About Brett

[zadvocate]

I entered 2 wines in the amateur wine competition recently. They both received silver medals. They sent me the judges comments and couple of them cited Brett. I may not be an expert in what it tastes or smells like, but i don't think I have ever noticed that in my wines. I understand some Brett is actually desired by some winemakers. I don't know what to do about this? I don' want my wine to have Brett.

I have a lot of wine storing right now that will need to be bottled in the next 6 months.

 

[mainshipfred]

You are correct in that it gives a sometimes favorable flavor profile although we probably don't want it. I can't taste or smell it. I went to a wine class on time where they were talking about flaws in wine and one being brett. We tasted 3 wines and had to tell which of the 3 had brett. Over half the people in the class could tell which it was. Funny thing was once they told us noone liked the brett wine. Didn't bother me at all.

 

[ibglowin]

Do you have wine being aged in barrels?

 

[user 36973]

Brett is usually described as "barnyard" or like a sweaty horse blanket. You really only find it in contaminated older wood. So unless you aged it in a used barrel, it seems unlikely to me that would have Brett.

I would take the judges comments and weigh them with your own nose and experience. I've judged at the Indy Int'l competition and found the experience level among the judges varies considerably. Some are indeed expert commercial winemakers while others fall in the "knowledgeable hobby" group.

 

[cmason1957]

And for what it is worth, there are some folks that taste Brett in almost everything. I was at a hosted vertical wine tasting of Pinot Noirs a few years back. All from the same winery. The guy sitting next to me tasted Brett in probably 9 out of 10 of the tastes we had. my wife and I later said we might have, if we tried really, really hard have detected a slight amount of barnyard in one of them, but even that was a stretch. And I detect it in sour beers at even the lowest level, not my kinda thing.

 

[zadvocate]

No I did not use a barrel. I am taking their comments with a grain of salt but I will keep an eye out or should I say nose out for the future presence of Brett. As always thanks for all your comments they’re very helpful.

 

[ibglowin]

If you don't have a your wines being aged in a barrel you have zero chance of any Brett infection in your wine.

No I did not use a barrel. I am taking their comments with a grain of salt but I will keep an eye out or should I say nose out for the future presence of Brett. As always thanks for all your comments they’re very helpful.

 

[zadvocate]

Thanks that is goof to know. I did oak them but that was with staves in carboys.

 

[ibglowin]

Brett resides in older barrels not in oak adjuncts.

Thanks that is goof to know. I did oak them but that was with staves in carboys.

 

[mainshipfred]

I believe if Brett comes in contact with other equipment though it can contaminate it as well. My barrel company advertises this. No idea of the cost, never asked.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y6VZ0XrAUnMSgmPTnm2_GNmJ321vzwM7/view

 

[Johnd]

Here's a pretty well written article about our buddy Brett.............

https://winemakermag.com/1648-brettanomyces

 

[Zintrigue]

If you don't have a your wines being aged in a barrel you have zero chance of any Brett infection in your wine.

I respectfully disagree. In hotter, dryer climates like mine it's probably easier to disperse in the air. Either case, I contracted it in my one gallon equipment and it was the most awful thing ever. Mousey, barnyardy, vomitty smell in my wine. And a film over the top of the wine that wanted to fuzz over. I tried everything to remove it the Bretts from my equipment (boiling, bleaching, baking, etc) and nothing got it out of my tubing or carboy. Thankfully it was just the one gallon stuff, but what a nightmare. Now I never leave the towel up during fermentation, and make sure the only moisture sitting in any equipment when I'm done is sanitizer.

(it should be noted, though, that the wine that got infected was actually a cherry wine made from frozen cherries, not a kit wine. But no barrel present here...)