Inspiration
The House Beer Series is based on the desire of Mediamatic (the organization that I am currently based out of here in Amsterdam) to have a light, refreshing and sessionable ale consistently on tap in their cafe/ restaurant this summer. Based on the style and for a host of other reasons, myself and head brewman Tobias decided to go for Saison as our house beer. This beer will be in the range of 5%, hopped with german hops (initially) and fermented with French Saison yeast.
This recipe is based off of the previous 5 batches before it. There are two important differences in this though. The first is that the gravity/ abv will be reduced to around 5%. The second more exciting experiment, is that we will be splitting this 50 liter batch into two, and pitch our standard yeast (3711) in one and a culture of Thiriez yeast into the other. Thiriez is meant to be the source for Wyeast's 3711, though (through research online and email exchange with Daniel Thiriez), is supposed to be quite different. From Mr. Thiriez:
"Indeed, a side by side test with my house yeast strain and the 3711 one would be quite interesting, but I already know these yeast strains are rather different... I would rather give you some yeast whenever you have the opportunity to visit the brewery, then we wold a have a chance to talk and share experiences."
Since I won't be able to make it out to France in the near future, we instead attempted to culture dregs from a bottle of his delicious Train To Mars. What an interesting and stunningly complex and beautifully made saison. Even though the beer is almost a year old, we now have a small starter of 1.25l of it ready to ferment 21 liters. Can't wait to see how this goes. Maybe even a blend of the two in the future is a possibility.
Notes to come.
This recipe is based off of the previous 5 batches before it. There are two important differences in this though. The first is that the gravity/ abv will be reduced to around 5%. The second more exciting experiment, is that we will be splitting this 50 liter batch into two, and pitch our standard yeast (3711) in one and a culture of Thiriez yeast into the other. Thiriez is meant to be the source for Wyeast's 3711, though (through research online and email exchange with Daniel Thiriez), is supposed to be quite different. From Mr. Thiriez:
"Indeed, a side by side test with my house yeast strain and the 3711 one would be quite interesting, but I already know these yeast strains are rather different... I would rather give you some yeast whenever you have the opportunity to visit the brewery, then we wold a have a chance to talk and share experiences."
Since I won't be able to make it out to France in the near future, we instead attempted to culture dregs from a bottle of his delicious Train To Mars. What an interesting and stunningly complex and beautifully made saison. Even though the beer is almost a year old, we now have a small starter of 1.25l of it ready to ferment 21 liters. Can't wait to see how this goes. Maybe even a blend of the two in the future is a possibility.
Notes to come.
The Recipe
Boil Time: 90 min
Batch Size: 50 liters (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 55 liters (split into two)
3711
Original Gravity: 1.043
Final Gravity: 1.001
ABV (standard): 5.5
Thiriez
Original Gravity: 1.043
Final Gravity: 1.009
ABV (standard): 4.5
IBU (tinseth): 14
SRM (ebcmorey): 6.5
Fermentables
6.45 kg - German - Pilsner (62.1%)
1.28 kg - Flaked Wheat (12.3%)
1.28 kg - Flaked Oats (12.3%)
1.07 kg - German - Wheat Malt (10.3%)
0.31 kg - German - Rye (3%)
Hops
13.59 g - Magnum, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 11.6, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 7.99
49.49 g - Styrian Goldings, Type: Pellet, AA: 3.8, Use: Whirlpool for 10 min at 85 °C, IBU: 3.76
33 g - Saaz, Type: Pellet, AA: 3, Use: Whirlpool for 10 min at 85 °C, IBU: 1.98
Mash Guidelines
1) Infusion, Temp: 39 C, Time: 15 min
2) Infusion, Temp: 65 C, Time: 60 min
3) Infusion, Temp: 68 C, Time: 30 min
4) Sparge, Temp: 76 C, Time: 15 min
Starting Mash Thickness: 4.6 L/kg
15 ml - Lactic Acid, Time: 60 min, Type: Other, Use: Mash
Yeast
1/2
Wyeast - French Saison 3711
Pitch Rate: 0.75 (M cells / ml / deg P)
+Yeast Nutrient and Irish Moss
AND
1/2
Dregs from Thirez's Train to Mars.
Cultured from 15ml starter (1.010), to 150ml starter (1.025), and to 1.2l starter (1.036) over the course of two weeks.
Water
Amsterdam source water
Post-Brewday Notes
Primary Fermentation @ 70F (21C) until 1.020
Secondary Fermentation @77F (25C) for 7+ days
Prime w/ cane sugar to 3.1 vol CO2.
Batch Size: 50 liters (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 55 liters (split into two)
3711
Original Gravity: 1.043
Final Gravity: 1.001
ABV (standard): 5.5
Thiriez
Original Gravity: 1.043
Final Gravity: 1.009
ABV (standard): 4.5
IBU (tinseth): 14
SRM (ebcmorey): 6.5
Fermentables
6.45 kg - German - Pilsner (62.1%)
1.28 kg - Flaked Wheat (12.3%)
1.28 kg - Flaked Oats (12.3%)
1.07 kg - German - Wheat Malt (10.3%)
0.31 kg - German - Rye (3%)
Hops
13.59 g - Magnum, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 11.6, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 7.99
49.49 g - Styrian Goldings, Type: Pellet, AA: 3.8, Use: Whirlpool for 10 min at 85 °C, IBU: 3.76
33 g - Saaz, Type: Pellet, AA: 3, Use: Whirlpool for 10 min at 85 °C, IBU: 1.98
Mash Guidelines
1) Infusion, Temp: 39 C, Time: 15 min
2) Infusion, Temp: 65 C, Time: 60 min
3) Infusion, Temp: 68 C, Time: 30 min
4) Sparge, Temp: 76 C, Time: 15 min
Starting Mash Thickness: 4.6 L/kg
15 ml - Lactic Acid, Time: 60 min, Type: Other, Use: Mash
Yeast
1/2
Wyeast - French Saison 3711
Pitch Rate: 0.75 (M cells / ml / deg P)
+Yeast Nutrient and Irish Moss
AND
1/2
Dregs from Thirez's Train to Mars.
Cultured from 15ml starter (1.010), to 150ml starter (1.025), and to 1.2l starter (1.036) over the course of two weeks.
Water
Amsterdam source water
Post-Brewday Notes
Primary Fermentation @ 70F (21C) until 1.020
Secondary Fermentation @77F (25C) for 7+ days
Prime w/ cane sugar to 3.1 vol CO2.
Tasting Notes
May 30th, 2017: Thiriez (1.032) / 3711 (1.009)
June 6th, 2017:
Thiriez (1.011) - Tastes already so complex and barnyard-like. There is a lot going on in this beer and it still has a sweetness to it, but I feel with some aging it will become close to the original.
3711 (1.001) - Crisp, clear, dry, a little rough still. This will most likely go away with aging. Considering how dry this beer is, I'm excited at how full the beer tastes. This is a testament to the water we use here, and the adjuncts we used in the recipe. Exciting place for this series to be.
Packaged June 15th, 2017:
Thiriez: 1.009
3711: 1.001
May 30th, 2017: Thiriez (1.032) / 3711 (1.009)
June 6th, 2017:
Thiriez (1.011) - Tastes already so complex and barnyard-like. There is a lot going on in this beer and it still has a sweetness to it, but I feel with some aging it will become close to the original.
3711 (1.001) - Crisp, clear, dry, a little rough still. This will most likely go away with aging. Considering how dry this beer is, I'm excited at how full the beer tastes. This is a testament to the water we use here, and the adjuncts we used in the recipe. Exciting place for this series to be.
Packaged June 15th, 2017:
Thiriez: 1.009
3711: 1.001