Beer of the Month Club January 2025: Brettanomyces

BRETTANOMYCES

To start off the year we will be looking at one of my favorite topics to read about in both wine and beer: yeast! Most wines and beers are fermented with the genus Saccharomyces cerevisiae, also known as baker’s yeast, used for its reliability in gobbling up simple sugars and turning them into alcohol, carbon dioxide, and a wide array of different compounds that give fermented food and drink the flavors we love. A lot of these other strains were (and still are) considered spoilage organisms, though some brewers and winemakers are starting to see the benefits of letting these various yeast coexist as they can add an added layer of complexity to the finished drink when managed properly. Brettanomyces bruxellensis, commonly referred to as Brett, is one of these “wild” yeasts that are often found on the skins of fruit, and have a complicated history with the makers of fermented products. While generally lumped into the spoilage organism category in wine, cider, and dairy due to its tendency to create off-flavors in large quantities, in very small quantities they impart notes of spice and leather and a pleasant earthiness.

Brett has had far more success in beer and cider. It was first isolated and identified at the turn of the last century by Danish scientist Niels Hjelte Claussen at what was then Carlsberg Laboratory. Along with a few other breweries around Europe, including Guinness in Ireland and Kalinkin in Russia, he began working on replicating the complexity of aged English porters and noticed the slow growing yeast found in these beers. The use of the yeast exploded and multiple strains have since been cultivated for use in brewing beer across the world. It’s distinctive earthiness and ability to consume certain sugars that Saccharomyces cannot has helped to create a range of complex, ageable ales in a range of styles from sour and fruity lambics and Flanders ales, rich mouth-coating barleywines, and light, dry pale ales. 

Von Ebert Brewing was founded by father and son Tom M. Cook and Tom S. Cook. It was originally the Portland outpost of Ohio-based Fat Head’s Brewery before being renamed in 2018 in honor of the German-born matriarch of the family. They launched to acclaim with Head Brewer Sean Burke who had previously helped launch The Commons Brewery in the Portland area. After Burke moved on to start his own project, they promoted the former Head Brewer of their original Pearl St. location, Sam Pecoraro, to Head Brewer of the whole operation. Von Ebert has racked up a slew of awards across the country, most recently receiving gold in multiple categories in the 2024 International Beer Awards, World Beer Cup, Best of Craft Beer Awards, and the Oregon Beer Awards.

Alesong Brewing and Blending was started in 2015 by brothers Brian and Doug Coombs with Head Blender Matt Van Wyk. Brian, a formally trained chemist from the University of Oregon, left his job working as a R&D chemist for the US Army Tank, Automotive, Research, Development, and Engineering Center in Detroit to work with his former mentor Matt, a former high school science teacher who had caught the brewing bug and trained at the Siebel Institute of Technology, at Oakshire Brewing in Eugene, OR. The two worked closely together before Brian began traveling the world to improve his knowledge of barrel-aging and fermentation. On his return Brian convinced Matt and his brother Doug, who had been working in the wine industry in California, to start their own project. In the 9 years they have been operating they have won over 75 awards, most recently receiving Brewery of the Year last year at the Great American Beer Festival. 

Cheers! 

Justin Malesheetz

Beer Buyer