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Recipe: Alesong Touch of Brett
This version of the award-winning yet ever-evolving oak-aged Brett beer from Alesong Brewing & Blending in Eugene, Oregon, includes Citra hops and several different grains—but it welcomes your own spin.
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Despite being mutable and ever-evolving, this elegant, dry-hopped Brett beer from Alesong Brewing & Blending in Eugene, Oregon, has a knack for winning awards—whatever its present form. This recipe from brewer and cofounder Matt Van Wyk represents a typical incarnation, including the grist from their most recent batch. It also features Citra hops and primary fermentation with Brettanomyces clausenii. However, variations abound.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.055
FG: 1.003
IBUs: 27
ABV: 6.7% (pre-barrel)
Despite being mutable and ever-evolving, this elegant, dry-hopped Brett beer from Alesong Brewing & Blending in Eugene, Oregon, has a knack for winning awards—whatever its present form. This recipe from brewer and cofounder Matt Van Wyk represents a typical incarnation, including the grist from their most recent batch. It also features Citra hops and primary fermentation with Brettanomyces clausenii. However, variations abound.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.055
FG: 1.003
IBUs: 27
ABV: 6.7% (pre-barrel)
[PAYWALL]
MALT/GRAIN BILL
5 lb (2.3 kg) Mecca Grade Pelton (pilsner)
1.5 lb (680 g) unmalted red wheat
1 lb (454 g) Mecca Grade Shaniko (white wheat malt)
12 oz (340 g) flaked oats
10 oz (283 g) Weyermann Acidulated
9 oz (255 g) spelt malt
5 oz (142 g) Dingemans Munich
5 oz (142 g) rye malt
HOPS SCHEDULE
0.5 oz (14 g) Citra at 90 minutes [22 IBUs]
0.33 oz (9 g) Citra at 10 minutes [5 IBUs]
0.5 oz (14 g) Citra at dry hop
YEAST
Brettanomyces clausenii or preferred Brett strain(s); plus Lallemand Lalvin EC-1118 for bottle conditioning
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and mash at 158°F (70°C) for 60 minutes; raise to 168°F (76°C) and mash out. Recirculate until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge and top up as needed to get about 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops according to the schedule. Chill to 68°F (20°C), aerate, and pitch plenty of healthy yeast. Allow free rise to 70°F (21°C), and ferment at that temperature for about 30 days. Rack into cleaned, steamed wine barrels or other neutral oak with no spirit component left; alternatively, age in glass or stainless. Age for 3–5 months or more and taste until it’s where you like it. (Optionally, brew batches of multiple ages for blending.) Rack again and add dry hops for 2–3 days, then prime, package in sturdy bottles, targeting 3.25 volumes of CO2. Store bottles on their sides in a relatively warm place for 2–3 weeks, then pop and enjoy—but be sure to cellar some for tasting over time.
BREWER’S NOTES
Water: A bit of gypsum can help accentuate the hop character.
Ingredients: Alesong changes grains and hops around, and so can you. However, they generally prefer citrus or tropical hop flavors in conjunction with the Brett. They also use local grains whenever possible. And oats are important: “We’re trying to add mouthfeel to a very dry beer,” Van Wyk says.
Yeast: Use a pitching calculator to pitch your Brett at lager-like rates; for a 5-gallon (19-liter) batch of this gravity, that may be about 460 billion cells—a fresh 3-liter starter should do.
Wood-aging: Alesong has aged this beer as long as 18 months, but then blended it with younger stock. Age as long as you like, and let your taste be your guide.
Bottle-conditioning: Storing the bottles on their side helps to speed up the carbonation. “If you take forever in conditioning, you’ll get flavors and aromas that aren’t great,” Van Wyk says.
