Nelson Sauvin Tripel with Saison Yeast

This is a big beer with Nelson Sauvin hops, which I've always wanted to use and finally got a hold of.

The recipe is a tripel but the yeast is WLP565 from a cider yeast cake. I'm hoping to get a Chardonnay-like white wine beer.

Already brewed this a week ago, working on dry hopping schedule now.


Base Beer:

5.5G batch, 75% eff (probably better)

12# Muntons Maris Otter Pale Malt (77.4%)
1# Dingeman Aromatic Malt (6.5%)
2.5# Demerara Sugar (16.1%) - added at 10min for better hop utilization, less color

Mashed 144F for 30min
Direct fired to 148F for 30 min
Direct fired to 152F and left for 2.5 hours (went to bar :cross
Mashout at 160F

0.5oz 13%AA Nugget @ FWH
0.25oz 11%AA Nelson @ 30min
0.25oz 11%AA Nelson @ 15min
Whirlfloc +sugar @ 10min
0.5oz 11%AA Nelson @ 0min, below 190F
0.5oz 9%AA Centennial @ 0min, below 190F

Fermenting on a WLP565 Belgian Saison cider cake; added 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient, FermCap
Ferment temp: 75F to 95F, ramping 2F per day

OG 1.088, IBU 37 (calculated as sugar at end of boil), SRM 8.3
Anticipated ABV: 10.3%


Next Steps?
Currently on day 4 of fermentation (at ~80F right now). Saisons always give my temperature control system a run for its money.

I'm thinking about aging on 1/4 - 1/2oz American Oak to continue with the white wine theme. Oaky Chardonnays are great.

The saison yeast and high temp is probably going to really dry this out. Hopefully the 10% ABV prevents the yeast from getting to really low FG but if that happens maltodextrin is an option. Beersmith predicts 1.011.

There's one ounce of Nelson left, many ounces of Nugget/Centennial and some older Pacific Jade/Styrian Aurora/Fuggles. I'd like to do two 1 week 0.5oz dry hop sessions, any ideas?

My first choice would be straight Nelson, both times. Second choice mix .25 oz each Centennial/Nelson both times.

Yeah, I was thinking all Nelson too. It goes with the spirit of what I'm trying to do. I think that's how I'll go with it.

But then again nobody ever complained about even more Centennial ending up in a beer.

I think that Centennial would take much away from the Neslon. NS is such a complex and subtle flavor play, while Centennial is (arguably) most definitely not

This looks awesome! How did it turn out in the end, OP? Any follow up notes on what you might adjust next time and why?

From the long mash at relatively low temperature I got an FG of 1.004 (95% attenuation). WLP565, like most saison strains, is a beast. 11.3% ABV and not hot or solventy at all due to temperature control and fermentation at 86F (max my BrewPi setup can go, it won't let me adjust for now).

To work back up from that a little I added 0.5# lactose and 2oz blackstrap molasses for an expected 1.007 FG (still kind of low). It was also part of the plan to have some appreciable oak so it's been on 1oz of oak for a few weeks now. 0.5oz wasn't originally enough so I added another 0.5oz two weeks ago. A combination of lactose for backsweetening and oak is being used here to try and get more of a creamy, oaky body you get with a chardonnay.

Might not end up dry hopping, that last 1oz of Nelson went into an DIPA since then.

Isn't all of the molasses going to ferment and not actually back-sweeten?

Nelson plays well with hops that have the "stone fruit" flavors..... not as well with the big citrus hops. Of the hops you list, I would choose Fuggles. Nelson is my favorite hop, and the one I use more than any other. I've paired it with many hops, my favorite pairings so far have been with Motueka, with Ahtanum, and recently with Calliente. It works well with Amarillo in the proper balance. It definitely does not belong with the big citrus hops in my opinion. I like Nelson best as a very late addition, whirlpool, or dry hop. Nelson works wonderfully with Summit which has a great flavor used late in the boil.

In a similar project, I'm going through a series of brews based on Nelson and hibiscus flowers. My IBUs are ranging from about 17 to the low 30's. The result has been a sparkling Merlot to Cabernet Sauvigion. The local wine drinkers I've tried it on love it... A rich dry red wine with a complexity of flavor wine never offered. My third version is a lager.... so I won't have results very soon. Bittered with a 30 minute addition of Summit, I added Nelson and Motueka at 2 minutes, and will dry hop with those two at 2 days before I cold crash. IBUs 20 (approx). Hop quantities are pretty significant. I'm trying to throw the hops in there late with a lot of presence. The Hibiscus is pretty dominant.... 1/4 pound in a 2.5 gallon brew. Midnight wheat was used in a tiny quantity to deepen the red color....... I'm excited about this one!

Brewing is a constant voyage of discovery, an ongoing adventure.... It's never boring if you have any sense of adventure!


H.W.

TheHairyHop said:

Isn't all of the molasses going to ferment and not actually back-sweeten?

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I did want some molasses though. Mostly because I have a 2.5# jar of it and didn't end up using as much as I thought (went more pale ales this year than stouts).

It should complement the oak maybe. There wasn't a lot of malt complexity even though there's MO as a base with aromatic. The lactose was for backsweetening though. And I might go with maltodextrin if I want to bring the FG up further. It's at 1.007 right now.

Owly055 said:

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The NZ hops are great. I've done a single hop Pacific Jade pale ale which had pretty substantial blackberry to it from the late additions. Could probably go toward a Malbec character with that one. Early additions did give some sharp bitterness.

I'll probably end up dry hopping when I decide to bottle. Right now it's in a glass secondary for 1 month after 1 month of primary. The oak is threaded with floss so I can pull it off the beer when it's oaked enough.