#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