Orange Saison

Okay, so my oatmeal stout is coming along nicely and now I've set my eyes on my next project... An Orange Saison. I'll be starting off with a recipe kit from Midwest...

3.3 lbs. Gold liquid malt extract
3.3 lbs. Wheat liquid malt extract
1 lb. Clear Candi Sugar
8 oz. Cara-20
8 oz. Unmalted Wheat specialty grains
3 oz. of hops
1/4 tsp. Grains of Paradise
1 oz. bitter orange peel
1/2 oz. whole coriander
White Labs Belgian Wit Ale 400

I want it to be nice and tart and after looking into it I think the White Labs will do the trick.

Anyway, on to my actual question... I'm thinking of replacing two gallons of water with two gallons of orange juice. I won't use them as part of the boil mind you... I'm afraid of what may happen to the sugars in it. It will be added to the wort to bring it up to five gallons.

What do you think?

Orange juice would add a ton of simple sugar and a lot of acid that may create a bad environment for the yeast, I think I'd stick to water and orange zest. Having said that, I have absolutely no experience so I'm just talking out my arse.

Good luck.

Belgian Witbier yeast will not make a saison, it will be a wit. If you can, get some saison yeast. With that said, saison yeast is very expressive, and I'm not sure whether the intense esters and phenols would work with orange juice. Some Belgian brewers use dried orange peel, maybe that would work more in harmony with the yeast.

Don't do it, man. Just don't do it. Don't foul up your beer with orange juice.

And, I agree with Iordz. That recipe is more for a high gravity witbier, not a saison, although I do not know what you are going to do with your hops, there. Typically, a saison is a fairly simple recipe, often without spices (but certainly not always). Hop flavor and aroma is fairly restrained, but it can be complex. You need enough bitterness to keep your final beer dry, but you really do not need any more than that. Yeast really is the star of the show ina saison, and most of the beer's character should come from fermentation products. Any other addition should be there to support the fermentation character in the background only.

It is your beer, so brew what you want. If you want a saison, though, you need to rework your recipe. If you want a high gravity wit, you're off to a good start.


TL