Please check out my previous posts in the series giving you an overview of Brett in beer and a discussion of the flavor components of brett beers.

Brett has had a long history of use in many different beer types. Belgian lambic and gueuze beers, along with the sour red and brown Flanders ales, have all used Brett to enhance their character. English brewers over a century ago used Brett to give their beers and “English” character. In nearly all of these cases, Brett is/was used as an agent  of secondary fermentation, added for conditioning at the time of bottling.

More recently, American brewers have begun experimenting with Brettanomyces in their beer. In particular, two Californian breweries, Russian River and The Lost Abbey have been at the forefront of this new Brett push. Each has even released brews 100% fermented with Brettanomyces yeast, completely eschewing the normal saccharomyces brewing yeast. Other American breweries such as Allagash, Ommegang, and Southampton Publik House have begun playing around with Brett in their beers.

Another recent American craft beer trend might be providing an unintended avenue for Brett-enhanced beers. As most of us know, oak aged beers, and particularly oak barrel-aged beers, are gaining in popularity among brewers. It is interesting to note that in the wine world, older oak barrels are a primary source of Brett contamination in wine. These same older wine barrels are often now re-used by brewers to age their brews. With so many more barrel-aged beers coming out now, we could being seeing a whole new family of beers being enhanced with a touch of Brett.

Because Brett is most often added to beer as part of the bottle conditioning process, Brett character needs time to develop. In other words, you need to age Brett beers in order to enjoy the full range of Brett flavors. Factors such as pH levels, the amount of residual sugar, and the levels of ethanol present all factor in to how much the Brett flavor will develop in your beer. Unfortunately, you can’t control any of those factors. What you can control, however, is the temperature you keep your beer at.

Brett is highly active at around 67 degrees Fahrenheit and above. As the temperature starts to drop, the rate of Brett activity will decrease rapidly. If you want the Brett character to develop properly, you should be careful not to store Brett beers below normal cellar temperatures during the first year or so of aging. After the Brett flavors have fully come out, you can move them to a cooler storage area if you so desire.

I hope you enjoyed my posts on Brett, I know I learned a lot by writing them. Later this week I’ll come out with a list of Brett beers that should age pretty well.

jason@brewbasement.com

www.brewbasement.com