Rustic or Farmhouse Lager??

A kellerbier with some unusual grains would be interesting. Not sure I'd be interested in a POF+ lager, but it's your project, so . . .

 

I have not made one, but I am looking to give it a go sometime. I was thinking a Pilsner with rye and/ or wheat or flaked corn. And pitching some Brett along with lager yeast. Ferment at lager temps for a few days and then raise temp for d-rest and let Brett do its thing. Maybe store keg at room temp for a while before lagering too?

 

I really dug this beer
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/25696/377361/

 

The only "issue" that I have with this process is that Brett sp. grow slowly to begin with and even more so at cool temperatures. Even at room temperature, many Brett ferments can take up to 8 weeks to fully attenuate. Colder ferments can take MUCH longer, as your Brett may go completely dormant.

 

It's not as unusual as you'd expect. It's a cliche for me to say such a thing, but people tend to think too rigidly with beer types. In biere de garde brewing, both "ale" and 'lager" yeast cultures were used, and the beers were also lagered in the sense that they had a long cold aging period.

In the case of Dupont, I've heard they even use their "house culture" for their pilsner. Just the thought of that would cause many people's heads to crack open.

So my (non-homebrewer) advice is to think outside the "norm" if you want.

BTW - What podcast was it?

 

I have never tasted their pilsner, but the brewery says it is bottom fermented, meaning a lager strain is used.

 

I’m interested. Try it out and report back. With the lagering and Brett this will probably take a few months.

 

Yeah, I know. Just trying to think of a way to do this without bottle conditioning. Why couldn’t you secondary with Brett? Ferment as a lager, secondary with Brett, then lager.

 

I've seen that description on their website. The info I'm referring to is directly from my correspondence with the brewery. I'm not convinced that either interpretation and/or bit of info is accurate... which is why I only said "I've heard." It's possible that the person answering me was uninformed, answering too quickly, or at a disadvantage due to translation issues.

 

Allagash has a brett Pilsner:
https://www.allagash.com/blog/pilsner-with-brettanomyces-new-from-allagash/

“The lower fermentation temp changes the profile of the flavors and aromas yeast will create. So our Brettanomyces, used to dining at higher temperatures, adds a mellower fruit character to the already smooth lager flavor in the beer.”

 

So . . . cold ferment with a lager strain, then an extended warm fermentation with Brett, then lager the entire thing?

Would LOVE to hear the results if one of you guys does this. Brett can do some pretty cool things with sulfur based compounds because of it's high enzymatic activity, specifically carbon sulfur lyases and alcohol acetyltransferases. Kinda like those boutique yeast strains that liberate volatile thiols that are used in the wine industry to make wines like Sauvignon Blanc.

 

Yeah, think I’ll give this a go... but I might have to wait until next month to brew. I can let you know what happens.

 

I think Norwegian farmer-brewers did something like this occasionally. Whatever grain they have, lager yeast from the local commercial brewery, rustic technique.

 

I am unfamiliar with the Norwegian farmers brewing with lager yeasts but they certainly do produce Norwegian Farmhouse Ales:

http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/366.html

Cheers!

 

Lost Abbey also makes a Farmhouse Lager: http://lostabbey.com/beer/farmhouse/

 

The traditional product was definitely made with ale yeast (and some very interesting strains!) but in the 20th century they sometimes got lazy and borrowed yeast from the nearest commercial brewery, which often used lager yeast. Depending on fermentation temperature the character of the beer might have not been changed as much as we would expect.

 

I brewed a Pils like this a while ago. I did a SMaSH with German Pils and Tettnang hops. Used WLP830 yeast. Came in around 4.5% ABV. I open fermented it very warm (ambient ~70F) and then let it age for a few months before bottling. Came out pretty delicious, in my opinion. I'd make it again.