Please check out my earlier articles on the use of Brettanomyces yeast in beer. There was an overview of Brett in beer, a discussion of the flavor components of Brett beers, and some info on how to best age and cellar Brett beers.

Not that you’ve read my three-part series on Brettanomyces (you did read it, didn’t you?), I’d thought I’d give you a few specific examples of beers that contain this funky little yeast. Some of these beers should be relatively easy for you to find at your local beverage center; others may be almost impossible to come across. Good luck and have fun!

Many people’s first encounter with Brett in beer comes from the Trappist beer Orval. Considered to have prototypical Brett flavor, Orval remains the only Trappist monastery to deliberately ferment their beer with Brettanomyces.

As I stated in my earlier article on cellaring brettanomyces beers, traditional Belgian Lambic-style beers have a history of being brewed with ”wild” Brett yeast.  Brasserie Cantillon in Belgium is considered to be the makers of some of the finest Lambics in the world today.

The fruity and tart Red Flanders ales also gain some of their character from the use of Brett yeast. The beers of Rodenbach set the standard for this style, although American brewer Jolly Pumpkin’s La Roja (which I recently reviewed) is another great example of a brew of this type.

Back here in the States, two Californian breweries are considered the flag bearers for Brett use in the US. Russian River Brewery makes a number of beers that use Brett. Their limited released Sanctification that is fermented using 100% Brettanomyces yeast. Meanwhile, The Lost Abbey has a couple of Seasonal Beers that use Brett - The Golden Rule (which is also a 100% Brett fermented beer) and Synergy.

Another limited release is Ommegeddon, which was released July 12th by Brewery Ommegang in Upstate NY. There’s been quite a bit of talk about this beer among beer geeks, with A Good Beer Blog and TheDrunkenPolack posting recent reviews. Supplies of this beer are almost gone, so if you see some be sure to grab it!

Finally, other examples of American brews using Brett include Allagash’s Interlude (The Brett in this beer is described as bringing “flavors of pear, apricot, graham cracker and bread crust” on their web site), Jolly Pumpkin’s Oro De Calabaza, and New Belgium’s La Folie (Possibly only available straight from the brewery?)

Jason

jason@brewbasement.com

www.brewbasement.com