Azacca "Harvest" Saison

[mashani]

Since Azacca is a harvest god, I figured I'd use my Wit Juice (since the wit juice has all the harvest grains) and make a hoppy Saison with it.

Only reason posted in advanced is because it's using my crazy step mashed wit juice that I froze.

Enough wit juice to make a 1.008 wort at 2.5 gallons. That amounts to about this:

1/4# White Wheat
1/4# Flaked Oats
1/8# 6 row
1/8# Flaked Rye
1/8# Flaked Barley

To that, added 3# MoreBeer Pilsner LME

15 minute boil with lid on to kill everything in there and sterilize my pot/lid/everything. Yes, I did the full short boil with the lid on. I don't want brett. The "juice" boiled plenty long before, I won't get DMS from doing this. Trust me

1oz Azacca hops @10 (10.3% AA)

20 minute hop stand with those same hop leaving the lid on.

Cooled in ice bath with lid on.

( see a trend there... brett outside lid... not inside lid )

Pitched full pack of Bella Saison.

OG was 1.052
IBUs will be at least 30 after the hop stand
Should be 4-5 SRM

I'm leaving some extra defrosted wit juice (same amount as above) in the fridge, it may sit there for a week. If it goes sour, I'm going to use it to make a sour like a sour mash base. If it doesn't, I'll use it for something else. Or maybe pull it out and let it sit overnight and see if it sours.

[Dawg LB Steve]

That, the souring, sounds interesting. I can tell you that I have inadvertently left some left over wort I drained from the mash cooler in a bucket for about 36 hours and it had a sour nose to it. What are you using to freeze your wort in? Was thinking of mashing enough two row to end up with 4 liters after boiling for starters. Would the mr Beer 1 L bottles freeze ok?

[mashani]

I froze mine in some "Tupperware" like containers that hold 1/2 gallon.

But no reason you could not freeze them in Mr. Beer PET bottles. Just be sure not to fill them too close to the top, as it will expand a bit.

Mr. Beer PETs would be ideal for freezing starter wort. Just make sure you chill before filling them because they aren't going to hold up to high temperatures like food grade HDPE containers.

RE: the sour, I'm thinking a wheat or pilsner base + that stuff soured, and just some late styrian goldings or kent goldings to give me maybe 7-8 IBUs and some flavor/aroma would make a really nice beer with some of the Abbaye yeast. Not really sour, just enough to balance it.

[mashani]

This got done fast. Fermenting above 80 does that.

I bottled this at 1.003

It tasted nice. Lots of grapefruit and orange and some tropical like flavors, some pine, some other fruit, it all combined nice with the tartness and spice from the yeast. I'm going to like it.

EDIT: BTW, that juice in the fridge did not sour. But all the break did drop out, which was nice because I got to pour nice clear wort into the batch of "Easy French Blonde with Wheat, Oats, and Rye" that it went into.

Either I will take some more out of the freezer and toss in some grains and do an overnight "sour mash" with it, then boil it to kill the bugs, or I'll use some acidulated malt in the beer I want the sour in.

I don't want to mess with live sour bugs in my fermenter. I've got enough trouble with Brett as it is.

[mashani]

Forgot to update this, but I've been drinking this stuff lately. It's tasty. Lots of citrus, some pine, a bit tart that enhances the citrus, a bit spicy, nice mouthfeel. Early on hops were as strong as APA territory, right now they have mellowed a bit, and it's more "saison" like then APA like now. But they are still very much there and very tasty.

I'll brew a straight up APA or IPA with my remaining Azacca. They taste good as a single hop. They would blend nicely with any other American hop though.