Brett or not to Brett?

[pgentile]

Interesting. Has anyone here given this a try with wine?

https://vinepair.com/articles/brett-beer-wine/

 

[cmason1957]

Brettanomyces is generally considered a fault in wine-making, so my guess is you won't find many willing to try this. If you do introduce it, be ready to take the carboy you use out of your normal use, as it spreads like wildfire, from what I understand. I once heard that the way to get Brett out of a winery is to destroy all the equipment, burn the building down and move operations 30 miles away.

 

[pgentile]

I'm of the same beliefs and have read the same things, but I'm curious if there is anyone here who does both wild and commercial yeast fermentation's? If so, is Brett that invasive?

 

[cmason1957]

Well, I do native yeast ferments on Norton and Chambourcin grapes and have allowed juice buckets to ferment to dry using whatever is in them, even when the distributors say they did not add yeast. For kits and all fruits I add yeast. The Norton and Chambourcin both come from the Hermann, MO area, so they probably aren't "wild" yeasts, but the yeasts that have been used in that area, although both vineyards I have gotten grapes from are off the beaten path. I think they come out pretty durn good for being native yeast, better than folks who have added yeast to the same grapes?? Hard to say. I haven't noticed any barnyard funk or anything I would attribute to Brett, so I'm not sure how invasive Brett is, but as I indicated, I have heard it is really hard to get rid of once it gets into a winery.

 

[ceeaton]

I'm of the same beliefs and have read the same things, but I'm curious if there is anyone here who does both wild and commercial yeast fermentation's? If so, is Brett that invasive?

I have a co-worker that uses brett in some of his home brewing adventures. He uses separate equipment (carboys/brew pots/racking canes/bottles/kegs) in a separate room, yes, it's that invasive. Easier for me to buy a brett beer than go through all the hoops to make sure I don't infect my brewery/winery with the stuff.

I've seen a product for barrels called "No Brett", I think, so their must be some way to eradicate it.

http://www.scottlab.com/products-129.aspx

 

[BernardSmith]

I have experimented with using brett in meads. I think the idea is that if you were not intending to inoculate with brett then having it invade might be a problem but if you are looking for some of the flavors that brett can provide then one man's (or woman's) disaster might be another's treasure.

 

[Boatboy24]

I have a co-worker that uses brett in some of his home brewing adventures. He uses separate equipment (carboys/brew pots/racking canes/bottles/kegs) in a separate room, yes, it's that invasive. Easier for me to buy a brett beer than go through all the hoops to make sure I don't infect my brewery/winery with the stuff.

I've seen a product for barrels called "No Brett", I think, so their must be some way to eradicate it.

http://www.scottlab.com/products-129.aspx

Huh, made with Chitosan.

 

[ceeaton]

Huh, made with Chitosan.

Yea, I noticed that, but if it works...wonder if you could just use the stuff that occasionally comes with kits. Probably not as concentrated as the scottlab version.

 

[SouthernChemist]

Brettanomyces is not some super organism that will take over you fermentation equipment (contaminated barrels and wood aside). It is a yeast, like saccharomyces cerevisiae, and it can be killed off just like any other yeast. It generally is known to give 'barnyard' or 'funky' flavors/aromas when used in conjunction with regular brewing yeast (100% Brettanomyces fermentations can give drastically different results). As always, proper cleaning and sanitation would avoid any serious contamination issues.

 

[Johny99]

“But while some winemakers, like Chris Howell of Cain Vineyard & Winery in the Napa Valley’s Spring Mountain District, are becoming more open-minded about the potential positive effects of Brett, it still causes a knee-jerk reaction for most wine pros. “

I have a bottle of Cain wine set aside for Christmas. I knew he was into the natural terror thing, but not about the Brett. We’ll see.

 

[Boatboy24]

“But while some winemakers, like Chris Howell of Cain Vineyard & Winery in the Napa Valley’s Spring Mountain District, are becoming more open-minded about the potential positive effects of Brett, it still causes a knee-jerk reaction for most wine pros. “

I have a bottle of Cain wine set aside for Christmas. I knew he was into the natural terror thing, but not about the Brett. We’ll see.

I've got some Cain down in the wine fridge, but its my Dad's - been storing it while they're' in between houses. He often breaks some out for Christmas, and I don't ever recall noticing anything 'Brett-y'.

 

[Johny99]

Had a bottle of Cain 2014 Zin. I’ve never been exposed to Brett, and known it. However, definitely a bit of an earthy nose I’d say light barnyard, but that is what I was looking for so hard to be objective on that. Definitely less fruit than I’d expect from a 2014.