Simple Saison

[monsteroyd]

Ok so we're snowed in. At least for tonight. It was a real mess in Atlanta. THEY DON'T SALT THE ROADS HERE! So I stayed home and worked remote, and then brewed up a Saison. But this Saison I gotta call the Foot Loose and Fancy Free Saison, Cause I been drinkin' beer. And I am not at a loss for high gravity.

Anywho... So this was supposed to be the same thing as last time, but with Citra instead of Sorachi Ace. Anyway, I got too much Rye Malt, did 1 lb instead of the planned .75lb, And did Amber DME with a little Pale dme instaed of the Pale LME (LME in the bags is a pain compared to DME.) and only 1 oz of Chocolate Malt steeped. It's cooling in the sink right now. So it was totally according to plan until I started making it It will be good. I love this yeast. I think some how God got me that MB kit and then I found Saisons. Ok maybe not..

Snow-pocalypse or Car-pocalypse (traffic?), its what they're calling this on Atlanta TV. It's really funny.

Relax and have a HomeBrew. I just do Ales, but real good Ales that do their job.



Monty

[mashani]

Yeah, I love that yeast too - I'll be using it all summer. It's like easy mode French Saison. It's just too cold for me to brew Saisons and Belgians now, so I'm enjoying making other stuff. I did toss one of my Pacific Jem saisons in the fridge though. Will drink it tomorrow.

I'm glad you found a beer style to go nut with.

EDIT: One day when you have temps that are totally whacked for brewing normally you should try Wyeast or White Labs Belgian Saison. You can make beer at 90+ degrees with it. It does taste quite different though (buy a bottle of Saison Dupont and see if you like it, if so you will like that yeast too). I prefer the Bella/French saison, but I'll use the Dupont strain if I get a streak of high 90 degree days in August and I can't control my temps too well.

[Brewbirds]

Monty, thanks so much for this thread it is as much fun as 95% of RickBeers posts.

[monsteroyd]

Monty, thanks so much for this thread it is as much fun as 95% of RickBeers posts.

Hey Glad to help a fellow brewer smile.

Yeah, I love that yeast too - I'll be using it all summer. It's like easy mode French Saison. It's just too cold for me to brew Saisons and Belgians now, so I'm enjoying making other stuff. I did toss one of my Pacific Jem saisons in the fridge though. Will drink it tomorrow.

I'm glad you found a beer style to go nut with.

EDIT: One day when you have temps that are totally whacked for brewing normally you should try Wyeast or White Labs Belgian Saison. You can make beer at 90+ degrees with it. It does taste quite different though (buy a bottle of Saison Dupont and see if you like it, if so you will like that yeast too). I prefer the Bella/French saison, but I'll use the Dupont strain if I get a streak of high 90 degree days in August and I can't control my temps too well.

Well I'd have a hard time making that temp (90+) anywhere in my house, except for maybe the garage and even there in the summer it might get too hot. Right now I have my Fermentator set for 75F, and I originally did the first one at maybe 72-73-ish. That said I would like to try that liquid saison yeast, just for the taste.

Monty

[Inkleg]

Monty, I ordered 3 feet of this and used it to take my Saison up to 85*. Right now it's it my fridge helping keep it at a toasty 72* in this weather. Fermentation fridge is in a 3 season sunroom. I ordered the power cord with it and put "please assemble" in the comment box. It was 20 or 25 dollars shipped.

I just put my Saison in a cooler, wrapped with the tape and covered with a few towels. Used the STC-1000 to keep the temperature from falling as I ramped it up over the course of 6 days to 85*.

[monsteroyd]

Thanks Jeff,

I do have a little heater in the Fermentator right now, so I guess I could try to go higher, but your idea would allow me to do specific LBKs at higher temps. Hmm.. might be a great way to do some Saisons while also doing more normal (68F) ales. I could have the temp on the whole chamber set to 68F and then use a STC to control one lbk with this heat tape under/on it.

Monty

[Inkleg]

If you have a heater in your fridge and a STC-1000, crank that puppy up and see what it will do. The fridge is just a large insulated box for either cold or hot, it doesn't know. All it knows is what the STC tells it.

I could have the temp on the whole chamber set to 68F and then use a STC to control one lbk with this heat tape under/on it.

Just so we're understanding each other, because sometimes the written word loses something. You could control ONE LBK outside your fridge with the STC. If you try to control one in your fridge, it will heat the whole fridge.
I have 2 STC-1000 controllers built, I use one for the fridge and the other as needed outside the fridge.

[monsteroyd]

Yeah I get ya. I reread what I wrote and I meant was one LBK outside heating for the Saison, and the rest inside staying cooler.

Monty

[monsteroyd]

OK

I know I am a nut, but damn this is fun!

Anyway I did another one. This time an experiment is time management.

I started with 1/2 gallon of water on the hot plate, turned on max. Then I put a liter in my electric kettle, and started it going. After I got a boil, I put 200 ml in a small flask for rehydrating the yeast, the rest went into the pot, then started another liter. It also went in the pot. Then I quick measured out 1 lb of Pale DME, and threw that in with the whirlfloc and a tsp of urea (food grade, so don't laugh, my yeast love it) and then I found an older bag I had that had the tightest weave I've ever seen. That's where the hops went, and this time, just standard Hallertau. Nothin' fancy. A SMaSH of Hallertau and pale DME. And a big time 1 oz / 15 minute boil (Hallertau are known for wimpy Alpha ratings, at least around the IPA crowd) but those of us that can still taste, we like a mild bitterness perfectly balancing the malt. And with Belle how can you go wrong, but I digress.... Hardly any of the hops got out of the bag. I really like the weave on this bag.

So I am in the sink cooling, took a cool 1 hour even. Bah. I can make beer FAST!

Oops alarm going off, cool down done. Gotta go.

Monty

PS ok I been drinking some Honey Patriot. I really like that HME from Mr Beer. Add some malt, honey and dry hop and it is good.

[BeerRust]

Nice and simple!

I did something similar with my Lime Cervasa clone.
4 Ozs cyrstal 10 steep
2 lbs extra pale DME
1/2 Ozs of Hallertua @ 20 min.
Peel and juice of 2 fresh limes
Us Saf 04

Bottled Saturday, sample tasted great.

[monsteroyd]

Wow, so BeerRust, no HME in there, just your extract and a hop boil? That is so cool. It really more fun than using a HME. Next thing you're gonna go all grain on me.

Monty

[mashani]

Except for rare cases, I pretty much use HMEs as a "time management" device. As in I will take a mild flavored with IBUs that are appropriate and use it to get my "60 minute addition" out of the way, and then just build whatever around it with 20 and < additions. So I keep my boil time to 20-30 minutes instead of an hour on days I want to brew but don't have time to "do it right". That time savings might be the difference between me brewing or not, or me being able to steep some grains or not.

Of course I love to do a BIAB when I have time.

[BeerRust]

Wow, so BeerRust, no HME in there, just your extract and a hop boil? That is so cool. It really more fun than using a HME. Next thing you're gonna go all grain on me.

Monty

Monty
I have 2 cans of Patriot that I will do for something. But I want to do a few brew without HME. This way I can really experience what each hop does. The HME has some hops and not exactly sure what kind or how much.
I also have an IPA lined up without HME, just LME and DME, grain steep, and hops. Still doing extract, just not with HME.
All grain is away off.....

[haerbob3]

MR B pretty much uses POR (Pride Of Ringwood) hops. A lot of people in the Northern Hemisphere find the flavor of these objectionable. A part of the MR B "TWANG"

[BeerRust]

MR B pretty much uses POR (Pride Of Ringwood) hops. A lot of people in the Northern Hemisphere find the flavor of these objectionable. A part of the MR B "TWANG"

I have read that about POR in MrB. Funny thing is when noobs use to got to that site, they would complain about the twang taste. I would many people respond with you didn't let your beer condition long enough.