Saison

Belgian beers don't always speak to my tastes, but saisons are usually a treat. That being said, my favourite isn't the standard bearer, Dupont; I'm a much bigger fan of St. Feuillien's version, as well as those by Rockmill in Ohio. For as much as I like a straight-up saison, though, more often I've brewed ones that were adulterated: soured, with citrus, or spiced. This beer was a move back to basics: simple grist, straightforward hopping, Wyeast's French Saison yeast.

Still learning to play nicely with my water, I believe I overacidified my sparge a bit. Thankfully the finished beer doesn't seem to have suffered terribly from it. Brewing and bottling went smoothly. I've gone back and forth on this beer: it was spicy and bready at bottling, but later seemed to overcarbonate and pick up a bit of an off-flavour, which I thought might indicate infection. Most recently, though, I've decided what I mostly taste is the yeast and a perhaps a bit of oxidation, which isn't the end of the world. I've already planned the next batch, which will bring in some rye and more assertive hopping, but otherwise will stick to the plan presented here.

Saison ‘14

Batch size: 5 gallons
Projected OG: 1.052 (12.9P)
Projected SRM: 4.9
Projected IBU: 26.7
Boil time: 60 minutes
Brewhouse efficiency: 79%

Grains
77.8% - 7 lb Weyermann Organic Vienna
22.2% - 2 lb Weyermann Wheat

Hops
.4 oz Magnum (14.2%) (60 min)
1 oz Amarillo (8.8%) (5 min)

Yeast
WY3711 French Saison (no starter)

Water Additions
8 qts RO water (w/ 3 qts filtered SLC water) (mash)
1 g Gypsum (mash)
1 g CaCl (mash)
2.4 ml Lactic acid (1st sparge)
2.6 ml Lactic acid (2nd sparge)

Brewday: 4 June 2014
Mash: 150F for 90 minutes
Pre-boil volume: 6.5 gallons
                                   
Fermented at 68F for two days, then 73F for two days. Krausen dropped at that point; raised to 75F for the remainder of fermentation.

12 June 2014: Removed from swamp cooler; sitting at ambient temp (80F). Active fermentation complete.

Bottled: 28 June 2014
FG: 1.004
ABV: 6.3%
Bottled with 4.8 oz table sugar (~2.8 volumes C02).

Summer IPA

Between putting a range of beers on the docket and having little time in the last year to brew them, it had been some time since I'd produced anything with hops in the foreground. Thus, this spring I set out to brew both a pale ale and an IPA. While the pale ale came up short, the IPA was more of a success.

As I've worked through a sack of Vienna in the past year, I've really liked its grainy character over domestic 2-row as a base malt in many cases. The flaked oats went in for head retention and complexity; I don't know that the light roasting added much, but it (predictably) made the kitchen smell incredible. The turbinado drove up the OG and drove down the FG while adding more colour and maybe a bit of background interest. I've started messing with my water a bit more, particularly the pH on lighter beers like this. However, I miscalculated my lactic acid addition and drove my pH well below where it should've been. Thankfully, I don't believe it negatively impacted the mash or the final beer.

I did not skimp on hops here, and do not remotely regret it. Thirteen ounces all told, the largest addition being at flameout for a hopstand. Of course, the dry hopping wasn't exactly light, either. When in doubt, throw more hops at it. The mix of varieties leaned heavily toward the fruity for a more latter-day American IPA sensibility.

This beer came out almost big enough to fall into the imperial IPA category, especially since it finished fairly low--just what I wanted. Once carbed, the bottles went very quickly; I haven't brewed very many hoppy beers which which I've been this pleased. I'd probably only make a couple changes for a rebrew. The first would be to increase the IBUs. I've been gun shy on overbittering since my first extract kit, an all-Cascade pale ale, finished with a rough bitterness. Though the hop flavour and aroma were really nice on this beer, it could've taken a bit more bittering to back it up. The other change is entirely based on my personal preferences: I'd drop the Citra. I've used this hop before and loved it, but after someone suggested to me that it could have a certain soapy character, I haven't been able to get that concept out of my mind. Though I kept the dosing low, its distinct tropical (and, sadly for me, slightly soapy) flavour dominated the beer. I might swap it for something more piney and/or resinous to diversify the hop character next time. That being said, I didn't have a hard time disposing of the batch. Here's to summer.

Why Not Another IPA?
Batch size: 5 gallons
Projected OG: 1.071
Projected SRM: 6.9
Projected IBU: 52.1
Boil time: 60 minutes
Brewhouse efficiency: 81%

Grains/Fermentables
80.0% - 10 lb Weyermann Organic Vienna
12.0% - 1.5 lb Toasted organic flaked oats - roasted @ 250F for 30 minutes, turned once
8.0% - 1 lb Turbinado (5 days into primary fermentation)

Hops
.6 oz Warrior (14.8%) (60 min)
1 oz Centennial (9.5%) (10 min)
1 oz Citra (12.5%) (10 min)

1.4 oz Warrior (0 min - 60 min hopstand)
2 oz Columbus (16.3%) (0 min - 60 min hopstand)
2 oz Amarillo (8.8%) (0 min - 60 min hopstand)

2 oz Amarillo (dry hop  - 5 days)
2 oz Centennial (dry hop - 5 days)
1 oz Citra (dry hop - 5 days)

Yeast
1.5 pkgs US-05 (rehydrated)

Extras
1 tsp Irish moss (10 min)
1 tsp Yeast nutrient (10 min)
1 vial Clarity Ferm (post-chill, pre-pitching)

Water Additions (mash)
12 qts RO water
2 g Gypsum
1 g Epsom salt
1 g CaCl
240 mL Lactic acid

Brewday: 25 May 2014
Mash: 150F for 90 minutes
Pre-boil volume: 7.1 gallons
Pre-boil SG: 12P (1.049)
Post-boil SG (w/o sugar): 13.8P (1.056)

Used undiluted water numbers for pH adjustment, so probably WAY overacidified the mash water.

Cooled to 69F; swamp cooler at 57F. Swamp cooler stabilized at 65F the day after brewing; held there.

29 May 2014: added turbinado (boiled w/ water)
Agitated a few times a day.

1 June 2014: Activity drastically slowed. Moved out of swamp cooler; ambient temperature 71F. Continued to agitate intermittently.

Secondary: 8 June 2014
SG: 1.009
ABV: 6.1%

Bottled: 13 June 2014
Bottled with 4 oz table sugar.