Not the best picture, I know, but it’s the best I could do whilst my camera is out of action.
This is going to be quite a long post, due to the fact that there is a story to it. The yeast is a relatively new Brett strain with an almost offensive name and a hint of Bears and Bikes.
So, are you sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin.
This summer I sent out another one of my begging emails ( I am quite good at them and I have no shame) to a beer/homebrew blogger in the States. This time it was to Derek over at http://www.bear-flavored.com/
I have been following the Bear for some time now and was reading it at school on the morning of my birthday, when I happened upon the Brett Cust post.
I turned to one of my colleagues and said” this bloke is going to send me some Brett. He just doesn’t know it yet!” And, as was the case with Jeff over at http://jeffreycrane.blogspot.com/ Derek was only too happy to help and allow Brett to take over the world.
After what seemed like waiting for Christmas since January, I at last get the Brett whilst at Chiang mai long distance bus station, on a coach setting off on a 900km journey. Only god knows why the office girls brought it with them, but I was unable to sleep due to over fondling of the vail which was protecting it’s chastity.
So, in a hotel room far from home and malt, with a leaking vial, I needed to think fast. 7/11 came to my rescue in the form of bleach, alcohol, apple juice and a jar of jam( jelly if you are American).
You do NOT need to know what I did with the jam, but I managed to sanitize the jar and knock up a starter with the juice. Low and behold the starter was active within a few hours and I split it with a fellow brewer down in Korat, spreading the love, just as I gave Brett B Trois to brewers in Chiang mai.
When I got back to Chiang mai I doubled the starter(this time with malt) and split it with another homebrewer.
I decided to brew a kind of a Mild, but a badleebrewed Mild.
4.5 litre batch
450gr Munich
60gr caramunich
30gr Carafa special II
50gr dark brown sugar
enough Glacier @ 20 to give me 20 IBUs
I mashed at 69c
I let it ferment for only 5 days before getting it in the bottle.
The colour should have been about 17srm but came out a bit darker and had the look of a dark Mild.
Aroma; toffee apples and caramel with a clean yeastiness
mouth feel; VERY light, feels a little thin. But this was never going to be chewy as a Mild. The Brett Cust gave me 80% attenuation and when I use this strain again I will NOT use sugar.
eyes; after a rough pour it has a thin white head that holds all the way down and even gives a little lacing. Deep mahogany with ruby/garnet hints.
taste; very slight tartness. coffee/chocolate with the tartness coming through again, giving way to toffee apples and hint of weak instant coffee and cooked lime skin(bet you never heard that one before)
All in all it was a very enjoyable first outing for Mr Custersianus. As I already said, it was bottled on day 5 and great on day 7. I may well brew this again and just do away with the sugar, but that will be after I have bottled the stout that it is now fermenting.
badleebrewed 