Saison Part II

You won't find Part I on this blog. It didn't go so well. I basically wound up with an underattenuated batch (finished out at 1.014 after several months and a couple different yeasts). The Saison was carbed and ready to drink, but it was just cloyingly sweet. I tried making a Brett starter to add to the keg, hoping that in a few months time, the brett would bring this down to the dry beer that it should be. However, when I added the brett starter to the keg, it immediatelty foamed over all over the place. I got pissed and dumped the whole thing.

So now I know a little more about the Saison style and how finnicky Saison yeast can be. I am ready for my second try. Hoepfully this session will take place next weekend. My next recipe is below...

Recipe Specifications------------------------
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 8.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.078
Estimated Color: 5.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 32.2 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients-----------------------------------
7 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Bel
3 lbs Wheat Malt, Bel
3 lbs Rye Malt
0.75 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (60 min)
0.75 oz Saaz [5.40 %] (60 min)
0.25 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (10 min)
0.25 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (5 min)
14.0 oz Dememera Sugar
1 Pkgs Belgian Saison I Ale (White Labs #WLP565)

1 Pkgs Brett B. (pitched in keg to finish)

Mash Schedule------------------------------
Saccharification: Rest 45 min at 152.0 F
Mash-Out: Rest 15 min at 168.0 F and then sparge as normal

UPDATE 5/20/08

Again, I wound up with an underattenuated batch. It stalled at 1.016 even at 90 degrees. So I racked to a keg, pitch some Brett B with a small amount of priming solution, and things have taken off again. I don't really want to naturally carbonate in the keg because I don't know how far down the Brett will take it, so I am bleeding off CO2 daily. In 2-3 more months, I'll force carbonte and poor my first Saison!