Brettanomyces Fermentation Photos

Like some craft beer aficionados, I have been interested in sour beers. They are beers that are fermented with wild yeasts such as Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, and Brettanomyces. Several beer styles that use such yeast, like the Lambic beers, were developed in Belgium. Today, the US is seeing a growing interest in such beers and the old-fashioned fermenting processes. 

I continually see beer news stories with images of used whiskey and wine barrels being filled with beer or stacked and lining the walls of concrete cellars. In most cases, the beer is getting the souring and aging treatment. Here are some articles from well-known new sources regarding the interest in sour beers:

The Wall Street Journal - The Sour and the Glory
The New York Times - Brews as Complex as Wine
The New York Times - Sour Beer is Risky Business, Starting with the Name
The New York Times - Brettanomyces, a Funky Yeast, Makes Flavorful Beers *

The Brettanomyces yeast strains are a new frontier for brewers . Brettanomyces is capable of bringing many different flavors to beer, but the knowledge base for this yeast is still young and growing. Chad Yacobsen at Crooked Stave is at the forefront of this exploration with his Brettanomyces Project. It’s an exciting time.

Just after transfer to 5 gallon glass carboy. The foam is StarSan Sanitizer ("Don't fear the foam")

WLP650

Just after pitching yeast.

A couple days later. Weird, aah? A pellicle forms to protect the beer from oxygen.

From above.

Like an alien landscape.

The domes get bigger.

The pellicle thickens.

Dry Hopping

Tonight I dry hopped the Chinook IPA. It was the first time I've dry hopped. It's not all that special; I just opened the fermenter and poured in 1 oz of Chinook hop pellets, then put the lid back on. Adding the hops during the late portion of the fermentation period will impart that citrusy, hop aroma to the beer.

Dry Hopped

Opening the Fermenter

Today we finally opened the fermenting bucket and had a look. We had not had a chance to see our beer during the three weeks of fermentation. Many brewers use glass or plastic carboys that allow the brewer to watch the yeast feast/fermentation. I, on the other hand, use a white, plastic bucket. Plastic buckets leave everything to the imagination.

Krausen along the edge

Smelled like fermented something. Mostly, it smelled like beer.

krausen - noun, The foamy rocky head of yeast that forms at the peak of fermentation. (about.com)

At the bottom of the bucket, under the beer was about an inch of trub. It was thick and messy. I emptied it out in our compost pile.

trub - noun, "...the layer of sediment that appears at the bottom of the fermenter after yeast has completed the bulk of the fermentation. It is composed mainly of heavy fats, proteins and inactive yeast." (wikipedia)

Close up

Not Brewing Today

Greetings! 

As the title says, I am not brewing today. I don't mind not brewing today because I don't feel so well. I don't have much energy. Besides, my single fermenter bucket is busy fermenting my first home brew: an Extra Pale Ale. So I have to wait. Instead, I have created this blog. With this blog, I plan to share my experiences, the things I learn, and the tastes I create.

In the blog entries to follow I'll describe my first home brewing experience: the recipe I used, the sights and smells, and the process used. For now, I'll just say that the fermenter is in the basement, it has been down there for a week, and the attenuation phase--when the airlock bubbles the most due to vigorous fermentation--has ended. The beer will stay in the fermenter another two weeks.

fermenter in the basement

In the mean time, I'll prepare bottles and write this blog. Please follow this blog for updates. I hope you'll find the home brewing process as interesting as I do.