[CHARLIE75]

Hey guys, a consultation: (although it's probably been asked before, but I'm new  )

I've got an "Acerola" (Caribbean Cherry) Saison that I brewed in August.
Primary fermentation was done in around 7-10 days, and I used french saison liquid yeast. FG was close to 1.004

Once I transferred to secondary, I pitched in two vials of Brett Brux.

My question is how long should I wait to bottle, (months)(its been 4 months now), and then how long should I bottle condition?

[morticaixavier]

on the first question let taste be your guide. you could wait as long as it takes for the brett to eat every last bit of cherry pulp leaving only pits (do acerola have pits?) or you could just have a taste and see how it is. likely the gravity is about as low as it's going to be at this point so you are really waiting till it tastes good. you could take two gravity readings about 1-2 weeks apart to verify that the gravity isn't changing.

Have a mentioned taste? sorry.

on the length of bottle conditioning, it will take about the same amount of time to carbonate this beer as any other normal beer. the brett won't have reduced the pH much and assuming your abv isn't super high it will behave more or less like a normal brew on that front. so wait about two weeks, pop one in the fridge and taste it. if the carbonation seems good then store how you will.

if the carbonation starts to get too high put all the bottles in the fridge because it wasn't actually done fermenting after all.

[CHARLIE75]

Thanks a bunch dude. That's basically what I had in mind, but needed corroboration.

Acerolas do have pits, but I removed them and did a reduction before adding it in at the end of boiling.

Any Idea on how time would affect sourness vs funkyness?

As far as tasting, the beer is in a glass carboy and I've read and been told that breaking the pellicle is a sin, as oxygen might sour up the beer.

But at this point I'm leaning towards bottling and praying. FG should be very low, since it was under 1.005 when I transferred to secondary. And that was over 3 months ago.

[troybinso]

After a few months on Brett you are safe for bottling. As far as taste, it will change some in the carboy, and it will change some in the bottle. Hard to predict what will really happen.

[morticaixavier]

Thanks a bunch dude. That's basically what I had in mind, but needed corroboration.

Acerolas do have pits, but I removed them and did a reduction before adding it in at the end of boiling.

Any Idea on how time would affect sourness vs funkyness?

As far as tasting, the beer is in a glass carboy and I've read and been told that breaking the pellicle is a sin, as oxygen might sour up the beer.

But at this point I'm leaning towards bottling and praying. FG should be very low, since it was under 1.005 when I transferred to secondary. And that was over 3 months ago.

if there is really only sach and brett there you won't get too much sourness even if you break the pellicle. regardless, you have to taste the beer. don't go crazy and sample every day but take a sample now and if it's not where you want it and you think more time on the cherries will help than let it ride. the brett will repair the pellicle overnight.

[kylekohlmorgen]

Thanks a bunch dude. That's basically what I had in mind, but needed corroboration.

Acerolas do have pits, but I removed them and did a reduction before adding it in at the end of boiling.

Any Idea on how time would affect sourness vs funkyness?

As far as tasting, the beer is in a glass carboy and I've read and been told that breaking the pellicle is a sin, as oxygen might sour up the beer.

But at this point I'm leaning towards bottling and praying. FG should be very low, since it was under 1.005 when I transferred to secondary. And that was over 3 months ago.

Mort is steering you in the right direction.

I just wanted to add that the beer is 'ready' for bottling as soon as the gravity stops dropping. With brett in secondary, I'll take a gravity reading once every few weeks and bottle/keg when I get two or three constant gravity readings.

[reverseapachemaster]

This is all good advice. You should give it a taste but disturb the pellicle as little as possible in doing so. If you decide you want to wait more months and leave the beer then you should find the pellicle has reformed in a week or less. Brett definitely evolves with time so you may find you like the flavors now or you might find it too barnyard/horse blanket right now. I really enjoy brett beers after around 18 months as the funk has smoothed into a good mix of funk and fruit.