Inspiration
This is my Left Fields Farmhouse Saison Series. The idea behind this series is to explore saison yeast strains (along with mixed fermentation), brewing techniques, malt composition and water profiles. This batch was based off of a few things. This batch is remake of L.Fields V (102), having been such a delicious beer. I also really wanted to add Brett to it, but the last batch was drank too quickly at the Bingo Babes. All of the stats are the exact same, with the exception of the hops (Citra for Galaxy since my homebrew shop was out) and Flaked for Torrified Wheat (again, homebrew shop was out). I'm just realizing now that I also changed the water profile, adding my CaCl to the kettle instead of the mash, and favouring the CaCl levels over the SO4 this round. The last version was amazing, but maybe a *little* too sharp in the bitterness.
Boil Time: 90 min
Batch Size: 4 gallons (ending kettle volume)
Efficiency: 61% - shit, all the adjunct messed this up
Clean:
Original Gravity: 1.055
Final Gravity: 1.008
ABV (standard): 6.25%
IBU (tinseth): 36
SRM (morey): 4.3
Brettified:
Original Gravity: 1.055
Final Gravity: 1.001
Fermentables
7 lb - Belgian - Pilsner (70.9%)
1 lb - American - Rye (10.1%)
1 lb - Torrified Wheat (10.1%)
0.75 lb - Flaked Oats (7.6%)
Hops
2.5 g - Chinook, Type: Pellet, AA: 13, Use: Boil for 70 min, IBU: 6.07
1 oz - Citra, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 11, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 18.58
1 oz - Citra, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 11, Use: Whirlpool hops for 15 (total WP time was 25 minutes) min at 180 °F, IBU: 11.77
Mash Guidelines
1) Temp: 147 F, Time: 60 min
2) Temp: 168 F, Time: 10 min
Yeast
Generation 4 Wyeast 3726 @ 90+%
Generation 3 Yeast Bay Wallonian @ 5+-%
Generation 3 White Labs S. Trois @ 5+-%
*Pitch at 24C let rise to 29C after 30hrs
The above yeast *blend* came from the last batch I brewed (102A), with the Wallonian having come from a batch of beer I made summer 2015 (slurry, so who knows the viability at the time I used it), the 3726 being from 3 previous batches made since summer 2015 when wyeast released it, and the WLP644 coming from Iteration V (Dear Opa). I'm no scientist, but given that the attenuation capacity of WLP644 and, especially Wallonian are quite a lot higher than 3726 (by 10 or so %), I feel that the balance of yeast in the blend will slowly become increasingly dominated by the Wallonian and 644. So it says 5% (an estimate at pitching 102A), but that may be higher at this point. In particular, I really felt that the 644 shined in 102A, and especially with this latest version, so there's a good chance that it's managed to expand its colonies.
Water
Ca2: 60
Mg2: 0
Na: 0
Cl: 38
SO4: 55
HCO3: 0
Added 3 grams Gypsum to the Mash
Added 2 grams to CaCl to the Kettle (25L)
Post-Brewday Notes
Brewed April 6th
*Yeast pitched at 24C, let rise to 29C after 30hrs
Kegged 2 gallons on April 19th, adding Gelatin // Bottled x6 335ml bottles for potential use in competitions // racked 1 gallon onto the yeast cake of Brett from the Brett portion of L.Fields IV (101B) since that beer turned out so deliciously well.
Batch Size: 4 gallons (ending kettle volume)
Efficiency: 61% - shit, all the adjunct messed this up
Clean:
Original Gravity: 1.055
Final Gravity: 1.008
ABV (standard): 6.25%
IBU (tinseth): 36
SRM (morey): 4.3
Brettified:
Original Gravity: 1.055
Final Gravity: 1.001
Fermentables
7 lb - Belgian - Pilsner (70.9%)
1 lb - American - Rye (10.1%)
1 lb - Torrified Wheat (10.1%)
0.75 lb - Flaked Oats (7.6%)
Hops
2.5 g - Chinook, Type: Pellet, AA: 13, Use: Boil for 70 min, IBU: 6.07
1 oz - Citra, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 11, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 18.58
1 oz - Citra, Type: Leaf/Whole, AA: 11, Use: Whirlpool hops for 15 (total WP time was 25 minutes) min at 180 °F, IBU: 11.77
Mash Guidelines
1) Temp: 147 F, Time: 60 min
2) Temp: 168 F, Time: 10 min
Yeast
Generation 4 Wyeast 3726 @ 90+%
Generation 3 Yeast Bay Wallonian @ 5+-%
Generation 3 White Labs S. Trois @ 5+-%
*Pitch at 24C let rise to 29C after 30hrs
The above yeast *blend* came from the last batch I brewed (102A), with the Wallonian having come from a batch of beer I made summer 2015 (slurry, so who knows the viability at the time I used it), the 3726 being from 3 previous batches made since summer 2015 when wyeast released it, and the WLP644 coming from Iteration V (Dear Opa). I'm no scientist, but given that the attenuation capacity of WLP644 and, especially Wallonian are quite a lot higher than 3726 (by 10 or so %), I feel that the balance of yeast in the blend will slowly become increasingly dominated by the Wallonian and 644. So it says 5% (an estimate at pitching 102A), but that may be higher at this point. In particular, I really felt that the 644 shined in 102A, and especially with this latest version, so there's a good chance that it's managed to expand its colonies.
Water
Ca2: 60
Mg2: 0
Na: 0
Cl: 38
SO4: 55
HCO3: 0
Added 3 grams Gypsum to the Mash
Added 2 grams to CaCl to the Kettle (25L)
Post-Brewday Notes
Brewed April 6th
*Yeast pitched at 24C, let rise to 29C after 30hrs
Kegged 2 gallons on April 19th, adding Gelatin // Bottled x6 335ml bottles for potential use in competitions // racked 1 gallon onto the yeast cake of Brett from the Brett portion of L.Fields IV (101B) since that beer turned out so deliciously well.
Tasting Notes
Beer tasted May 1st: I can't believe how quickly I finished this batch of beer (again). It's now May 4th and I have none left. I promise it wasn't only me drinking it though. I had help from a couple homies - including my main brewing buddy from Toronto, who was in town for 6 hours on Thursday - where we drank from 1:30am-7:00am. It was a dark night. And we literally drank everything I had on tap. So here is my best memory of what this beer tasted like. Oh, and I entered two of these bottles into my local homebrew competition to get some feedback. Looking forward to getting the results.
Beer was very light and quite bright. I feel like the 644 yeast is slowly taking over from the other two, contributing strong notes of pineapple, melon and generally a citrus flavour and nose that I love. The spiciness of the Wallonian and the 3726 come from behind the fruitiness and add a really nice complexity to the beer, which pairs nicely with the rye. The oats add a slickness that's amazing. Overall, this is one of my favourite saisons I've ever made. I may look towards Yeast Bay's Saison Blend in the future to ferment out this beer as a point of comparison. Also, I haven't seen anyone write about this online, but 644 is a really interesting yeast strain. It produces a subtle sweaty/ dank/ hard to define flavour that takes some getting used to. But with that being said, I've come to enjoy the flavour, and find it adds a *rustic*, for lack of better words, character to the beer.
Beer tasted May 1st: I can't believe how quickly I finished this batch of beer (again). It's now May 4th and I have none left. I promise it wasn't only me drinking it though. I had help from a couple homies - including my main brewing buddy from Toronto, who was in town for 6 hours on Thursday - where we drank from 1:30am-7:00am. It was a dark night. And we literally drank everything I had on tap. So here is my best memory of what this beer tasted like. Oh, and I entered two of these bottles into my local homebrew competition to get some feedback. Looking forward to getting the results.
Beer was very light and quite bright. I feel like the 644 yeast is slowly taking over from the other two, contributing strong notes of pineapple, melon and generally a citrus flavour and nose that I love. The spiciness of the Wallonian and the 3726 come from behind the fruitiness and add a really nice complexity to the beer, which pairs nicely with the rye. The oats add a slickness that's amazing. Overall, this is one of my favourite saisons I've ever made. I may look towards Yeast Bay's Saison Blend in the future to ferment out this beer as a point of comparison. Also, I haven't seen anyone write about this online, but 644 is a really interesting yeast strain. It produces a subtle sweaty/ dank/ hard to define flavour that takes some getting used to. But with that being said, I've come to enjoy the flavour, and find it adds a *rustic*, for lack of better words, character to the beer.
Judges Notes (from 2016 Vanbrewer Awards)
Aroma
1. Medium-high fruity-spicy esters/ phenols. Pineapple, citrus fruit, low banana, low spicy hops. Low-mid malt grainy sweetness.
2. Lemon, pepper, perfumy hops at medium-low intensity. Light, grainy malt sweetness.
Appearance
1. Brilliantly clear yellow. Medium white fluffy head, moderate retention.
2. Straw yellow. Good clarity with a tiny bit of haze. Medium white head. Good retention.
Flavour
1. Moderate clove phenols, lesser lemon. Low-moderate grainy malt sweetness. Low spicy hops. Balanced towards malt. Finishes dry. Aftertaste is clove.
2. Crisp, clean grainy malt. Some light fruity notes - lemon citrus. Low hop flavour - spicy. Balanced bitterness.
Mouthfeel
1. Medium body, moderate carbonation, no astringency, no warmth, no creaminess.
2. Medium-low body. Medium carbonation. Slight warmth. Not creamy or astringent. Finishes medium-dry with a bit of residual sweetness.
Overall Impression
1. Tasty, drinkable beer! Phenolics are clove heavy, may score better with less clove character from using another yeast and/ or different fermentation temperature.
2. A well made saison. If it had just a bit more saison yeast character and finished a tad bit drier, score would improve. Still exceptionally drinkable!
Score
1. 32/50 (Very Good)
2. 33/50 (Very Good)
Not quite as well as I had hoped to do, but it definitely feels like Im on the right track with this style. I was right about the beer not attenuating quite enough and felt from the beginning that there was something slightly missing about the beer that was hard to define. Ill be doing two things with this beer in the future. First, Ill potentially re-brew this recipe, but ferment warmer (and for longer) to both bring out more saison character and dry the beer out a little more. I may even add a little dextrose to the recipe and reduce the grain. Next, Im going to start playing around with new yeast strains. I have already brewed my first of this idea with Omega Labs* C2C, so Im looking forward to playing with new saison yeast strains.