Grains and adjuncts for saison

Sunfire96

Sunfire96

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What are everyone's favorite specialty grain and adjunct additions to your saison recipes?
 
Spelt.

At 20% of the grain bill, I get a nutty, sweetness from it. I also think it helps with head retention and lacing.
 
Megary said:
Spelt.

At 20% of the grain bill, I get a nutty, sweetness from it. I also think it helps with head retention and lacing.
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Funny, I recently read about this grain and have been itching to try it! I'm thinking a dark lager of sorts with 10% spelt, 5% chocolate spelt, and a 5% split of wheat/midnight wheat malt... Hmm... Munich/Pilsner base?

I've always been a fan of Special B or 120C myself.... Not sure what my true favorite is yet. (I suppose Munich II (when its not considered a base malt ;) ))
 
Personally I'm a big fan of spelt and flaked oats, but I always have unmalted grain as 20-30% of the grain bill, and the base malt is usually the lightest pilsner or two row I can find.
 
Spelt sounds delicious. Would Victory accomplish something similar?
 
Sunfire96 said:
Spelt sounds delicious. Would Victory accomplish something similar?
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I don't think so. I think Victory would be a bit more toasty than spelt...if that makes sense. Still, I love Victory, and it could definitely work in a Saison, though I haven't ever tried it myself.

I also like Triticale in a Saison, though I think its flavor characteristics are kind of hard to describe. Doughy? Bready? Earthy? I'm not doing it justice at all.
 
Megary said:
I don't think so. I think Victory would be a bit more toasty than spelt...if that makes sense. Still, I love Victory, and it could definitely work in a Saison, though I haven't ever tried it myself.

I also like Triticale in a Saison, though I think its flavor characteristics are kind of hard to describe. Doughy? Bready? Earthy? I'm not doing it justice at all.
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Due to the high ambient temps in Ca still, I've been brewing with voss kveik, but would like to try more saison-like grain bills to use with it. Right now I'm thinking 95% 2row, 5% victory, and cascade hops. It will probably ride the line between blonde and a farmhouse style ale.
I'll be getting some pilsner malt and white wheat with my next LHBS order and can attempt to be more authentic :)
 
Blackmuse said:
@Megary Would a combination of victory and honey malt come closer to Spelt than just Victory? (Just curious)
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This is only my opinion so take it for whatever you think it’s worth...

I think a combo of Honey and Victory would be farther away from Spelt than Victory alone. I think of the sweetness of Spelt not like that of C-malts or Honey malt but more like what you might get from fresh bread. Not sugary sweet...but more of a bready, malty sweetness. Man that sounds ridiculous, but I don’t know how else to describe it. I think a mix of Vienna and Rye might be a better guess, but that isn’t right either.

I get my Spelt from a craft malt house in PA and it has a reserved parking place in my malt cabinet. But I certainly can’t say that what I taste from the Spelt I get will be the same as another malt house’s Spelt.

I definitely think Spelt is worth a try and I can see using it in American Pales, Wheat beers, definitely Saisons or Farmhouse ales. I wouldn’t be shy with using it either. I’ve found 20-25% as my sweet spot.

I hate to be on an island here. I would love to hear from others who also often use Spelt.
 
For a traditional Saison I'm at about 15% pearled spelt and 5% rye. The rest pilsner.

For a Saison where I'm adding a flavour late, like fruit or a dry hop, I'm 100% pilsner. I've got even less idea of the flavour contribution of the spelt than Megary, especially with that bit of earthiness from the rye. I changed to it instead of raw wheat as it's easy to get at the local nut shop and do prefer it to the raw wheat.
 
Megary said:
This is only my opinion so take it for whatever you think it’s worth...

I think a combo of Honey and Victory would be farther away from Spelt than Victory alone. I think of the sweetness of Spelt not like that of C-malts or Honey malt but more like what you might get from fresh bread. Not sugary sweet...but more of a bready, malty sweetness. Man that sounds ridiculous, but I don’t know how else to describe it. I think a mix of Vienna and Rye might be a better guess, but that isn’t right either.

I get my Spelt from a craft malt house in PA and it has a reserved parking place in my malt cabinet. But I certainly can’t say that what I taste from the Spelt I get will be the same as another malt house’s Spelt.

I definitely think Spelt is worth a try and I can see using it in American Pales, Wheat beers, definitely Saisons or Farmhouse ales. I wouldn’t be shy with using it either. I’ve found 20-25% as my sweet spot.

I hate to be on an island here. I would love to hear from others who also often use Spelt.
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I have never tried Spelt myself - which is why I asked the question. The answer you gave is very descriptive and thus, I am glad I asked. It makes more excited to use it!

Thanks Megary!

(BTW - is your BF name pronounce Meg-ary or Me-gary? - or neither? lol)
 
I'm doing some last minute rethinking of my recipe (dangerous, I know, but I do it every time :/) Would adding 1/4 - 1/2 of a fresh lemon to the mash lower the pH too much? I would like some subtle lemon flavor, and I'm not sure 1 tbsp of lemon juice will carry it through, even in a 1.5 gallon batch. I don't want to enter the realm of sours, just a light lemon freshness to complement the tartness of the voss. And/or some lemon zest in the last 5 minutes of the boil?
 
@Blackmuse what's a good nickname for you in the forum? Muse? BM just seems too cruel...
 
Sunfire96 said:
I'm doing some last minute rethinking of my recipe (dangerous, I know, but I do it every time :/) Would adding 1/4 - 1/2 of a fresh lemon to the mash lower the pH too much? I would like some subtle lemon flavor, and I'm not sure 1 tbsp of lemon juice will carry it through, even in a 1.5 gallon batch. I don't want to enter the realm of sours, just a light lemon freshness to complement the tartness of the voss. And/or some lemon zest in the last 5 minutes of the boil?
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https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=35202.0

Check this out. Too bad the jerk that started that thread didn't follow through with checking his mash pH. Maybe he will next time, but knowing him, I doubt it.
Interesting anyhow.
 
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