Best Practices - Brett Pitch Rate

What is the best pitch rate for Brett? 

For primary fermentation, the more cells and fresher they are, the better the results you will get with fermentation. We recommend a pitch rate of more than 10 million cells / mL.

For secondary fermentation, you have a lot of flexibility. Back in 2015, we did a collaborative study with Omega Yeast where we showed that the pitch rate of Brett in secondary fermentation did not have a noticeable impact on sensory impact, while a pitch rate of 1 million cells / mL correlated with the strongest ester content. 

As a result, we recommend a pitch rate of 1 million cells / mL for Brett secondary pitches. Our homebrew packs typically start at 30 billion cells, or slightly more than the target pitch rate. This means you can typically direct pitch even old/close-to-expiration Brett packs without worrying about viability.