New Belgium and Lost Abbey’s Brett Beer reportedly “accidentally pasteurized”
Normally, brett beers get drier and sharper on the palate with time. Unfortunately, due to the fact this beer was accidentally pasteurized, it will not mature with time and, therefore, is best drunk now.
Note: this is the version of Brett Beer brewed at New Belgium with Lost Abbey (not Mo’ Betta Bretta). If I recall correctly, however, all of the Lips of Faith beers are intentionally pasteurized for quality control reasons (keeping that wiley Brettanomyces at bay!).
via San Diego Reader.
Breweries: New Belgium Brewing Co., The Lost Abbey
Beers: Brett Beer
who cares? mo betta bretta is terrible, this can’t be any worse.
This beer missed, the Brett wasn’t hitting on cylinders. Mayne it was the pasteurization, or maybe it is just the fact that many brewers are bottling beers these days that should have stayed in the development stage. Buy I’m sure some one enjoyed it, and that counts for something.
Accidentally? Hahahaha, they pasteurize all their beers! Do NOT be fooled!
I did not care for this beer at all….I was mad having spent money on it…….Im glad they said this because I considered aging a bottle thinking it was too young.
I quite liked this beer. It was one of the better examples of how brett can develop into fruity flavors (pineapple in this case). I forget the specific strain.
I question the use of “accidentally” in the San Diego Reader article, by Brandon Hernandez. In an interview between the blog Embrace The Funk (ETF) and Lauren Salazar, the “sensory specialist” for New Belgium, the following was exchanged regarding ‘Brett Beer’:
ETF- Let’s talk for a second about the NB/Lost Abbey collaboration “Brett Beer”. Was Brett Beer pasteurized and can you give an idea on the Brett used?
Lauren- The Lost Abbey is fermented with bretta then filtered, not bottle conditioned. When I talk about pasteurization, I am talking about sour beers- locking a blend in and keeping our stainless cellar clean- this is a different process- we ferment with Brett, then filter the yeast out like other regular beers- we achieve a specific flavor profile and alcohol content and we’re done. The bretta used was a combination of ours and Lost Abbey’s bretta cultures.
This link also provides insight into the Lips of Faith series: http://lambicandwildale.com/2012/07/02/not-so-wild-ales/ ; along with some interesting thoughts and the author quoting the same interview with Lauren: “She says that pasteurization has “a side effect, but it’s a wonderful side effect. It locks the blend that I produce into place. ..You know some people store beers like Geuze for a really long time and what they don’t realize is that blender painstakingly made that blend. The blender tasted all their barrels and said “This percentage of this barrel, this percentage of this one etc..”. That person brought all those together, tasted it and said “Perfect.” But 3 years later, who knows what it’s like if its not pasteurized. So when you pasteurize you can definitely lock in the blend, but it can also oxidize.”
Thanks, Todd. That’s what I was referring to in my blurb below the quote. Probably should’ve dug up that link, too.
I question where the writer of the San Diego Reader piece got his information?