Fresh Dandelion Sorachi Saison - - Now with Brett C

[jivex5k]

Pretty cool idea there.

[mashani]

FWIW, the fermentation was starting up 3 hours after pitching, and right now is quite impressive for a 1.05 batch without any extra head forming compounds added. I think the pils DME has some carafoam in it, but I still wasn't expecting that it would blow out a bit in my LBC... T-58 has pushed my temps 8 degrees over ambient already. I am fermenting on my lower shelf so it stays below 70.

[swenocha]

Yeah, beat me to it as well. My syrup is still awaiting a home...

[mashani]

Yeah, beat me to it as well. My syrup is still awaiting a home...

My home is available. LOL.

[monsteroyd]

Hey this looks way better than my dumb hibiscus Saison (which was great by the way) So I bet this will be super. Looks real interesting.

Monty

[mashani]

I might make a hibiscus saison. It would be wicked cool to have a red saison.

Hmm... more dandelions in my yard and a clean fermenter in the morning... What to do...

[mashani]

Either my yeast fell asleep and then has now re-awakened, or I got my first summer brett C infection (in the spring - that's never happened before), or some wild yeast somehow survived boiling for 30 minutes.. I can't tell yet for sure. But this has re-krausend for no apparent reason. It sure smells good whatever it is.

[BeerRust]

Keep us posted on this, I'm very interested in the taste profile, could be a good reason for dandelions after all.

[mashani]

Well...

I bottled this at 1.007, which is a good bit lower then T-58 would do even with the sugar. It has been stable there for 4 days, although it is very much infected by Brett C. What you see above quickly turned into a brett pellicle, I know them when I see them, since I get 3 or 4 every summer. I could have left it sit for a while and it might drop another point or two, but instead I just went ahead and bottled it with a lower amount of priming sugar then I normally would. It will finish its business in the bottle. (it will actually continue to do stuff for like a year in the bottle if it lasts that long but it won't explode or cause gushers - it's very sloooooow once it gets to this point). EDIT: - note I am talking about if you bottle in good Belgian glass, or in my case 740ML Coopers PETs... don't try this in thin glass, instead secondary it or wait for a while longer.

My wife told me she turned on the AC the day I was picking the dandelions... so there you go, that's typically when I get the Brett floating around in my air, probably rides along on dog hair and god knows what the dogs dragged in that floats. This would also explain the somewhat violent krausen I experienced up front, with both the T-58 and the Brett fighting it out. The pinapple flavor in the sample is pretty strong, so the brett has probably been involved for the entire fermentation. That means a really good hunk of it got in there somehow.

Sample was a lot lighter in color then I expected, it may very well be 3-4 SRM as a final product. Whatever colors the "tea" must have all dropped out into the trub or got eaten by god-knows-what.

Tasted something like a not very sweet lemon malt beverage spiked with pineapple juice and black pepper, with a bit of grassy/nutty/hay like funk.

Some of that is from the sorachi and dandelions and yeast selection, but the pinapple and hay is all from the Brett.

Luckily I like Brett C, so I'm sure I will like the end result. But I now will have to do this again to see what it would taste like without the infection.

I don't taste anything nasty (some of you who do not like Brett might dispute that LOL), so I don't think anything besides Brett and my yeast got into the mix. It is not what I'd call sour. It might sour a little bit 6 months down the road if it lasts that long, but the Brett C doesn't really get "sour!" like lacto would.

[BigPapaG]

Welcome to Summer!

[BeerRust]

Well...

I bottled this at 1.007, which is a good bit lower then T-58 would do even with the sugar. It has been stable there for 4 days, although it is very much infected by Brett C. What you see above quickly turned into a brett pellicle, I know them when I see them, since I get 3 or 4 every summer. I could have left it sit for a while and it might drop another point or two, but instead I just went ahead and bottled it with a lower amount of priming sugar then I normally would. It will finish its business in the bottle. (it will actually continue to do stuff for like a year in the bottle if it lasts that long but it won't explode or cause gushers - it's very sloooooow once it gets to this point). EDIT: - note I am talking about if you bottle in good Belgian glass, or in my case 740ML Coopers PETs... don't try this in thin glass, instead secondary it or wait for a while longer.

My wife told me she turned on the AC the day I was picking the dandelions... so there you go, that's typically when I get the Brett floating around in my air, probably rides along on dog hair and god knows what the dogs dragged in that floats. This would also explain the somewhat violent krausen I experienced up front, with both the T-58 and the Brett fighting it out. The pinapple flavor in the sample is pretty strong, so the brett has probably been involved for the entire fermentation. That means a really good hunk of it got in there somehow.

Sample was a lot lighter in color then I expected, it may very well be 3-4 SRM as a final product. Whatever colors the "tea" must have all dropped out into the trub or got eaten by god-knows-what.

Tasted something like a not very sweet lemon malt beverage spiked with pineapple juice and black pepper, with a bit of grassy/nutty/hay like funk.

Some of that is from the sorachi and dandelions and yeast selection, but the pinapple and hay is all from the Brett.

Luckily I like Brett C, so I'm sure I will like the end result. But I now will have to do this again to see what it would taste like without the infection.

I don't taste anything nasty (some of you who do not like Brett might dispute that LOL), so I don't think anything besides Brett and my yeast got into the mix. It is not what I'd call sour. It might sour a little bit 6 months down the road if it lasts that long, but the Brett C doesn't really get "sour!" like lacto would.

Sounds like that is going to be some interesting drinking experience !

[jivex5k]

That's so cool dude!

[philm00x]

This whole Brett C thing doesn't seem to be a bad thing at all. I love pineapple, and you always associate pineapple w/ Brett C. I'd try this!

[mashani]

If you want to mess with it, you can buy it:

WLP645 - http://www.whitelabs.com/yeast/wlp645-b ... claussenii

To get results like I get you would want to use a regular yeast and then add some of this stuff after the yeast gets a head start.

If you use it straight up it will have a stronger influence on the overall flavor and get more "barnyard" funky. Not anywhere near as strong as Orval Trappist funky though, Brett C is mellow for a Brett strain.

The longer you let a beer with it age, you will get less tropical fruit and the more funk. This is true of Brett B and other Brett strains too. So if you like the fruit you do what I do, bottle it early and drink it sooner. A long aging will promote more of the funkiness.

The danger is that you spill a bit when adding, or when cleaning up post fermentation and it gets into your AC/ductwork (IE gets on some dog hair and gets sucked into a return vent on your kitchen floor) and finds something to live on in there. Then you have fun with it at random for like... forever!

(you don't want to know how much trouble professional brewers have to go through to eradicate stuff like this if it gets into the "wild"... and it's easier for them, it's hard for you to strip down your ductwork).

[BigPapaG]

If you want to mess with it...

The danger is that it gets out of your fermenter and into your AC/ductwork and finds something to live on. Then you have fun with it at random for like... forever!

(you don't want to know how much trouble professional brewers have to go through to eradicate stuff like this if it gets into the "wild"... and it's easier for them, it's hard for you to strip down your ductwork).

Yeah, throw out much of your brewing gear... Then like buy all new stuff to brew with... And then...

MOVE.

Yeah, to a new house!