Bretta V

Brett (short for Brettanomyces) has played an important role in beer production throughout history. Brett is wild yeast and lives comfortably anywhere from fruit skins to breweries. Pre-industrial revolution, Brett played a major role in beer fermentation. The progression of modern science created the ability to make technical, sanitary, and controlled beer.  At this time Brett was recognized as hard to control and was considered to give the beer “off flavors”. Meanwhile, historically made beers such as Lambics have continued to rely on Brett for a large portion of their fermentation and flavors for centuries. In addition, a beer such as Orval has used Brett as secondary yeast to bottle condition its beer, which creates a extra layer of complexity and flavor.  In new American Craft brewing, brewers are experimenting with Brett and exploring new flavors in beer.

For our fifth installment of Bretta, we used TYB261 for the 100% Brettanomyces fermentation. This bruxellensis strain has a softer and more fruit forward expression than other types we’ve worked with. The grain bill is comprised of 100% local craft malt from Linc, with wheat and spelt smoothing out the body. After fermentation, we blended in a hearty dose of cold-pressed Yuzu citrus juice, imported from Japan, for its bright floral character. Finally, we dry hopped with Nectaron and Citra hops for a big punch of tropical fruit, before bottle conditioning.