Mo Betta Bretta vs Brett Beer

I don't think I have had the opportunity to drink two beers side by side that were the same beer but by different brewers. This one was going to be a real treat. Especially since I have never had Mo Betta Bretta before but I did get to experience Brett Beer at the New Belgium Brewery. Also, being I cannot get beers from The Lost Abbey here, @LouieM23 sent me a bottle.

From The Lost Abbeys blog.

A long time ago (well, 2004) in a Pizza Port not so far away (Solana Beach, CA), Tomme Arthur and New Belgium’s Peter Bouckaert brewed an all Brettanomyces beer they called Mo’ Betta Bretta.

In April of this year Peter flew from Colorado and the two joined forces once again — this time at The Lost Abbey — to do a refresh of that beer. Below is a video of what happened that day. The beer was released at the brewery on June 9th and should be hitting shelves near you the week of the June 18th.

Here are the facts from the New Belgium page on the beer.

The best part of collaboration is discovering mutual passions. With Lost Abbey, it is the wild, Belgian yeast Brettanomyces. The Lost Abbey Collaboration is brewed simply with pale malts, accompanied by Target, Centennial and Sorachi Ace hops for a hint of citrus. But the brettanomyces is in the spotlight; a full brett fermentation offers bold pineapple overtones and a funky, sour edge. The shining, golden shade is specked with haze, and the beer is warming and dry. The Lost Abbey Collaboration is full of wild wonder and will leave you wanting more.

Going through all that, I was wondering how I would like it. I decided to start with The Lost Abbey version of the beer, Mo Betta Bretta.



The Mo Betta Bretta was pretty nice. Dry and grainy but there was enough citrus on the back end to make it pleasing. The beer had a great body and a nice bubbling sensation in the mouth. Not too floral or spicy but a great herbal character. I expected it to be more sour than it was but I guess that was not the approach of this beer. Something I would drink day in and day out. An excellent beer.



Now it was time to move onto the New Belgium Beer. I thought the Brett Beer was very bready and the Belgian tones were more in your face than that of the Mo Betta. The graininess of this beer was fairly light by comparison though it did still have that poppy bubbly feeling. The spiciness of the beer was at a minimum. I heard that this version was accidentally pasteurized. I don't know if that has anything to do with it but you know.

Maybe it was not a good idea to do these two side by side because I feel they are both excellent beers but when looking at them like this, the Mo Betta Bretta is clearly the better beer. I could only look back on my notes for it while I was drinking the Brett Beer. I guess that goes to show you though.

Cheers!