BeerBorg

All hop bursted. So the hops will be in your face (at least compared to a traditional saison). Closest thing to an APA/IPA I do this time of year. Although I might do a "Belgian IPA" too.

Only advanced because of small mini-mash. For 2.6 gallons (again overshot my volume... I'm loosing it LOL).

Mashed @152

6oz White Wheat Malt
4oz Munich
2oz Aromatic
2oz Special B

Added:

3# MoreBeer Pilsner LME

1oz Nelson Sauvin (14.4%AA)
1oz Streisselspalt (2.1%AA)

Combined the hops together and split into four 1/2oz piles

I went with just a 20 minute boil. Lid off first 15 minutes, on last 5 to keep house Brett out.

Tossed in a pile @15, 10, 5, and 0

Did a 20 minute hop stand with all the hops in.

Cooled, pitched full pack of Bella Saison.

OG: 1.049

About 11SRM
About 35 IBUs after factoring in hop stand utilization... which is more then plenty considering how dry it will ferment out.

Hoping that the slight plum/raisin and slight sweetness that should remain from the special B brings out the Nelson's grape even more.

I might dry hop some Nelson too.

This has punched its way right out of my lid... Never had Bella do that before. It's happy.

Apparently it blew the lid off because it wasn't just Bella, but a somewhat large Brett C infection fighting with it. I don't know how that happened, with the lid on hop stand. Maybe some of it lived on in the fermenter somehow even though I bombed it after the last one. Or maybe a dog hair covered with Brett floated in when I wasn't looking. Either way, it is what it is. Fermenter is being re-bombed. I will disassemble the spigot and bomb that later. Good thing I like my Brett. I've now got 7.6 gallons of Brett beer in bottles. And summer is only half over. Hurray!

It's been at around 1.001 for 5 days, so I figure it's not doing anything else fast. So I bottled it. Slightly less sugar then normal in case the Brett figures out how to eat anything else, but there's not much left in there for it to eat.

It did taste really good, between the Nelson grape and a huge amount of pineapple esters from the Brett. So it's kind of a Belgian Brett session IPA now.

EDIT: The good news is that the "Blood Orange Blond" in the other fermenter doesn't seem to have the Brett. It's been in there longer, so it should be showing signs of pellicle if this one is. All it's got is some lingering krausen, which seems normal with the Abbaye yeast based on my other batches brewed with it. And there is a lot more in that batch for the Brett to eat. So I think it's safe. I might bottle that tomorrow, unless it's gravity changes.

I love following your posts....we just never know what's going to happen with your beers!!!

So much Brett...

Ibasterd wrote:So much Brett...

Anybody who wants some is welcome to bring their fermenter over here and pop the lid off of it for 15 minutes. That's about all it will take this time of year to guarantee some of the "wild things" that live in my house get into it. I have my own little eco system. I should just have my house dug up and shipped to Belgium.

The good news is that yes, I truly do have my own little ecosystem, so when I get infections like this, my beer is still good (as long as you like Brett beer). It is always the same stuff. Nothing else ever infects my beer. As long as you like Pineapple, you will like it.

This is the darker beer to the front right. It's got grape from the Nelson. The Nelson kind of hammers the Streisselspalt, but it's present as a bit of extra floral/spice/fruit complexity. It's got citrus tartness from the yeast. It's got pinapple from the brett. It has a touch of dark fruit and hints malt sweetness behind it, not as dry as a 1.001 beer would seem. Which is a good thing, that touch of sweetness makes all the fruit *pop*.

This beer is great. Anyone who thinks they should dump their beer because they see stuff like the pic above growing on top needs to chill and let it rid and try it out. That's why I post my pellicle pics. Don't fear the pellicle. At least not if it's Brett C.

I saw that MoreBeer has Brett C available again as one of the seasonal wyeast strains. It's pretty spendy though. But you could buy some, then spill it, let it get into your AC vents, and then end up partying with the pinapple a few times a year, especially in the summer, like me if you want. For free! You know you want to be like me and live with it forever unless you burn down your house!

That sounds tasty. I too like a little Brett in some beers. It brings a nice complexity along with some really cool pellicle.

I probably should try a fully spontaneous fermented beer in my house and see what happens. Just a 1 gallon batch in a cider jug. Or maybe if not fully, then a "let it sit out for 2 days, then pitch a little bit of sacc" kind of thing. Spontaneously fermented beer where I live (as a region as a whole) tends to turn out kind of nasty - the one commercial brewer who kept trying it is no longer in business (and I didn't like any their beer) - but my house is like it's own little Brett C micro climate, so it might be OK in here.