Tasting Day: 100% Brett IPA

I am finally getting around to the tasting notes for my 100% Brett IPA that was essentially the recipe posted over at Mad Fermentationist.

I tasted this when it was very young - two weeks in the bottle.  At that time it was super cloudy/dirty.  The flavor was all over the place and it was not the beer I expected.  The beer got great reviews from Mike over at Mad Fermentationist and I was expecting a bunch more. 

So when a beer does not taste like you expect the best thing to do is wait.  I put two bottles in my fridge.  I wanted to lager them with the hop that the yeast would settle along with the massive amounts of hop particles still floating around.

Two weeks of being in the fridge have made a HUGE improvement.  This beer is now one of my favorite - if not the favorite- that I have ever brewed.  The nose, the depth of the flavor, the body - everything is where I wanted it.

Appearance:  Bright sunshine yellow.  Pretty beer.  pours with a two finger head that dissipates once you take a sip and break the seal of the foam.  This then leaves a sticky hop lacing after each pull.

Smell:  It smells like hops and juice.  Specifically mango, pineapple and citrus with a hit of pine-tree earthiness.  As the beer warms you start to realize something is different with it.  The dank basement aroma starts to show up just as you finish the glass to let you know this was brewed with Brett.  Its in there but it shows up late to the party and adds another level of the aroma.

Mouthfeel:  Very light and refreshing.  Dry. Very dry finish for an IPA.  The hops and yeast combo fool you and you dont notice how dry it is until the end.

Taste:  I find it to be perfectly balanced.  Not too hoppy but very assertive. Citrus, tropical fruits are everywhere.  There is a sweetness to help balance it all together.  Is it the malt?  I dont know.  I think it could be the tropical yeast flavors that the Brett Trois is providing.  The very first hit on the tounge is almost like mango juice that quickly gets taken over by the citurs and flower power of the hops.  It ends with a dry bite that I found unique.  Again - I think this is the Brett letting you know something is different

Overall: Fantastic use of 100% Brett fermentation.  I may never brew an IPA with out Brett Trois.  The combination is phenomenal.  Only thing I would change is how much I brew.  I only brewed a 2.5 gallon batch and that turned out to be a dumb idea.  After two weeks of bottle fermentation I would add all of hte beers to the fridge to let them clear and settle out.  After another two weeks you would be well rewarded.