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I've read that Brett will consume sugars that other yeast strains cannot. Is this true? I couldn't really find too much information on it.

If this is the case, should I be worried about over carbonating my beer if I only use Brett for bottling? Do I need to adjust the amount of priming sugar I use or is the amount of additional fermentable sugar negligible when it comes to CO2 production during bottling?

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  • Hmmm...Is the beer you are carbonating, was it fermented with 100% Brettanomyces? Or was it standard yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae? Adding Brett to a beer for priming, if the beer is already full of regular yeast, will not yield much in the end. You would have to sanitize the beer with a Campden tablet or something and then add the Brett. Honestly, I can't believe you would get much Brett flavor or character by just priming with it.
    – TinCoyote
    May 24, 2010 at 20:16
  • I was just thinking about using a normal yeast for fermentation and Brett for bottling (like the Orval Trappist ale). I would probably let my beer rest in the secondary for a month or so, then bottle with Brett for just a little Brett flavor.
    – Room3
    May 24, 2010 at 20:40
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    Well brett is so slow, that your primary fermentation strain will do most of the carbonating. As for the over carb threat, it might be a concern, but I don't know how much.
    – brewchez
    May 25, 2010 at 12:31

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I think your best bet would be to ferment with your primary yeast as planned. Transfer to secondary. Pitching in the brett to finish of what residual and non fermentables it can. This might take a few months.

Then I'd bottle as usual, maybe even adding a 1/4 packet of dried ale yeast to ensure you get carbonations.

That way if it is possible to get a little brett flavor by pitching brett late as you suggest, you'll ferment off the danger of bottle bombs.

If you try it out this way or another, I'd like to hear the results someday, so check back here and repost with a comment, or look up my profile and email me the results.

Cheers and good luck.

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  • I plan on starting this one in about a month. I think I'll go with your suggestion, and hopefully I remember to come back here with the results.
    – Room3
    May 26, 2010 at 16:35
  • I've used this method as well - Unless you've brewed a similar recipe and know what the FG will settle out at after Brett, you should go this route. I added carb tabs to mine, per normal instructions, and it came out perfectly carbonated and Brett-flavored.
    – Brandon
    Dec 13, 2010 at 18:02

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