Notes from BN Network Podcast - Chad Yakobson

----------------------- BN Crooked Stave Chad Yakobson Interview Notes ----------

thebrettanomycesproject.com

"Everything in beer is about perception, it's about building perception."

Why Brett?  Primary is normally with Sac - aroma is Brett and acidity is Brett

Wild Wild Brett Yellow: honey, turmeric, brett and spices

- 100% brett beer

- Aroma and funk in short term - time proportional to acidity (sour)

- had cold side fruits which added the lacto

--- Brett brux is a general species, but there are many strains....think Sac has many strains, Brett Brux is the same as Sac but with twice the variations.

- Treat it just like Sac regarding repitching, just do it, of course, keeping in mind the increased pitching rate based on cells/ml required and cells/ml in slurry

- He believes the malt used effects the Brett's flavor contribution(dark vs light)

- Building Body:  

• brett beers will be inherently thin as they eat through the dextrins during aging.  
• If you want body you have to add the body (the "perception of body") with proteins, aka grist (8% grist), not through dextrins = mash temp = residual sugar, b/c brett will eat through dextrins first and the perceived mouthfeel of the beer will last longer in the aging process...?will the brett eat the proteins eventually..therefore with age perceived body will decrease...i thnk so...this adjustment "improves stability of mouthfeel through time, not solidifies it..only time would tell...hahaha?
• Ingredients to build body: rye, flaked oats, golden naked oats, spelt etc...NOT the mash temp..
• (Sidenote: Sac adds "glycerol which is a compound produced in fermentation which adds the mouthfeel...Brett does not produce this compound)

-Brett and floc and process:

• (Background) the floccing aspect of sac is based on:

1. based on sugar outside vs inside Sac cells (osmotic pressure) the cell will produce mano-proteins

2. The manoproteins lock together like large puzzle pieces forming clumps of sac resulting in flocculation.  

• Brett does not seem to have this enzyme therefore simply by a decreased sugar supply outside vs inside the cell, this process does not occur...result we must create/force flocculation.

-How to clarify Brett Beer

1. Longer cold crash time (35-40 for 1-2 weeks)

2. Pressure: after bottling give them a week (there seems to be another minor fermentation in the bottle

- Pitching

• Temps: 68-69 and rise to 72-74, if cooler needs more time.  Not below 68 and not free rising above 74.

- Yeast Nutrients - not required in a brett beer or starter.  The wort has the required nutrients.

- Starter wort gravity - 1048

- Brett Propagation (ref: thebrettanomycesproject.com)

• 7 - 8 days in perfect conditions
• temp - 80
• Diauxic growth curve: describes phases of growth as it moves through different sugars

1. Growth phase 1: 24- 48ish then

2. Lag phase for around 12-24h

3. Another growth phase and another lag phase

4. A third growth phase

Result: at 7 - 8 days your at solid growth numbers, it may keep increasing, but at lower rates...At this point it is ready to be pitched.

- What brett eats: Sugars, unmeasurable carbohydrates, proteins, previously produced esters, compounds creating hop aroma AND at the end, alcohol.

- Brett Slurry

• DO NOT store on plates/slants or in fridge
• Store in liquid culture at room temperature
• Interpolation: Take slurry and pitch appropriate cell count to achieve pitch rate with 3x growth accounting for that growth over the 7 - 8 day starter cycle listed above.  This way you are taking active slurry and building it up as opposed to just pitching a proper count of "unstarted brett"

- Cleaning/Sanitizing - it is a yeast and dies like a yeast, it can be cleaned and killed.  He says using fermenters of wild and non-wild brews is ok.

- 100% Brett fermentation process/profile (there)

• 2 - 3 weeks to come down to 2 - 4 plato (.08-.16)
• residual fermentation: from 3 - 4 plato to 1 plato in following 2 - 4 weeks.

- Priming bottles with brett for bottle conditioning - treat it like sac - look at residual sugar and be sure its not higher than 2 plato and the beer comes down to .5 to 1 (1.05 to 1 ...  co2:alcohol)

Crooked Stave Golden Sour Process: result is a fruity upfront with the sour background

1. 100% brett fermentation

2. Intro Lacto/pedio as "secondary fermentation" into barrels

Inoculating - using prior beers (keep a beer and toss into new batch)

When to bottle: 100% brett s about 6 weeks ... considering gravity and of course flavor ... if flavor is off it may need additional aging in barrels, with fruit, etc or perhaps it needs to g into a different project.

Hops:

• Sour - used in very very small amounts, 5 IBUs....used to stop unwanted bacteria
• 100% brett - 18ish IBUs...now he uses all his hops at knockout and therefore your getting 0 IBUs but you are getting perceived hop flavor and aroma....this is his approach to hops in brett beers...not bitter, just flavor and aroma - perception.
• In highly hopped beers you may not get brett character for at least 2 month