Brew Day - Saison d'été

Sunday was a brew day, and in preparation of a monster yeast cake to ferment an upcoming Winter Saison (our Christmas beer this year!), I decided to brew an normal refreshing summertime Saison.

"Summertime!?!", I hear you say, "but it's November!" Well we're in Miami and it's 81 outside, so ha! You get your revenge when it's July and pleasant wherever you are and it's unbearable here.

The brewday was full of hinderances and distractions. I was also kegging the Pumpkin ale and the brew was delayed a whole day because I had to buy more propane. Once everything got going it was ok. Only major mistake was that I added the aroma hops at 20 minutes for some reason, probably having to do with my not using fining agents and some kind of unconscious need to add something around 20 minutes left. So by my calculations it will have upped the IBUs to 45-50 and I appear to have made a Chouffe IPA.... Oh well, I'm sure it will taste fine. I also had a lower gravity than expected, 1.063 instead of 1.070, which I attribute to a slightly lower mash temp and a slightly higher final volume. And I didn't have any oranges so I used about 3/4 of a tangerine peel instead. Used homemade invert sugar rather than buy candi sugar, this could also account for the differences in projected vs. actual gravity.

This brew was done with a packet of Wyeast VSS Farmhouse (3726) yeast, which appears to be chugging along well. I pitched around 72, and have just let it run. The fridge is set to turn on if the ambient temp goes above 80, but room temp is 78 still so I don't think it will happen. This yeast can go into the 90's, so hopefully it doesn't want to be hotter! I may just move it out into a room and put a blanket over it, let the internal heat build up.

The rececipe is based on the Saison Ete from Zymurgy a couple month's back, in their article A Saison For Every Season. Didn't have any aciduated malt, so if it needs it I'll add some lactic acid at bottling. This was a 'use things in the fridge' brew, hence the extensive use of Sterlings. I had about a quarter ounce of leftover Saaz that I just threw in too.

Saison Ete Brew Type: All Grain Date: 11/8/2008 Style: Saison Brewer: Russell Everett Batch Size: 5.50 gal Assistant Brewer: Boil Volume: 7.39 gal Boil Time: 60 min Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 % Equipment: Brew Pot (15 Gal) and Igloo/Gott Cooler (10 Gal) Actual Efficiency: 65.34 % Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU 8 lbs 8.0 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 61.82 % 3 lbs Wheat Malt, Pale (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM) Grain 21.82 % 1 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 7.27 % 4.0 oz Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM) Grain 1.82 % 0.25 oz Sterling [7.50 %] (60 min) Hops 5.3 IBU 1.50 oz Styrian Goldings [5.40 %] (60 min) Hops 22.8 IBU 1.75 oz Sterling [7.50 %] (5 min) Hops 7.4 IBU 0.25 tsp Black Pepper (Boil 5.0 min) Misc 0.25 tsp Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 min) Misc 0.50 items Fresh Orange Peel (Boil 5.0 min) Misc 1 lbs Candi Sugar, Clear (0.5 SRM) Sugar 7.27 % 1 Pkgs Farmhouse VSS 3726 (Wyeast) Yeast-Ale Beer Profile Estimated Original Gravity: 1.070 SG (1.048-1.080 SG) Measured Original Gravity: 1.062 SG Estimated Final Gravity: 1.015 SG (1.010-1.016 SG) Measured Final Gravity: 1.012 SG Estimated Color: 5.0 SRM (5.0-12.0 SRM) Color [Color] Bitterness: 35.5 IBU (25.0-45.0 IBU) Alpha Acid Units: 10.0 AAU Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 7.26 % (5.00-8.50 %) Actual Alcohol by Volume: 6.53 % Actual Calories: 277 cal/pint Mash Profile Name: Double Infusion, Light Body Mash Tun Weight: 9.00 lb Mash Grain Weight: 12.75 lb Mash PH: 5.4 PH Grain Temperature: 72.0 F Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F Sparge Water: 1.75 gal Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE Name Description Step Temp Step Time Protein Rest Add 2.87 gal of water at 132.1 F 122.0 F 30 min Saccrification Add 2.55 gal of water at 187.9 F 150.0 F 30 min Mash Out Add 2.55 gal of water at 210.3 F 168.0 F 10 min Mash Notes Double step infusion - for light body beers requiring a protein rest. Used primarily in beers high in unmodified grains or adjuncts.