Here we go... The pineapple characteristic your after is not exclusive to B. claussenii. And not everyone perceives aroma in the same way. I have seen the Orval Brett form pineapple type aromas and also leathery musty aromas in other beers. This will ultimately come down to the types of hops you used and brewing technique... Independent results will be achieved by each brewer due to limitations of brewing experience and raw materials used. Citra is a great choice as it will accentuate the aromatic and citrusy flavors you're looking for.
In my research with eight strains of Brettanomyces, I found B. claussenii to be a very slow fermenter when it came to primary fermentation. The higher the acidity the greater the attenuation. Also the fermentations were only given 35 days to primary ferment so maybe in 2 months you could get the character and attenuation your looking for. It eventually happens.
So which B. claussenii you would like to use. Wyeast: I find this strain to be on the fruitier side but will often impart slight metallic aromas again depends on your raw materials. Whitelabs: this can produce fruity aromas but I find it to lack much character when used as a single strain. I have not seen evidence which show what's bought in the homebrew cultures is pure. What you get in the homebrew cultures also includes Pichia, and two forms of lacto.. Now this combination makes a great beer due to the slight possibility of fruitiness from the Pichia and sourness that occurs due to the lacto, and gives a "typical" Brett beer type aroma and flavor.
With that said I have had some beers that came through with some slight lemon aromas lately.. one of which was the Wyeast B. claussenii in secondary but it was coupled with a horsey, catpiss aromas but opened up with lemon verbena and some mustiness. Its Brett and even if you do a controlled primary there are going to be characteristic Brett aromas. But whats wrong with these.. that's to each there own.
Another Brett that is great but not available is the Drie strain... Think Brute from Ithica.. One of the best Brett beer in my opinion... that beer also takes about 10+ months to produce...
So in short, if your looking for the pineapple in two months from using B. claussenii, I don't think its going happen. Instead I think you should use B. claussenii in a big Belgian IPA.. lite on the bitterness and heavy on the late hops, and see what happens, because using Brettanomyces is a unique experience where the possibilities are endless and the results can be amazing.. and they also will be ever changing.. there will be no final flavor in a beer with Brettanomyces unless it is pasterized, otherwise its ever evolving.
Try making the Brett beer first and seeing how it progresses after 2 months.. if its looking good, then brew the Belgian style IPA and thread the two... If the results are good.. bottle with minimal but sufficient priming sugar as the Brett will continue to digest additional sugars while in the bottle and overtime... Secondly try to rack the IPA off the yeast as much as possible.. Lots of Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces together over time produce goaty flavors...
Cheers,
Chad Yakobson
