Summer Saison

A simple inexpensive Saison with a twist of US citrus hops, inspired by the UK craft saisons that were so abundant this year (magic rock, brew by numbers, etc.) Saison is very cheap and easy to brew, capable of withstanding high ferment temps (up to 32c in the case of this yeast) and ready quickly, as well as being a massively versatile style of beer - you can elaborate on this recipe all you like, the important element is to use a proper saison yeast.

In reality this will ferment out to about 1.002 so expect 4.8% from this grain bill. Ramp the temperature up after 3 days of fermentation to ensure proper attenuation.

Recipe Specs
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Batch Size (L): 23.0
Total Grain (kg): 3.800
Total Hops (g): 101.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.039 (°P): 9.8
Final Gravity (FG): 1.010 (°P): 2.6
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 3.83 %
Colour (SRM): 3.0 (EBC): 5.9
Bitterness (IBU): 44.1 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 76
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
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3.800 kg Pale Malt (100%)

Hop Bill
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24.0 g First Gold Leaf (8.3% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (1 g/L)
8.5 g Cascade Leaf (9.2% Alpha) @ 30 Minutes (Boil) (0.4 g/L)
8.5 g First Gold Leaf (8.3% Alpha) @ 30 Minutes (Boil) (0.4 g/L)
12.0 g Cascade Leaf (9.2% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil) (0.5 g/L)
24.0 g Cascade Leaf (7.8% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil) (1 g/L)
24.0 g Cascade Leaf (7.8% Alpha) @ 7 Days (Dry Hop) (1 g/L)

Misc Bill
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Single step Infusion at 66°C for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 20°C with Mangrove Jack's M27 Belgian Ale

Looks very nice Rob .
Don't forget you don't have to have the yeast drop the gravity so low by adding plenty of speciality malts and step mashing to gain extra body .
I myself did 1 a few weeks back ( all gone , need to brew it again) and managed to get the yeast to finish at 1012 with a lovely mouth feel and at a reasonable 4.6% abv .

Nice one Wish I'd done that during the high temps .......... I did a Weiss bier and it was OK ish. I must remember this for next year .

That sounds lovely Rob. I make something similar in my Galaxy Gold Saison which uses Galaxy instead of Cascade.

http://beersmithrecipes.com/viewrecipe/ ... old-saison

I really like MJ M27. It is a great dry yeast for Saison.

I read that First Gold can be used as a sub for Challenger. Do you think I could use Challenger in place of the FG in the above recipe?

Also what step mashing would you guys recommend for this style?

Thanks for your help.

S.

I would say so. I think there's a lot of things you could sub at 60 and 30 minute stages, so go for it!

Step mashing depends on what you want , a saison will ferment low so could be a dry beer and strong . For this I would recommend 64c for 60 mins then finish off at 71c for 20 mins . I don't like em too dry and too strong so I do 64c for 20/30 mins then the rest at 71c giving me a beer than finishes at approx 1008/10 and has a sweetness ( that and low ibu 15/20) . There really are many options for a saison , your choice .

Very helpful as always chaps.

Step mashing depends on what you want , a saison will ferment low so could be a dry beer and strong . For this I would recommend 64c for 60 mins then finish off at 71c for 20 mins . I don't like em too dry and too strong so I do 64c for 20/30 mins then the rest at 71c giving me a beer than finishes at approx 1008/10 and has a sweetness ( that and low ibu 15/20) . There really are many options for a saison , your choice .

Hi Pittsy.
What is your setup for step mashing?

Heh, yeah, saying "saison" is a bit like saying "wheat beer" or "pale ale", theres so much it can cover that you can do basically what you want with it. It's a farmhouse ale and as such, subject to many, many regional variations.

Totally, its basically turning into a 'use up' brew for me, I guess the yeast is one of the more important elements. I have had a packet of MJ M27 hanging about so a small 15L batch should do nicely.

Hi AltonAnt my set up is a 33 litre Ss pot with gas , a 25 litre thermo pot and an asparagus Ss pot with an ellement fitted and a pump .

Nice Pittsy.
When step mashing, how important is it to reduce the step time? I'm wondering if a Buffalo controlled by a PID would be OK?

well it's all about converting starch to sugars and if you mash high it will be complete fast and mashing low is slower so mashing low to give the beer what's needed but leaving some starch to finish off mashing high after . So for example I want a dry beer with a bit of head and body then 50/60 mins low and 15/20 mins high , and so on . Mashing can sort of finish (ish) at around 45/60 mins at approx 66c but longer insures lots of other things going on too .
Most German and Belgium beers are step mashed and they do know a thing or 2

Cheers. I was interested how important it is to reduce the time taken to go from one temp to another?
I agree the Germans and Belgians know how to get the required profile from a simple grain bill.