A Saison I'm working on

[berryman]

I have two packs of Belle Saison yeast and want to do something a little different with them. This is what I came up with today, Please critique and comment before I order the ingredients next week to make sure I'm on the right track.

Light Saison


Recipe Light Saison Style Saison
Brewer Happy Hound Batch 5.00 gal
Extract


Recipe Characteristics
Recipe Gravity 1.083 OG Estimated FG 1.021 FG
Recipe Bitterness 33 IBU Alcohol by Volume 8.1%
Recipe Color 7° SRM Alcohol by Weight 6.3%


Ingredients
Quantity Grain Type Use
6.00 lb Pilsener LME Extract Extract
3.00 lb Wheat DME Extract Extract
0.50 lb CaraPils Grain Steeped
0.50 lb Wheat (US) Grain Steeped
2.00 lb Candi Sugar, Clear (Belgian) Sugar Other
Quantity Hop Type Time
0.50 oz Saaz Pellet 10 minutes
0.50 oz Saaz Pellet 20 minutes
1.00 oz Hallertauer Pellet 45 minutes
1.00 oz Kent Golding Pellet 60 minutes
Quantity Misc Notes
1.00 unit Yeast Belle Saison


Recipe Notes

Ferment around the mid 80 deg range then secondary.
Dry hop with 1 oz.Saaz @7 days left.

[Ibasterd]

I'm no expert, but it looks good to me. What does the "Candi Sugar, Clear (Belgian) Sugar" bring? More fermentables? I am actually planning a saison next myself, so have been reading up on them. Noble hop varieties seem to be recommended for saisons, so you look good there. I actually am planning on using Nelson Sauvin hops.

Here is a write up on them:

Nelson Sauvin hops bear the name of their closest aroma descriptor, Sauvignon Blanc grapes - "crushed gooseberry" is the term most commonly used. Alpha acids in the low double digits mean they are a great dual-purpose hop, with low cohumulone, good oil content, and an overall uniqueness that is taking many brewers by surprise. Underlying notes of distinctive New Zealand spiciness: black pepper, mace, and allspice are common.

Commercially, Nelson has been used in everything from pale lagers and pale ales to Belgian ales and Weizenbock.

To me, they sound like a nice addition to a saison.

Good luck with yours!

[berryman]

I'm no expert, but it looks good to me. What does the "Candi Sugar, Clear (Belgian) Sugar" bring? More fermentables?

Yes a little more ABV and a dryer beer but with the risk of a cidery beer. A longer conditioning time will usually work that out and it all depends on the percentage of the adjuncts. That's what I'm wondering about if I'm a little high on that. Maybe I should cut it back and add some more sugars and hit it with some more yeast when I secondary, that's one thing I'm wondering.

[Gymrat]

Your FG will be MUCH lower than 1.021. I think 2lbs of sugar might be a bit much. I wouldn't use more than a pound. Also I added mine after primary fermentation was over. I sort of "fed the yeast".
This is the recipe I used for mine

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Ralph's Lazy Day Farmhouse Ale
Brewer: Roger
Asst Brewer: Ralph the Wonderdog
Style: Saison
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 5.70 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.20 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.065 SG
Estimated Color: 6.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 46.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 72.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
6 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 52.2 %
3 lbs White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 2 26.1 %
1 lbs Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 3 8.7 %
8.0 oz Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 4 4.3 %
1 lbs Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 5 8.7 %
0.50 oz Nelson Sauvin [12.60 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 6 13.5 IBUs
1.50 oz Nelson Sauvin [12.60 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 7 24.3 IBUs
1.00 oz Nelson Sauvin [12.60 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 8 8.9 IBUs
1.0 pkg Belle Saison (Lallemand #) Yeast 9 -


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs 8.0 oz

It started at 1.065 and finished at 1.006 for an ABV of 8%
That Belle Saison yeast will attenuate way beyond anything you can imagine.

[mashani]

I would not brew a 1.08 beer with Bella Saison.

I would not use any sugar either. It doesn't need it.

It ferments my 1.05ish beers - even ALL EXTRACT ones - down to 1.003 or <. I've had a 1.054 BIAB beer with a lower temp mash go down to 0.997, with no sugar added.

[BigPapaG]

I agree with Dave and Roger, Don...

Keep the OG low, like 1.050 and if you do use sugar, use very little or be prepared for a very dry beer.

I did a 1.060 beer and the attenuation was wicked low... Like 1.003... I think it ended up at 8.5% ABV...

It's pretty dry too...

Good, but I wanted it to be about 6% but forgot how low French Saison yeast finishes out...

[Inkleg]

Yeah, what they said. My AG 1.053 Saison when to .998 with that yeast.

[berryman]

Thanks for the replies and I will follow your advice.