Inspiration
This is the classic Saison beer that I used to make as the house beer for Mediamatic. I was short on Pilsner and was out of Flaked Oats so I used Pale Malt and some Flaked Spelt and Flaked Wheat that I had lying around. The biggest difference with this beer will be that the yeast is from Yeast Bay's Saison Brett Blend II. From Yeast Bay:
This blend contains two saison-style Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates (Wallonian Farmhouse II and Wallonian Farmhouse III) and two Brettanomyces bruxellensis cultures (TYB184, TYB207). This unique combination will produce a beer that is bursting with classic saison esters and earthiness, with a rustic kick of Brettanomyces fruitiness and funkiness.
I'm looking forward to seeing how a more brett-forward version of this beer will be.
This blend contains two saison-style Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates (Wallonian Farmhouse II and Wallonian Farmhouse III) and two Brettanomyces bruxellensis cultures (TYB184, TYB207). This unique combination will produce a beer that is bursting with classic saison esters and earthiness, with a rustic kick of Brettanomyces fruitiness and funkiness.
I'm looking forward to seeing how a more brett-forward version of this beer will be.
Recipe
Boil Time: 90 min
Batch Size: 17 liters
Original Gravity: 1.042
Final Gravity: TBA
ABV (standard): TBA
Fermentables
Pale Malt 48.4% (I ran out of Pilsner, so used Pale Malt instead)
Flaked Spelt 16.1%
Bohemian Wheat 12.9%
Bohemian Pilsner 12.9%
Flaked Wheat 6.5%
Rye Malt 3.2%
Hops
5g - Warrior, Type: Pellet Use: Boil for 60 min
20g - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.9, Use: Boil for 10 min
80g - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.9, Use: Whirlpool for 30 min at 85 °C
50g - Cascade, Type: Pellet, AA: 6.9, Use: Dry Hop for 2 days
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
Yeast
Saison/ Brettanomyces Blend II x2 Vials and a starter made two days prior
Water
Amsterdam Source + 6.5g Gypsum added to mash
Mash add: 3ml Lactic Acid = 5.70 pH
Mash add: 2ml Lactic Acid = 5.45 pH
Pre-boil: 1.035
Volume: 21L
pH: 5.50
Add: 3ml Lactic Acid = 5.35 pH
Add: 3ml Lactic Acid
Post-Boil: 1.043
pH: 5.10
Notes
Brewed 04/04/2021
Start @ 22C
07/04/2021: Up to 26C and @ 1.013 tastes already really earthy, fruity, wild and sessionable
11/04/2021: @ 1.009
15/04/2021: @ 1.007
16/04/2021: Down to 13C and dry hop
18/04/2021: Cold crash
19/04/2021: Package and prime w/ cane sugar to 3.0 vol
Ended up with 32 bottles, 4.30pH
30/04/2021
It's only been 11 days since packaging, so it's early to determine how this has turned out. The carbonation is acceptable but slightly lower than I would prefer for the style. I'm hoping some time conditioning may help increase this. The result of the beer at this point is very similar to the Mediamatic original, only with elevated funk and a light barnyard flavour coming through - which is incredibly exciting for me. The Cascade hopping still shines through and interacts with this type of yeast in a familiar way. Some additional aging will help with the flavour mellowing out a little.
22/07/2021
It's been three months now since packaging and I only have three bottles left over. The beer has taken on much more of an assertive brett character that is hay like and barnyard funky. The body is full and rich with a fruity and wheat character. I'm really happy with how this turned out now - it's quite like orval's level of funk. Carbonation is perfect for me and the colour is a light yellow/nearly orange colour. Delicious. I'll continue to age the last ones still.