Style of the Week: Saison!

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June 24, 2016 by fhsteinbart

Typical Saison Export served in a standard Chalice style glass.

I hear from a lot of customer’s who do not have temperature controlled fermentation that they simply cannot brew until it cools down to more reasonable temperatures. What they’re really saying is that they cannot brew the kind of beers that they usually make that require a cooler temperature due to the type of yeast that they’re using. The yeast drive the character of the beer, and the aroma and flavor characteristics change with temperature. While some yeasts balk at higher than usual temperatures, and will make hot fusel alcohols and esters, some are quite happy with warmer than usual temperatures. So when the weather gets hot, consider making a beer that likes the heat, and makes a great tasting beer regardless of the heat. Saisons typically ferment in the low to mid 80’s in degrees Fahrenheit. I ferment almost all my Saisons in the 80° ~ 90° range anyways, and get it all done in less than a week. Below is a recipe of mine that makes a very tasty, mildly hoppy version of what’s considered an export version of this style.

 

Extract:

• 7 lbs. Light or Extra Light LME
• 8 oz. Flaked Wheat
• 8 oz. Flaked Oats
• 8 oz. Vienna Malt
• 1 lb. Clear Candi Sugar
• 2 oz. Golding Hops (Bittering, Aroma)
• Whirlfloc tablet or Irish Moss
• ¼ oz. Calcium Chloride Salts in the boil.
• ¼ oz. Orange Peel and/or 1/8oz. coriander
• Wyeast 3711, WLP590, Imperial Napoleon, or Danstar Belle Saison Yeast

Instructions:

• Heat 2½ gallons of water to 155°F.
• Turn off heat and add LME, stirring until fully dissolved, then add water to volume.
• Place grains in a steeping bag and steep at 155°F to 165°F for 30 min. Remove grain.
• Return to heat, bring to boil for 10 min., then add bittering hops.
• At 15 minutes remaining in the boil, add a Whirfloc tablet.
• Add 1 oz. Aroma hops (Golding) with 10 minutes remaining.
• At 5 minutes add the orange peel, and any other spices you desire.
• After boil has finished, turn off heat, and cool wort by placing kettle in an ice bath or use a wort chiller (0 min).
• Add mixture to fermenter, removing hops, and bring total volume to 5 gallons using non-distilled bottled water or filtered tap water.
• Aerate unfermented wort (shaking works well).
• Pitch yeast and ferment at 70° F , allowing temp to rise until completed (about a week).
• Allow to age an additional four to six weeks before packaging up as usual.

All Grain:

• 10 lbs. Belgian Pale Ale Malt
• 8 oz. Flaked Wheat
• 8 oz. Flaked Oats
• 8 oz. Vienna Malt
• 1 lb. Clear Candi Sugar

• 2 oz. Golding Hops (Bittering, Aroma)

• ¼ oz. Calcium Chloride Salts in the mash and in the boil
• Whirlfloc tablet or Irish Moss
• ¼ oz. Orange Peel and/or 1/8 oz. coriander
• Wyeast 3711, WLP590, Imperial Napoleon, or Danstar Belle Saison Yeast  

  Procedure:

• Mash grains with 16 quarts of water at 152°F for 1 hour. Sparge to 6½ gallons wort then bring to boil for 10 min. Add 1 oz. bittering hops (Golding, 60 min). Add 1 oz. Aroma hops and Whirlfloc tablet or Irish Moss with 10 min remaining. At 5 minutes add Orange Peel. At 0 minutes, cool wort and pitch yeast, fermenting at 70° F. Allow the temperature to rise naturally and hold at ~85° F. until finished.
• Package up as usual; bottled versions should use 130 gms. corn sugar (approx. 1 cup), or kegged to 30 psig, and allow two weeks to come into condition. Serve at 45°~50°F in a Goblet or Chalice style glass, share, and enjoy! This beer will continue to evolve and change over the coming months, so make enough to last you through your next brew.