This time of year it just makes sense to brew a Saison! I'll be brewing up a 10 gallon batch of Saison Brett in the next few days utilizing the long evening to light up my brew sculpture and the high heats in my upstairs attic to truly make a refreshing seasonal drink!
The plan is to do Saison Brett with Pale, Pilsner, Red Wheat, Unmalted Wheat and Vienna malts.. Amarillo and Strisselspalt hops and split the batch two different ways. Both will get a small dose of Wyeast French Saison 3711 yeast. One will get a healthy dose of White Labs Brett C, and the other will be a healthy dose of Brett Drie! Should be some tasty beers in about 3-4 months and will age well for 2 years! I highly recommend using a traditonal Saison step mash when brewing Saison's to get a nice huge rocky head. Here's what I do with much success!
Protein Rest at 112 degrees for 20 minutes
Peptidase rest at 136 degrees for 25 minutes
Saccrification Rest at 145 for 30 minutes
Dextrine rest at 154 for 15 minutes
Sparge at 170 for 10 minutes to get a total of 14 gallons.
Hope you'all can get out and brew on this beautiful Summer Solstice evening! Even more so..I really hope that you have some Saison do drink on these beautiful evenings. I've been drinking my first ever Saison Brett C, and Saison Brett L versions that are tasting amazing at 1.5 years old. I also have a newer ECY Saison Brett that is 4 months old that is tasting really good right now, but will taste even better next year this time!
Cheers!
Great post good sir. I tried a single step infusion mash the 1st time i brewed a saison, but I will give your stepped approach a go the next time i brew one.
ReplyDeleteAgain, great post!
Great sounding beers. We have very similar tastes.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of the step mash, but it is too much effort on my system. So I try to use some un-malted grain to boost that head retention.
I just brewed 20 gals of Table Saison to experiment with in a bunch of different ways. I'll post about it later today.
I actually add my Brett at bottling so I can make more varieties and not have to use a carboy (my space is limited). I'd be curious if the flavor development is any different.
I look forward to hearing about how you split up that 20 gallons! I've done Brett C(pineapple) and Brett L(very funky with a little bit of Pineapple) side by side and I'm really excited to try Brett C next to Brett Drie.
ReplyDeleteI've always added brett into either Primary or Secondary, never at bottling.
Step mashing is not very hard actually. Just mash in at the protein rest and then add boiling water to reach your next steps!
ReplyDeleteOk, you're right I should probably try it. The big rocky head is an important part to the Saison at least visually.
DeleteSo do you start with a very thick Mash like ~1qt/lb? And what ratio do you think you end up with?
It's money, especially for pilsner malt! Start very thick (1qt/lb probably), and then it obviously thins out. I try and keep the water to a rolling boil up until the very moment I bring it over for my next mash step as to minimize the amount of water going into each step. Then once I drain my first runnings I adjust the quantity of sparge water needed accordingly. It works out smoother then you think because you just keep that "hot liquor" boiling and add as much as you need!
ReplyDeleteGuess it really is the Saison Season! I just brewed up my first Saison-esque brew, using raw spelt, red wheat, and quinoa. Fermenting it with 100% Brett (the White Labs Platinum Brett Strain - Brett. b. Trois WLP644). I took my inspiration from the Crooked Stave Project.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize Saisons were something that could sit around for so long. I was thinking it would be a "quick" summer beer, but I guess with the Brett it might take more time than I originally thought.
Saison's definitely can be ready to drink very quickly, but also can be cellared quite well. With my Saison Bretta's I usually let them sit in Primary for 3-4 months before thinking about bottling. With 100% Brett fermentation like you did.... that beer could be ready in as little as 2 months! That Brett Trios (Brett Drie from Drie Fonteinen) is a very fruity variety of Brett so it should make a very nice Saison type beer (I'm sure you know this if you were inspired by CS.) I just sampled a Biere De Garde this weekend that I fermented 100% brett Drie and it is a very tasty beer indeed and very much like a Saison (not quite dry enough)!
ReplyDeleteWith the Saison Brett's that are 1.5 years old. They started out more fruity (pineapple) and are aging out and becoming more funky (like a Lambic type funk). Not sour though.