Orval help please...

[Mylo]

BTW - I tasted my finished beer for the first time last night. Since I corked and wire hooded this batch, I had one bottle that was filled 2/3 of the way. I got some serious carbonation which gushed a little, but it was very tasty and bretty. I need to test another random bottle that was filled all the way. When I gave it to my wife to taste (which she just usually tastes just a sip) she wouldn't give it back. She said it is probably the best beer I ever made. Since she is a flavor lightweight (usually favors light lagers and fruit lambics), and this is some serious horsey with a powerful hop aroma - I was amazed. I expecting the head shake and wierd face.


Mylo

[brewinhard]

Mylo,

Glad to hear your beer came out how you were anticipating. Were you happy with the carbonation? I know its hard to tell without having a fully filled bottle sample. Please let me know how it turned out once you have a fully filled bottle. By the way, how much headspace would you say was in your carboy when racked to secondary? Do you remember how old your Brett yeast packet was when you pitched it?


Chupa,

Do you remember how long it took for your brett starter to start working and then how long it took to finish?

[Mylo]

Mylo, Glad to hear your beer came out how you were anticipating. Were you happy with the carbonation? I know its hard to tell without having a fully filled bottle sample. Please let me know how it turned out once you have a fully filled bottle. By the way, how much headspace would you say was in your carboy when racked to secondary? Do you remember how old your Brett yeast packet was when you pitched it?

Just tried a full bottle last night. Carb level was much better. No gushing - yet still very spritzy, like champagne. I had 5.75 gallons in a 6.5 gallon primary, and filled up the 5 gallon secondary almost all the way (probably a 3.5 inch diameter surface area).

Brett was about a month old when I got it from B3. I can't say enough about this beer. Definitely my favorite from BCS so far.


Mylo

[mikem108]

Was it bottle carbonated? I am doing the same beer at the moment and its had 2 & 1/2 weeks on Brett with no activity yet.
I was wondering priming levels when bottling considering the presence of Brett, would you just stick to usual priming formulas as for other beers.

[Mylo]

:pop Was it bottle carbonated? I am doing the same beer at the moment and its had 2 & 1/2 weeks on Brett with no activity yet.
I was wondering priming levels when bottling considering the presence of Brett, would you just stick to usual priming formulas as for other beers.

Mine is bottle conditioned. You might have to wait a little longer that Brett to show any activity. I also pitched some dregs from Orval that might have helped. I had a thin pellicle within 2 weeks. As far as priming level is concerned - "it depends". Mine finished out the primary at 1.013. I mashed at 154 because I wanted to leave some stuff for the Brett. I would wait another month or so before bottling - and check your gravity along the way - and at least two or three times that last week.

If you bottle too soon, you might have some bombs. I had one comp bottle blow already (I fixed the rest).


Mylo

[mikem108]

Thanks for the help. Pitched 2 bottles worth of dregs, a few weeks later some of that nice Orval character started coming through, been in the bottle now for two weeks, I tried one on the weekend and its an awesome beer, now I'm hooked on bugs. Did a split batch of Belgian Strong dark, half will get bugs and oak and the other half sour cherries, can't wait until its ready.

[mediumsk]

brewing the BCS orval clone inspired me to do a ton more brett + heavily dry hopped beer combinations. such a tasty and commercially un mined flavor.
Bretts weird though, I've had it take 1 week to drop a beer 5 points and ive had it take 2 months to drop a beer 5 points.

[Brandt]

I've only added brett to the secondary once. It was the dregs of an Orval bottle. I racked a Saison that didn't finish dry enough (around 1.024, I believe) into a corny keg and threw the Orval dregs in. It took a few months at room temp to notice any difference. But once it got going, I found I needed to vent the keg every day for a while. After a year, I cooled the keg and tapped it. It is by far the best beer I have ever brewed. I use it in a taste test with the same saison recipe w/o brett to demonstrate what brett can do for a beer. Everyone always chooses the brett version.

So, my source of brett was probably much older and lower in cell count than yours, but in my experience, let it bee for a few months.