Trying to get some brewing done before the school year kicks into gear. Brewed a farmhouse ale today, with a tripel on slate for next week.
Here’s today’s recipe:
6.5 lbs Northern Brewer gold syrup
1 lb Northern Brewer dried malt extract
1/2 lb Briess Caramel 20 degree
1/4 lb Briess Caramel 60 degree
Steeped Caramel malt in 150 degree water for an hour.
Sparged and brought water up to 6 gallons
Added Malt and boiled for 60 minutes.
2 1/2 oz Strisselspalt hops added for 60 minutes
1/2 oz Strisselspalt added for 10 minutes.
1 c. Malto-Dextrine and a Tbsp Irish Moss in boil for final 10 minutes
Pitched Wyeast French Saison yeast at 80 degrees.
I’ll ferment in my garage which is a pretty steady 75 degrees these days.
O.G. = 1.054
Now, as Bob Dylan says, I’ll just sit here and watch the beer bubble (or some such paraphrase).
It tasted pretty good as I put it in the fermenter. What’s interesting with this style yeast is that I can’t quite fathom how it’s going to change. I can brew an IPA or any ale really and even before it ferments I have a pretty good idea how it’s going to finish, what it’s flavor profile is like. Once I get into these french and belgian yeasts, though, the characteristics are a little more unpredictable. It’s an X-factor that I really love. So, is this really a farmhouse ale? is it really a saison? potentially even a golden ale. True, I’m using a saison yeast, but so many factors go into how that yeast really works. It’s the joy of homebrewing, I guess, playing with style but then just waiting to see what comes out.
In his honor, I am naming this one the Isaac Hayes-on Saison.
Isaac Hayes
August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008
Rest In Peace
Tags: farmhouse ale, homebrew recipe
April 9, 2009 at 1:53 am |
To GJF. How did the Isaac Hayes-on Saison Homebrew mature? Was it the Wyeast 3724 you used? I’m looking at doing some Saison / Biere de Garde type brews. Thanks.
April 9, 2009 at 2:36 am |
The saison turned out great. It was really nice fresh, but I also have a few bottles I’ve been aging more that are still going strong. It was perfect at first, there was a period where it developed of cidery quality, and then it went past it and mellowed. Not sure what happened there, but all in all a fine beer. I did not use 3724. I used the “French Saison” yeast which is a seasonal yeast, not available all year. I forget the number on it (but I think it’s 3711) but I highly recommend it. Good luck!