Lakefront Brett infection?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by allforbetterbeer, May 2, 2013.

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  1. allforbetterbeer

    allforbetterbeer Savant (1,236) Sep 26, 2009 Colorado

    I live in Colorado and have not seen Lakefront beers here very often. A local store was offering a mixed 8-pack of Lakefront beers at discount, so I bought it. I have opened 3 bottles so far and two of them have been heavily infected with Brett (both lagers). I am just curious if any of you have heard of a brewery-wide Brett problem at lakefront this spring? Both of these bottles were from the last 2-3 months.
     
    #1 allforbetterbeer, May 2, 2013
  2. sgwagner

    sgwagner Initiate (0) Feb 22, 2012 Wisconsin

    That one's new to me. I live in the Milwaukee area, so Lakefront can be found pretty much anywhere and everywhere. Haven't had a bad bottle yet. If it was a mixed 8-pack, and at a discount, I'm guessing that they were nearing their expiration date, and the retailer was trying to get rid of them.

    Just out of curiosity, which lagers were you trying?
     
    #2 sgwagner, May 2, 2013
  3. sgwagner

    sgwagner Initiate (0) Feb 22, 2012 Wisconsin

    Now that I think about it, if it was a Brett-like off-flavor, it could have been from some of the lactobacillus that they've been using to make their Berliner Weiss (Checkpoint Charlie). To my knowledge, this is a relatively new offering by Lakefront, which I personally really like, but it definitely has a sour Brett like quality to it. Possible cross contamination from one of their fermenting tanks would be my only other guess.

    In any case, I'm sorry to hear that you got a lousy batch!
     
    #3 sgwagner, May 2, 2013
  4. allforbetterbeer

    allforbetterbeer Savant (1,236) Sep 26, 2009 Colorado

    So far the Imperial Maibock, Pils, and amber lager have been infected. Neither of the ales I have opened have been infected. The "bottled on" dates are all within 3 months I think. I may not be the best judge since it seems that I have a very sensitive palate to brett, but these were not beers with a "brett-like" off flavor. I tasted no difference between the three beers, they simply tasted like brett domination. I have experimented with infecting my own homebrews with multiple different strains of brett, so I am fairly familiar with the flavor of a "non-sour" original beer that has been infected.
     
    #4 allforbetterbeer, May 3, 2013
  5. sgwagner

    sgwagner Initiate (0) Feb 22, 2012 Wisconsin

    Huh, I'm stumped! Sorry that you got a crappy batch, but again, as per my experience with Lakefront, this is the first time I've ever heard of anybody having a problem like yours. Don't give up on them though, they still make a damn good beer.

    On that note, if you really like lagers, I'd recommend Sprecher as a good Milwaukee alternative. Even though they're technically (now) outside of the craft beer market (in the truest sense), I think their product rivals some of the best German imports when it comes to quality lagers.
     
    #5 sgwagner, May 3, 2013
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