Tasting Day: Funk with Less Fuss - 100% Brett Brux

Last night I tasted the second beer out of my three sours made with the "Funk with less Fuss" method.  Previously we had the sour mashed beer fermented with California Ale yeast.  This time, it's fermented with 100% Brett Brux.  All I can say is these tastings are getting better and better.  The California Ale version took 5 weeks to complete.  This Brett B version took 7.

Overview: Flanders Red inspired beer that used a home-grown lacto starter to sour the mash prior to fermentationand fermented with Brettanomyces Bruxellensis.
   
SRM = 4 ABV = 6.5% IBU = 18 

Appearance: Deep ruby red.  Almost a brown ale color.  White head dissipates pretty quickly and leaves some weird looking bubbles in the glass.
Smell: Strong lactic sour nose. This is really different from the California Ale version that almost smelled clean.
Taste: Very sour.  Lemonade-like tartness with a bit of sweetness popping through - but not much.  A bit more complex than the California Ale version but not nearly as barny as I was hoping for.  I expected a sour beer that had some hay or leather flavors from the Brett B.
 
Mouth:  A bit prickly in the carbonation which I thought worked well with the strong sour flavor.
 
Overall: This brew confirms that you can make some great sour beers with the "Funk with Less Fuss" method.  We will see how this beer ages and see if any more barn yard flavors show up or if the classic cherry pie flavor shows up to create some more depth.  

Only complaint I have about this beer is it is still a bit one dimensional.  If I can get some more barnyard funk or fruity flavors from the yeast to show through while keeping the sour level where it is - or toned down just a bit - this would be a great beer.  After drinking most of the bottle I added a tiny bit of sugar syrup to see how it would taste if there was some sweetness.  Just that tiny bit of sweetness really added that extra dimension to the beer.

Here are my initial thoughts on how to take this beer to the next level.

1. Add some sweet fruit to the secondary for a week or two prior to bottling.  Sweet Cherries is at the top of the list for a twist on a kriek.
2. Use a stronger Brett (Lambicus) with a fruitier Brett (Claus. or Trois) to create different flavors for a more complex flavor to go along with the sour flavor created from the sour mash.
3. Add some kind of non-fermentable sugar during bottling to increase the sweetness to balance the sour.

I couldn't be much happier for how this one turned out in the end.  Next up is the final installment owhich uses the mixed fermentation yeast from Wyeast - Roeselare.  This has Saccharo, Brett, Pedio and Lacto cultures in the packet and is brewed and stored at warmer tempratures for 2 months.

I will be doing a "vertical" testing when this one is ready and drink all three styles at the same time to see how they differ from one an other.

Already in the works is a quick sour test with a pale ale or fake lambic.  More to come on this in the next week or so.   

Tasting Day - Two Funky Beers

My carboys have been busy the past month and a lot of beer is starting to get to the point where I can finally get some tastings done.  This past weekend I had Le Singularite - a recipe from the Wild Brews book by Jeff Sparrow - and the first of my "Funk with Less Fuss" beers created with the method outlined by Matt Lange in his article in Zymurgy.

First up: Le Singularite

Beautiful golden barnyard funk beer.

Overview: A very basic pale ale fermented with 100% Brett Clausenii.The grain bill is 88% Belgian Pilsner, 8% Wheat and 4% Acidulated malt.  The acidulated malt is used to lower the pH so the Brett yeast can get to work ASAP.

 SRM = 4
ABV = 6.5%
IBU = 18

Appearance: A brilliant golden color.  The photo does not do it justice. One of the better looking beers I have made.  Pretty clear.  Pours a 2 finger head and then dissipates slowly to a thing white layer as shown in the photo to the left. 

Smell: Traditional Belgian smell with some barnyard funk to it. Slight tingle from an almost spice smell.  Biggest smell is a fruity yeast smell.  Maybe like an over-ripened tropical fruit. 

Taste: For how simple this beer is, the flavor is very complex.  Each sip I get something different.  I get hops in the back end on some sips.  Some taste very fruity while others have that very traditional Brett character that has hay-like or "earthy" flavors.  I even get a slight bubble gum flavor that is traditional for some Belgian yeast strains in some sips.  I was expecting a bit more acid flavor from the acidulated malt, but it is a very minor player in the flavor.  You really got to look for any tartness. Overall a great beer.  It is not an easy beer to drink because of the layers of flavor that the yeast contribute but one of my favorites to date. 

Mouth:  Medium to light.  Kind of like a normal American Pale ale. 

Overall:  One of my favorite Belgians that I have brewed to date.  Its complex while not going overboard in any of the flavors that I outlined above.  It seems to be pretty well balanced. I would definitely make this again.  Maybe the next batch can be split between Brett C, Brett B and Brett Trois for a side by side tasting.

Next up: Funk with less Fuss - California Sour Red Ale

The first of the Funk with Less Funk
beers - California Sour Red Ale. - which
got great reviews at the initial tasting.

Overview: A "Quick Sour" Flanders Ale using the wort souring method as described in previous posts from the Funk with Less Fuss article by Matt Lange.  As a reminder the main batch was split between 3 different yeast. The goal for this specific beer is to see how good a sour can test after only 5 weeks from brew day.  It was fermented with a clean yeast - California Ale from White Labs. 

SRM = 17
ABV = 6.2%
IBU = 20 

Appearance: A deep ruby red - almost chestnut brown.  Pour a great head the disappears quickly. 

Smell: Here is the funny thing about this beer.  It had little to no funk smell what so ever.  It just smelt like a very clean red or brown ale with minimal hops and minimal malt smell coming through.  A faint smell of the oak cubes comes through but its very minimal. 

Taste: Wow. With the smells being so nondescript, I was expecting this to be a failed experiment.  I was 100% wrong.  It had a lot of the characteristics of a traditional sours - just not as much layering.  It was really tart.  Reminded me of sucking on a sweet tart.  You even get a bit of the oak flavor which is a nice compliment.  The one thing this was missing is that sweetness that some sours get with the use of sugar or fruit.  It also had a slight metallic flavor that I experienced in some of the other quick sours I have tested.  It is very minimal and the tartness really takes that way down in the end. 

Mouth:  Medium and a nice puckering effect after you swallow.  Really impressive for a beer that only aged for 5 weeks from the brew day. 

Overall: Surprising.   That is the only way I can describe it right now.  It had no aroma and then punches you in the face with the tartness of a sweet tart candy.  It has minimal off flavors which I expect while doing this sour wort method.  They are very minimal though.  I expected this to be the weakest of the three that I will be trying.  Up next is 100% Brett B and then the Roeselare blend.  My hopes are high for those after tasting this which makes this beer a 100% success.  This has a chance to move to a full 5 gallon batch that will go into the wooden barrells for its next test run.

Here is a quick overview of what is happening in my homebrewery

1. Farmhouse Ale Saision is going to be bottled in one week. 
2. Funk with Less Fuss - 100% Brett B version will be ready for tasting in one week.
3. Chimay Blue Clone will age in the secondary for about another month.
4. Golden Sour Pale Ale Batch #1 - the sour starter is ready to go and I will mash tomorrow and sour the wort for 48-60 hours after innoculation.  It will be split into two batches.  One with Roeselare and one with Brett Lambicus.
5. Golden Sour Pale Ale Batch #2   - I will start the sour starter for this in about a week or two and go through the same steps as Batch #1.  These ones will be brewed with Brett Trois and Belgian Wheat yeast.
6. I am finalizing my recipe for my Peach/Apricot Berlienerweiss and hope to brew that by the end of May so it's ready for the hot summer days of July and August.