Peach Farmhouse Ale

I am working on a recipe for a peach saison/farmhouse ale using the wlp670. The basic inspiration for this beer is Lost Abbey Red Barn adding peaches and the brett.

Here is my first go at the recipe:


Any comments?

I will probably mash at 147F and start fermentation around 70F, hold for 24 hours, and then let it ramp to room temp (76F) and hold there. I will probably rack after 5-7 days to let it age/funkify on the peaches for an extended time.

I had a couple questions/ideas I was wondering if anyone had thought:
-What would you think about replacing a portion of the simple sugar with maltodextrin? This would leave something around for the brett to eat, but if the saison strain is the notoriously low attenuating strain, then there will be no worry about food for the brett.
-This is looking to be a fairly high abv beer. Do you think the alcohol will be too much for the brett?

Any comments would be appreciated.

Recipe looks good...love me some peaches! I would switch out the white sugar and go with dark brown sugar...in my experience, it goes great with peaches. Also I notice that you have all your ingredients at the boil...any thought of keeping some for the end to add aroma?
My final thought...I would wait a week to add the peaches, your sugar and grain sugar will be explosive...so adding the peaches at the beginning could be too much to handle.

Just my two cent's...keep us updated as to how it goes, I may want to give this one a try!

SD-SLIM said:

Recipe looks good...love me some peaches! I would switch out the white sugar and go with dark brown sugar...in my experience, it goes great with peaches. Also I notice that you have all your ingredients at the boil...any thought of keeping some for the end to add aroma?
My final thought...I would wait a week to add the peaches, your sugar and grain sugar will be explosive...so adding the peaches at the beginning could be too much to handle.

Just my two cent's...keep us updated as to how it goes, I may want to give this one a try!

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Thanks. All the spices will be added at the end of the boil. I will let them steep for 5 minutes or so before I start to run into the chiller. I also plan to add the peaches after 5-7 days when I rack to a secondary. The brewing software does not have a lot of options to say when I am adding "Other Ingredients"

Might add a touch of Amarillo later in the boil also.

I would say you do not have to worry about the higher alcohol. While it can be a sought after as a favorable contributor in beer, wine makers fear it in their cellars (with a very small number of exceptions). A weak wine is 12%, and if brett can take a hold of that product, it will continue to work in a beer. I have an 11% brett fermented sweet potato beer, and it chomped all the way through.

For the mash/maltodextrine point, I would mash higher, like 155*. When you see active ferment finish, take a gravity reading, and see if you are happy with the gravity. If it is too low, you can always add the maltodex in the fermenter. I like tweaking the process more than adding ingredients.

Other than that, I have done a peach berliner with fresh peaches and added much more fruit than what you have, I think to the tune of ~20 lbs in 2 dosings. I am still not getting the peach flavors/aromas I was hoping for. I think the contribution the peach gives off is subtle, like that of strawberries. I imagine the puree would be a higher contributor than the whole fruit I used, but I imagine you would want more. The fruit flavors you get from fruit in non-sour beers are not 1-to-1 for aged wild beers since the flavors will drop out over the aging process. That said, I would look to get apricots in the ferment. They are like concentrated peaches, and I would do a blend next summer for the berliner I made this year, like 70/30 whole peaches to apricot puree.

For the mash/maltodextrine point, I would mash higher, like 155*

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I second that thought. All my sours have been mashed at 158-160 (1.050 OG) and have great sourness and funk. Lots of complex sugars for the wilds to chew on over the long wait.

Just put 4 gallons of 18 month old Blonde Sour on 10 pounds of White Peaches. The peaches were getting to close to the top of the carboy, so I had to remove some with a wine thief. And then I had to drink it!!! Great peachy goodness coming through after only a few days. I hope it hangs on through aging.

Peach be with you!

BW

Thanks for the tips guys. Will do on the higher mash temp. That makes more sense than maltodextrin.

I think I will stick with the 49 oz of peaches to start. That is one of the Oregon puree cans. I will let that go for a while and consider raking it on more later. Not like I am pressed for time.

If you have access to fresh peaches, you are in Georgia after all, I would go that route personally.

BW

Thinking of doing a sour brown farm ale with thia yeast. What's the aging time freame like on this yeast blend/strain? How long do you age your peach recipe before going into the keg/bottle and then time til drinking?

i wouldn't boil the sugar addition. maybe toss it in at the end instead of the start. sounds tasty...