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Author Topic: To Bret or not to Bret, that is the question...  (Read 1295 times)

Offline jivetyrant

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To Bret or not to Bret, that is the question...
« on: January 07, 2012, 06:37:54 am »
So I've got a troublesome hoppy American brown ale that I've been fiddling with for a while now.  It's beautifully clear (finally) but is somewhat under-attenuated.  It's only about 4 points high, I was hoping for 1.012, but I'm still getting enough residual sweetness while it is cold and un-carbonated that I couldn't drink a lot of it at a time.  The Chinook I used for dry hopping seem to have been over-dried as they imparted a somewhat cooked vegetal character that was not present before, so I'm trying to find a way to drown that flavor out.  I have been toying with the idea of getting a Bret culture and pitching it just to see what happens.  It would be my first brewing experience with the little buggers so I really don't have a clue what the result would be!  Does anyone have input on the subject?

Offline corkybstewart

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Re: To Bret or not to Bret, that is the question...
« Reply #1 on: January 07, 2012, 07:58:26 am »
Who knows what it will end up tasting like?  If you can't do anything else with it you might as well add the brett, assuming you like brett beers and have the patience for it do work its magic.  Is this beer in a carboy now?  If so you can just add the dregs of 3 fresh Orvals, some Jolly Pumpkin or Matilda(or all 3) and see what happens.  You might have a wonderfully dry summer ale to enjoy, or it may taste like crap considering your description of the dry hopping.
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