, kegging is not a wrong choice.

 

[dantheman13]

If you bottle, I would recommend re-yeasting to be 100% sure it will carbonate. I've bottled sour beers that had fresh yeast added 3 months prior to bottling, and they never did carbonate (perhaps the Lactobacillus ate the priming sugar before the Brett could produce CO2; the low pH killed the Sacch). EC-1118 is often recommended for re-yeasting, but I've also had good results with the yellow Redstar champagne yeast. Use 10% of what you would normally use to do a primary fermentation.