The Turncloak (100% "Brett" IPA) -- Brew Day

This beer is the last of the brews that I have planned to potentially send on to NHC if they pan out alright.  This is the third beer that I've done that has featured a 100% Brett fermentation, the second featuring Brett Trois.  Well...kind of.

Apparently, Omega Labs had the strain genetically sequenced and it appears that Brett Trois isn't actually Brettanomyces at all, but in fact it is Saccharomyces.  Seeing as the brewing community had been assuming this was a Brett strain that was cultured out of bottles of Drie Fonteinen, I imagine there are more than a few 100% Brett fermented beers that will need to be reclassified.  Not so wild anymore, eh?  Well, shiiiit.  I feel betrayed.  This beer has now been named The Turncloak because I just feel so fucking betrayed.

The thinking behind this beer is that I really liked the fruity character that my last Brett IPA achieved, although there are some aspects that I wanted to change up.  For one, I think a lower IBU and a blast of late hops really shine in an IPA like this.  The last Brett IPA had a touch of an astringent bitterness that didn't mesh wonderfully with the yeast characteristics.  Additionally, after nerding out to 2.5 hours of Chad Yakobsen talking about how to design Brett beers on YouTube, I'm adding a little bit of flaked oats to provide some mouthfeel as Brett is usually lacking the ability to produce glycerol during fermentation.

For the hop bill, I've decided to use some new-to-me hops, Ahtanum and Delta.  I wanted to anchor the beer with Galaxy, one of my all time favorite hops, and combine it with some hops that have some more complex, fruity flavors.  I plan to use a massive dry-hop on this one and then crash and fine with gelatin.  I've noticed that gelatin strips hop aromatics from the beer, also found here, so I'm going to compensate with a larger dry hop.

Although it may not be a Brett beer, I'm hoping it still makes a killer IPA.

The Turncloak - 100% "Brett" IPA
5.5 gallon batch -- 90 minute boil
Est OG: 1.066
Est FG: 1.005
Est ABV: 8%
IBU: 71
SRM: 4.4

11.25lb 2-Row Malt
3.750lb White Wheat Malt
1.000lb Flaked Oats

1.50oz Centennial @ FWH (45 IBU)
2.00oz Ahtanum @ Steep 10 minutes (5 IBU)
2.00oz Delta @ Steep 10 minutes (5 IBU)
2.00oz Galaxy @ Steep 10 minutes (15 IBU)
0.50oz Centennial @ Steep 10 minutes (3 IBU)

2.00oz Ahtanum @ Dry Hop 5 Days
2.00oz Delta @ Dry Hop 5 Days
2.00oz Galaxy @ Dry Hop 5 Days

1250ml starter of White Labs Brett Brux Trois

Mash @ 152F for 60 minutes

1/19/2015 -- Brewed by myself.  Hit 84% mash efficiency.  Gathered 5.5 gallons of 1.072 wort.  Fermenting away at 65F in my basement.  Blew the airlock and sprayed some crap all over.

1/21/2015 -- Raised temp to 75F over a couple of days.