Brett dreggs

[JFB]

Anyone know if the dregs from a couple my brett beers will be enough to inoculate a new batch of beer after primary fermentation with brewers yeast? Or is it best to just shell out and buy a fresh vial?

 

[Dutto]

I suggest that you use the bottoms to harvest them and make a yeast starter as per these videos ...





You'll have a lot less yeast to play with so it will take up to a week to produce a viable amount of yeast. I suggest that you then use only half of it and keep the other half in the fridge to make up another batch for the next brew.

Enjoy!

PS

Make sure everything is sanitised like the lad shows you.

 

[Ciaran12s]

When discussing yeast starters there always appears to be extra emphasis on sanitisation. Is this the case or am I imagining it? If there is extra emphasis why so in comparison to just getting your wort into an fv and pitching?

 

[JFB]

Didn't think of propagating the dregs. My only problem then is its a mix of brewers yeast and brett so I'm still not sure what ill end up with.

 

[Bigcol49]

Didn't think of propagating the dregs. My only problem then is its a mix of brewers yeast and brett so I'm still not sure what ill end up with.

Hi!
How are you going to isolate the Brett from the main yeast?

 

[Sadfield]

https://www.themadfermentationist.com/2010/06/harvesting-sour-beer-bottle-dregs.html?m=1

Small coincidence, I was only looking at the page linked above whilst trying to find what strains were in the dregs of Boon Oude Gueuze I had pitched into a farmhouse brown Ale, yesterday.

I don't think you'll get any benefit from making a starter as it'll grow the Saccharomyces in your dregs quicker than the Brettanomyces. It'll take months to develop Brett character anyway, so you may as well pitch the dregs into secondary.

I would say you'll only need the cell count of a new packet of yeast if you were doing a 100% Brett fermentation.

 

[JFB]

i think it best I just give it a go and see what happens.
As I’ve plenty of Brett home brew I can keep adding the dregs with every bottle the misses and I drink.

 

[Dutto]

When discussing yeast starters there always appears to be extra emphasis on sanitisation. Is this the case or am I imagining it? If there is extra emphasis why so in comparison to just getting your wort into an fv and pitching?

As home-brewers we don't always have a source of live and active yeast readily available so once harvested the yeast may be kept in the fridge for up to a month before it is used.

The emphasis on sanitisation is to try and ensure that we are not harvesting, storing, cultivating and then using something that we don't want.

 

[geigercntr]

I had good success pitching dregs from a couple of bottles of Orval (Brettanomyces bruxellensis) into a 'finished' saison (1.004). Just flamed the bottle neck and popped it into the DJ. Didn't use a starter, just left it a few months. Came out really well

 

[strange-steve]

Yeah I reckon a couple of bottles worth of dregs should do it, but as no doubt you're aware, it'll take time.

 

[jceg316]

I was wondering about this recently and posted a similar thread. I want to culture up yeast from a batch which went sour accidentally, so I can make another sour in a similar way but choose to do it! I was thinking that if I cultured up more saccharomyces and pitched would it matter? I'd be pitching after fermentation so it's not gonna make huge changes to the flavour or FG (I'd use the same/similar yeast). If it's gonna be left a while they yeast would drop out of suspension way before bottling.

 

[Sadfield]

Yeah I reckon a couple of bottles worth of dregs should do it, but as no doubt you're aware, it'll take time.

To back this up, I found this interesting experiment on Milkthefunk, it intimates that pitch rate is largely irrelevant when using Brett in secondary. I think the same applies to @jceg316 question, whatever bacteria or yeast soured the beer, will do the same when pitched into secondary of a new batch, either with or without a starter. A starter was not required to innoculate the first beer, so why use one for the next beer?

http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Brettanomyces_secondary_fermentation_experiment

 

[JFB]

To back this up, I found this interesting experiment on Milkthefunk, it intimates that pitch rate is largely irrelevant when using Brett in secondary. I think the same applies to @jceg316 question, whatever bacteria or yeast soured the beer, will do the same when pitched into secondary of a new batch, either with or without a starter. A starter was not required to innoculate the first beer, so why use one for the next beer?

http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Brettanomyces_secondary_fermentation_experiment

Wow that was some article! A lot was to complex for me.. seems not a great deal is known.
So I’ll definitely save some pounds and go for dregs on my next batch,