Rye Saison II

Not entirely happy with how my recent saison with WY3711 came out, I did something out of character for me: a straight-up rebrew with a single change (basically). As I'd blamed my perhaps overzealous use of Amarillo hops for the prominent plasticky quality of the first batch, this batch instead received the more traditional Styrian Goldings for the flavor/aroma component. I also upped the pre-boil volume to finish with a full five gallons, added Irish moss at the end of the boil, and altered the fermentation temp a bit, as noted below.

While the brewday caused no fuss, the fermentation was where things got more exciting for this beer. I brewed this the day before we drove cross country for the holidays, putting it in a water bath with my aquarium heater to keep it in the mid-70s during our two-week trip. Over that time, not only did our car break down twice--both times in Arizona--but a poorly insulated sprinkler pipe in the attic of the house froze and broke, running water through half the house for several hours before the fire department turned it off. And where did it break? Just above the closet in which the saison was fermenting.

Our gracious landlords were very quick to clear out our belongings from the affected areas of the house and had the water evacuated. When we returned, I found the carboy still in the cooler, now drained of water. Miraculously, it was perfectly fine; no evident infection, with the airlock more or less firmly in place. Once the house drying was over and we were able to move back in--it'll be months before repairs are completed--I gave it a few days to let the dust kicked up by the work settle and then bottled this batch. Tasting the hydrometer sample at bottling, I'm afraid that the Amarillo may not have been the culprit in creating the quality I dislike in the first batch; though not exactly the same, it's present in this second batch. I'll do a side-by-side tasting of these saisons shortly.

Update: Given some aging, the plastic note has disappeared from both batches, leaving not one but two very nice saisons. I'll get into it in the tasting notes.


Rye Saison II (The Styrian)


Batch size: 5.3 gallons

Projected OG: 1.062

Projected SRM: 7.3

Projected IBU: 36.5

Boil time: 60 minutes

Brewhouse efficiency: 71%


Grains/Fermentables

60.0% - 6 lb Weyermann Organic Vienna

30.0% - 3 lb Weyermann Rye

10.0% - 1 lb Turbinado (10 min)

Hops

.5 oz Millennium (13.5%) (60 min)

2 oz Styrian Goldings (4.5%?) (10 min)


Yeast

WY3711 French Saison - 1.5L stirplate starter

Extras

1 tsp Yeast nutrient (10 min)

1 tsp Irish moss (10 min)

Water

Profile: Reno

1 g Gypsum

1 g CaCl

1 mL Lactic acid (88%)

Brewday: 20 December 2014

Mash: 147F for 3 hours

Pre-boil volume: 6.8 gallons

Pre-boil SG (w/o turbinado): 10.4P (1.041)

Chilled to 70F. Aerated for 30 min, pitched 8 hours after KO. Started in water bath @ 55F; raised to ~75F over several hours, left there for fermentation.

Survived the great NYE flood intact. Sat @ ~80F(?) for a few days during cleanup, presumably after active fermentation finished, then moved to 50F garage for a few days prior to bottling.

Bottled: 10 Jan 2015

FG: 1.006

ABV: 7.5%

Bottled w/ 5.2 oz table sugar.

Tasting: 13 May 2015
Success! Turned out clean, spicy, and fruity with a few months of age. Also took first in Belgian ales in a local comp! Will rebrew this fall for a statewide comp.

1st Place, Belgian & French Ales: Great Basin Brew-Off 2015