You don’t have to be a Microbiologist, or even a real fan of microbiology in general to appreciate the great diversity that comes with yeast used in the brewing of beer. Even the pure strains of Saccharomyces available to brewers and home brewers alike is pretty astounding. Now, multiply that by a number somewhere between 100 and 10000, and you’ll have some semblance of the variety of wild yeasts available for the production of fermented beverages. The problem is, we, as brewers, have only scratched the surface when it comes to understanding wild yeast and other microbial life. There are a few strains of “wild” yeast available to home brewers commercially, and I put “wild” in quotation marks because now that they are available in pure cultured, nicely wrapped packaging, they seem to lose a bit of that wild allure.
Now, often referred to as just Brett, Brettanomyces has undergone somewhat of an identity crisis throughout the history of brewing beer. Before anything resembling a Germ Theory existed, wild yeasts were a common ingredient in all beer, as it is literally everywhere, and brewers among everyone else had little knowledge on the practice or the need of sanitization/sterilization. Once we figured out that these wild yeast were contributing a wide variety of flavors in beers all over the known world, for some reason everyone decided the little critters needed to go. Thus was born the world of single, pure cultured strains of brewers yeast, while Brett was relegated to the shadows, except for a few Belgian breweries who weren’t afraid of no ghost.
In any case, recent history has shown a vast resurgence of the use of wild yeasts, both provided commercially and those cultured from local environments. One of the more popular commercial examples, commonly referred to Brettanomyces lambicus, was known to be found in many of the Lambic beers produced in Belgian. Now, the actual specific epithet of this yeast is Brettanomyces bruxellensis, but has gained fame under the pseudonym lambicus.
This is my second attempt at a 100% B. lambicus brew, the first was a dry stout, fermented with B. lambicus, and aged for approx eight months before it was bottled. The character I got from this yeast was pretty interesting. It was almost like drinking a sour beer (beers with only Brett are not technically sour beers) with a tart, mouth puckering finish, often described as a tart cherry pie. This was my original inspiration for the B. lambicus stout, as I had read about someone else trying this in an attempt to make a pseudo-cherry stout.
After tasting what the B. lambicus had to offer, I was excited to try it in other beers. This is my second attempt. A pretty simple golden ale, fermented with just B. lambicus and aged for a similar length of time. I have not decided whether or not I am going to age this on fruit, but I will have plenty of time to think it over.
Recipe Specifications -------------------------- Batch Size (fermenter): 3.50 gal Estimated OG: 1.041 SG Estimated Color: 2.5 SRM Estimated IBU: 24.7 IBUs Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 % Est Mash Efficiency: 74.5 % Boil Time: 90 Minutes Ingredients: ------------ Amt Name Type # %/IBU 4 lbs 3.7 oz Pilsen Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.0 SRM) Grain 1 70.4 % 1 lbs 0.5 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) Bel (3.0 SRM) Grain 2 17.2 % 11.9 oz Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 3 12.4 % 0.25 oz Bramling Cross [7.80 %] - First Wort 60. Hop 4 11.8 IBUs 0.50 oz Bramling Cross [7.80 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 5 12.9 IBUs 0.6 pkg Brettanomyces Lambicus (Wyeast #) [50.28 Yeast 6 - 0.25 oz Bramling Cross [7.80 %] - Dry Hop 0.0 Da Hop 7 0.0 IBUs Mash Schedule: BIAB, Full Body Total Grain Weight: 6 lbs 0.1 oz ---------------------------- Name Description Step Temperat Step Time Saccharification Add 21.44 qt of water at 160.8 F 156.0 F 60 min Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 7 min 168.0 F 10 min
Dec 7, 2014:
This was my first BIAB for a long while, but it was just a bit too chilly for me outside. I forgot just how much my efficiency suffers with BIAB, but a slightly longer boil was able to bring me a little closer. I mashed higher than I typically like to, just to provide more complex sugars and dextrines for the Brett to chew on.
OG – 1.035
My previous 100% B. lambicus beer finished at about 1.004 after eight months, so I will look for a similar FG for this beer, but as with all wild ales, it is not up to me when the beer is done, but rather the microbes that are doing the heavy lifting.
Bières d'exil 