Best Practices - Brett Secondary Fermentation
Brettanomyces Secondary Fermentation
We supply our standard Brettanomyces pitches at an optimal rate for secondary fermentation in your carboy, tank, foeder, or barrels. We target a pitch rate of 0.5-1 million cells/mL for secondary pitches. This pitch rate is more than sufficient for Brett activity, which can be seen as low as 50,000 cells/mL in a few weeks.
In general, expect a Brett secondary fermentation to take approximately 20-30 days to show signs of Brett flavour. The Brett flavour will continue to develop for months and years to come. Brett will slowly ferment residual sugars, but this fermentation will stabilize over time. Once you have observed no specific gravity change within two weeks, you are typically safe to bottle without risk of overcarbonation.
Here is a summary of the typical flavour profile of the Brett strains we offer for secondary fermentation:
| Product | Species | Flavours | Suitable Styles | Primary Ferment |
| Brett B | B. bruxellensis | Pear, Tropical Fruit | Pale ales, sours, Orval clones | |
| Brett D | B. bruxellensis | Pineapple, Hay | Hoppy beers, pale sours | Yes |
| Brussels Brett | B. bruxellensis | Fruit Salad, Candy, Lambic | Pale sours, "Lambic" | |
| Brett C | B. anomalus | Citrus, Mango | Hoppy beers, anything barrel aged | |
| Brett L | B. bruxellensis | Cherry, pleasant acetic | Flanders Red, Oud Bruin, barrel aged sours | Yes but slow |
| Brett M | B. bruxellensis | Balanced fruit and funk | pretty much anything | |
| Brett Q | B. bruxellensis | Strawberry, Red Wine | Saison, barrel aged sours | Yes |
| Berliner Brett I | B. anomalus | Citrus, White Wine | Berliner Weisse, Saison, pale sours | |
| Berliner Brett II | B. bruxellensis | Peach, White Wine | Berliner Weisse, Saison, pale sours | |
| MOTHERSHIP Brett Blend | both | A bit of everything | mixed ferm Saisons, barrel aged sours |
Additional Resources:
How to Choose a Brett Strain
Don't Forget the Brett