Bret beer

[jmc]

More pics of pellicles in this topic

Abbey Amber 11/04/12 + Pics & now with brett

[Fido97]

Right I have a photo. Now how the h*ll do I get it on my post? Bear in mind that I have limited it knowledge! Cheers

[Hanglow]

upload it to http://imgur.com/

once uploaded copy the link to the right of the pic that says BBCode (message boards & forums)

paste link into your post

[Fido97]

[Fido97]

JMC - I posted a photo - what do you think? Do you think thats the start of a pellicle? The growths are definitely white (not the 'bad' dark growths you mentioned. Not tasted yet because I dont want to disturb. However I think I might bail out on the secondary and get it into bottles so will taste and report. I'm not confident leaving it as it is for much longer. Cheers

An update on this. The secondary has been standing with brett doing its work for 6 weeks now. There are a number of fungus like growths on the surface but otherwise very little activity (certainly very different to yeast and no bubbling whatever). So I am thinking its maybe time to bottle it. However is it necessary to prime the bottles with a bit of sugar, or can it simply be bottles as is? I would envisage leaving it in bottles in a nice cool place for several months before sampling. I'll publish a photo if anyone interested to see what it looks like.

6 weeks is not that long for Brett and I'm sure Brett character will increase the longer you keep it.

What is SG now, has brett reduced the 1010 it was before?
What does it taste like now? Any input taste-wise from the Brettanomyces Lambicus (wyeast 5526)

If you have to bottle now I'd base decision on added sugar on its SG.
If its still 1010 I wouldn't add any.
If its below this I'd add maybe 1/2 typical amount.

If you're not bottling and storing for a long time, do ensure air is excluded as much as possible eg have FV as full as possible.

When you said 'fungus like growths', do you mean start of a pellicle (good) or dark coloured fungus (bad)
Pics are always good

JM


JMC

[Jimmy321]

That looks normal I made mine end of June, here's some pics of mine 2 months after pitching the bret.





I will be keeping this in the carboy till mid summer as I intend to add some summer fruit (Brambles or Gooseberry) then bottle a few months later for drinking next Christmas.

[jmc]

Looks OK to me too.

When adding bret / maturing ale I'd make sure its stored in a well sealed container, like a carboy or one of the 5 gal wine fermenters with 4" screw on cap.

A spare keg also works well, though you may want to just use it for Brett / lambics afterwards. You may want to vent keg regularly to ensure pressure doesn't get too high.

Its essential to keep airspace to a minimum and ensure any space above ale is CO2 to reduce chance of oxidation to acetic acid.

[Fido97]

Thanks guys, its in a normal plastic fv with airlock but theres probably too much headspace. The threat of oxiditation/acetic acid has been bothering me so think I will bottle it now and leave for a few months. I think the advice is to prime with a small amount of sugar (about 50% usual quantity). Prrobably try the first bottle in about 3 months from now. Cheers

[jmc]

Thanks guys, its in a normal plastic fv with airlock but theres probably too much headspace. The threat of oxiditation/acetic acid has been bothering me so think I will bottle it now and leave for a few months. I think the advice is to prime with a small amount of sugar (about 50% usual quantity). Probably try the first bottle in about 3 months from now. Cheers

You might want to include 1 or 2 plastic PET test bottles. You can then easily see & feel how conditioning / clearing is getting on.