brewing with brett

I almost chimed in early. The claim that yeast is yeast is just too simplistic for me. We know Brett differs from traditional brewers yeast in lots of different ways.

I'll accept on good faith that the sanitizers that kill Saccharomyces do a good job on Brett too. But even if that is the case, it is not the same as sterilization. If a Saccharomyces strain slips by the goal and unintentionally infects your wort that you will be fermenting with a Saccharomyces strain anyhow, you might never know it. If a Brett strain slips through, and begins infecting your beer, it could change things a bit. This is probably a bigger issue if you age your beer, giving Brett a long time to grow on non-fermentable dextrins (i.e., stuff that Saccharomyces doesn't ferment).

I'm sure the risk is still low, or all you guys who use Brett from time to time would do something different. But it does seem like a possible risk. In my brew house, I keep Brett and bacteria equipment separate from Sacchoarmyces equipment.

 

When I first started brewing wild ales I had separate stuff. But over time it managed to get all mixed up and nothing bad ever happened so I quit worrying about it-I already have enough to worry about.
Many, many years ago in my early brewing days I turned a keg of crappy apple cider into a keg of excellent vinegar, in the keg, by leaving it open in my garage for a month to attract bacteria. Now 15 or 16 years later that same keg has been used for countless batches of beer and I've never had an issue with acetobacter. All I did back then was soak the keg in PBW overnight, sanitize with iodophor overnight and then rinse. I never changed any of the internal o-rings, and today I have no clue which of my dozen pin lock kegs I once used to make vinegar in.
I certainly don't recommend making vinegar in your brewing equipment, and if you feel extra measures are needed then by all means do what fits your style best. Brett contamination is very low on my list of worries in the brewhouse.

 

Thank you for your reply. You certainly have a lot more experience than me in this matter and I respect your knowledge and experience.

Cheers!

 

brett i want to start brewing my own beer i found the kit i need but what kind of water do i need and how do i scald my grains??

 

Acetobacter is a much different microbe than Brett, it needs a good deal of oxygen to create acetic acid (vinegar). For that reason it is a much bigger concern in barrels than it would be in a keg. Brett on the other hand, like brewer's yeast, benefits from oxygen, but by no means requires it.