#65: Bret, Brett, and Bretts

Hopefully distance does make the heart grow fonder, because Matty and Noah have found themselves alone once again. We reflect on the handful of guest conversations we've been privileged to over the last five weeks, but end up back where we always do: Allagash. Jason Perkins brought Brettanomyces to the forefront of Matty's mind via thoughts of Allagash's almighty Bret Michaels. So he uses a recent BBB3R release - Fire Road - to set the stage for a conversation all about the most misunderstood yeast in the game. 
We talk about the seemingly infinite kinds of flavors that Brett can leave its mark through and try to go further than the grossly overused note of "funk" and "horse blanket", seriously questioning the percentage of the beer-drinking populus that has ever come within 100 feet of an actual barnyard. Noah also shares the brewery's method to try to actually become familiar with sensory "notes" commonly associated with Brett fermentations, like mango, passionfruit, lemongrass (Spoiler alert - the trick is to smell and taste the real thing). We also get into the rationale behind dry-hopping a mixed-ferm beer like Fire Road, the effect dry hops can have on the finished product, and the status of his quest to develop a true house culture for the brewery.
Regardless of its many, many different possible attributes, the overall "wild" character Brettanomyces can add to a beer is described as such for a reason, and this is not the first nor the last time we'll dive into a conversation exclusively about this beautifully confusing microorganism. Even so, it felt like we made some modicum of process...If not, at least the Three Bay is fun.............................     .................................................     ......................................... Music: "Mountain Climb" by Jake Hill