7. Maiden Voyage - Saison


Saison's are all the rage these days and it is easy to see why. They are super versatile and really lend themselves to the be an open palette for the craft brewer. The commercial versions often lend themselves towards Saison Dupot territory which often reads like the descriptors for a white wine: dry, a little tart, hay, grass, sea breeze on the nose, complex. But a whole world of saison's have been cropping up from low alcohol petite Saison's to funky Dark Saisons, to highly hopped IPA like Saisons. I've been impressed with Tank 7 from Boulevard, which is big and more fruity, but still very dry, and notable for the use of american hops.

Fermentables

Ingredient Amount % MCU When
Belgian Pilsen Malt 16lb 0oz 66.7 % 2.3 In Mash/Steeped
Malted Spelt 3lb 0oz 12.5 % 0.6 In Mash/Steeped
Belgian Pale Wheat Malt 2lb 0oz 8.3 % 0.3 In Mash/Steeped
US Rice Hulls 1lb 0oz 4.2 % 0.0 In Mash/Steeped
Sugar - White Sugar/Sucrose 2lb 0oz 8.3 % 0.0 Start Of Boil

Hops

Variety Alpha Amount IBU Form When
US Citra 13.4 % 1.50 oz 29.9 Loose Whole Hops 60 Min From End
US Mount Hood 6.1 % 1.00 oz 9.1 Loose Whole Hops 60 Min From End
US Willamette 5.7 % 1.00 oz 4.2 Loose Whole Hops 15 Min From End
US Crystal 3.4 % 2.00 oz 0.0 Loose Whole Hops At turn off
US Citra 13.4 % 0.50 oz 0.0 Loose Whole Hops At turn off

Other Ingredients

Ingredient Amount When
Irish Moss 1.00 oz In Boil
Yeast Nutrient 1.00 oz In Boil

Yeast

Wyeast 3711-French Saison

Wyeast 3724-Belgian Saison

  Mash Schedule

Mash Type: Full Mash
Schedule Name: Single Step Infusion (66C/151F)

Mash Notes

Added Strikewater at 159deg F Mash settled out at 149deg F at 8:50. 8 gallons would be a little over 1.5qt/lb. Mashed 1 hour.Sparge strike at 180deg F. 6 gallons.

Low efficiency in this one: 72.4%. Pilsen malt? Didn't stir? Spelt? The fact that I had my mash tun valve open when I started mashing and spilled the first running on the floor? Probably some version of all of the above. I am going to add sugar to bring it backup. Probably 2lbs.

Boil Notes

Boil started with 13g at 10:45.Citra & Mount Hood at 11:15.

Willamette at 12:00.

Sugar, Irish Moss and Yeast Nutrient 12:10.

Citra & Crystal at 12:15.
 
Fermentation Notes

6 gallons on the French Saison Yeast, 5 Gallons on the Belgian Saison Yeast. Both kicked off in the high 70s. The Belgian got a brew belt to keep it up there. In the morning both were very vigorous. The stick-on thermometer on the Belgian was off it's chart: at least 83+deg F. The French was at 76.At 2 weeks in primary the French was down to 1.006 the Belgian was down to 1.015. The French had been averaging about 70deg F and the Belgian with the brew belt had stayed up at 80deg F, going up over the stick on thermometer's range for a while in teh beginning.

I let them go one more week. At week 3 the French was at 1.002 and the belgian was at 1.005. Pretty awesome. Both were clearing out and the airlock activity was pretty near done. I blended half of each into a corny keg and racked the other halves to 3g glass carboys without any heat. Both tasted great, though the French was cleaner and fruitier. The Belgian was floral and still a little raw on the yeast spice. I figured the Tank 7 Saison to be Belgian but I think it is made with the French strain based on the first tasting. It will be interesting to see how they evolve.


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7. Maiden Voyage - Saison


Saison's are all the rage these days and it is easy to see why. They are super versatile and really lend themselves to the be an open palette for the craft brewer. The commercial versions often lend themselves towards Saison Dupot territory which often reads like the descriptors for a white wine: dry, a little tart, hay, grass, sea breeze on the nose, complex. But a whole world of saison's have been cropping up from low alcohol petite Saison's to funky Dark Saisons, to highly hopped IPA like Saisons. I've been impressed with Tank 7 from Boulevard, which is big and more fruity, but still very dry, and notable for the use of american hops.

Fermentables

Ingredient Amount % MCU When
Belgian Pilsen Malt 16lb 0oz 66.7 % 2.3 In Mash/Steeped
Malted Spelt 3lb 0oz 12.5 % 0.6 In Mash/Steeped
Belgian Pale Wheat Malt 2lb 0oz 8.3 % 0.3 In Mash/Steeped
US Rice Hulls 1lb 0oz 4.2 % 0.0 In Mash/Steeped
Sugar - White Sugar/Sucrose 2lb 0oz 8.3 % 0.0 Start Of Boil

Hops

Variety Alpha Amount IBU Form When
US Citra 13.4 % 1.50 oz 29.9 Loose Whole Hops 60 Min From End
US Mount Hood 6.1 % 1.00 oz 9.1 Loose Whole Hops 60 Min From End
US Willamette 5.7 % 1.00 oz 4.2 Loose Whole Hops 15 Min From End
US Crystal 3.4 % 2.00 oz 0.0 Loose Whole Hops At turn off
US Citra 13.4 % 0.50 oz 0.0 Loose Whole Hops At turn off

Other Ingredients

Ingredient Amount When
Irish Moss 1.00 oz In Boil
Yeast Nutrient 1.00 oz In Boil

Yeast

Wyeast 3711-French Saison

Wyeast 3724-Belgian Saison

  Mash Schedule

Mash Type: Full Mash
Schedule Name: Single Step Infusion (66C/151F)

Mash Notes

Added Strikewater at 159deg F Mash settled out at 149deg F at 8:50. 8 gallons would be a little over 1.5qt/lb. Mashed 1 hour.Sparge strike at 180deg F. 6 gallons.

Low efficiency in this one: 72.4%. Pilsen malt? Didn't stir? Spelt? The fact that I had my mash tun valve open when I started mashing and spilled the first running on the floor? Probably some version of all of the above. I am going to add sugar to bring it backup. Probably 2lbs.

Boil Notes

Boil started with 13g at 10:45.Citra & Mount Hood at 11:15.

Willamette at 12:00.

Sugar, Irish Moss and Yeast Nutrient 12:10.

Citra & Crystal at 12:15.
 
Fermentation Notes

6 gallons on the French Saison Yeast, 5 Gallons on the Belgian Saison Yeast. Both kicked off in the high 70s. The Belgian got a brew belt to keep it up there. In the morning both were very vigorous. The stick-on thermometer on the Belgian was off it's chart: at least 83+deg F. The French was at 76.At 2 weeks in primary the French was down to 1.006 the Belgian was down to 1.015. The French had been averaging about 70deg F and the Belgian with the brew belt had stayed up at 80deg F, going up over the stick on thermometer's range for a while in teh beginning.

I let them go one more week. At week 3 the French was at 1.002 and the belgian was at 1.005. Pretty awesome. Both were clearing out and the airlock activity was pretty near done. I blended half of each into a corny keg and racked the other halves to 3g glass carboys without any heat. Both tasted great, though the French was cleaner and fruitier. The Belgian was floral and still a little raw on the yeast spice. I figured the Tank 7 Saison to be Belgian but I think it is made with the French strain based on the first tasting. It will be interesting to see how they evolve.


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