This recipe will pave the way towards a delicious and refreshing Saison. However - as a uniquely yeast driven style - the fermentation temperatures will have a tremendous influence on the final product.
The colour is gold and slightly hazy. The beer is dry and refreshingly crisp with light biscuit and caramel malt body. Wheat brightens the taste and improves head retention for this well carbonated brew. Saison yeast conjures delicious scents of bubble gum, cloves and black pepper.
The hop profile compliments the spicy esters produced by Saison yeast as well as enhance fruity and floral aromas. Note that the hop utilization is adjusted for my own equipment, a boil off rate of 3qts/hour and decreased alpha acid levels due to estimated age of hops.
Using fresh and properly stored liquid yeast, a starter will not be required.
A multi-step mash is employed.
Collect runnings, boil.
Add hops as indicated.
Cool and aerate wort.
Pitch Saison yeast and begin fermenting at “room temperature”, normally about 68-72°F, but whatever the temperature of your room will do.
I add the invert sugar directly into the fermenter when fermentation starts to slow down, around day 3. This ingredient is indicated as being added to “boil kettle” simply so that we can see it added to our OG.
Continue in primary at room temperature for a total of 2-3 weeks.
Bottle priming is traditional for this style. The dextrose for bottling is included in the recipe. Listing the sugar additions this way allows us to see the final alcohol percentage reflected in the recipe data.
