Saison Hi Nelson! Nelson Hopped Saison w/Hibiscus

Hello said:

I'm at 1.004 after 10 days. Cold crashing my sample to see if it's worth my time to cold crash in general. With the wheat it is obviously cloudy.

It is good. My first saison too! .

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Mine finished at 1.004. I'm really happy with this beer and i'm sure you will be as well it's better than my first attempt at a saison which isnt garbage but isnt anything to write home about either. I did not cold crash nor would I bother to most of the commercial examples ive had are slightly cloudy.


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val214 said:

13 days in primary and Its down to 1.001. I used white labs belgian saison II yeast. I think it's ready for dry hop and the hibiscus tea.


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You just reminded me to dry hop!

Brewed a slightly modified version if this yesterday. I will let you know how it turns out


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I added my hibiscus tea and the dry hops today. Looks amazing. The sample was almost 1.000 dead nuts, belles saison yeast is ridiculous. Sample tasted pretty good too, even before the hibiscus. Really pumped about this one.

So I was under some dumb impression that you made a tea with the leaves and then bottled it right up like that. Would it matter if I made a tea with the leaves then threw it all in a keg or do I really need to heat water, add leaves and add to secondary?

Hello said:

So I was under some dumb impression that you made a tea with the leaves and then bottled it right up like that. Would it matter if I made a tea with the leaves then threw it all in a keg or do I really need to heat water, add leaves and add to secondary?

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Definitely boil the water steep the leaves and then strain. I klll the heat after it comes to a boil and then steep for 30 minutes which produced a nice ruby color in the beer. I dont see why you couldnt add the tea to the keg



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Okay cool. I think I just didn't catch onto why the tea needed to go into secondary. I don't see any sugar reference on the bag of flowers I got so I assumed that the addition of the tea was supposed to be at bottling or kegging. I have an open tap suddenly so I'm happy I can keg it. Off to make my tea.

Hello said:

Okay cool. I think I just didn't catch onto why the tea needed to go into secondary. I don't see any sugar reference on the bag of flowers I got so I assumed that the addition of the tea was supposed to be at bottling or kegging. I have an open tap suddenly so I'm happy I can keg it. Off to make my tea.

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Press on the leaves with a spoon or spatula when straining them they hold on to quite a bit of liquid/color.


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Hello said:

Okay cool. I think I just didn't catch onto why the tea needed to go into secondary. I don't see any sugar reference on the bag of flowers I got so I assumed that the addition of the tea was supposed to be at bottling or kegging. I have an open tap suddenly so I'm happy I can keg it. Off to make my tea.

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I didnt secondary for long. I was mostly being careful for any natural sugars that may have needed to ferment out.

I made the tea, proceeded to make a complete mess too! I let it steep for 30-40 min and then added it to the keg. Let it cool for a moment then racked my saison over it. It's cooling now and I hooked it up to gas. Hoping it's carbonated enough by Friday. I never even took a sample with the tea added. I cannot wait.

Pro tip: If you like your floors don't spill what looks like concentrated hibiscus tea all over it.

Hello said:

I made the tea, proceeded to make a complete mess too! I let it steep for 30-40 min and then added it to the keg. Let it cool for a moment then racked my saison over it. It's cooling now and I hooked it up to gas. Hoping it's carbonated enough by Friday. I never even took a sample with the tea added. I cannot wait.

Pro tip: If you like your floors don't spill what looks like concentrated hibiscus tea all over it.

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I spilled some myself. its a nice color but not when it's on my wife's countertops as evidenced by her response to my spilling it.


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My tasting notes are that of someone who clearly cannot really explain what something tastes like past yum or yuck but I'll try.

I get a slight tart, probably from it being a saison, taste with an earthiness from what I think may be the hibiscus tea. They smelled a bit sweet in the tea but I think with the hops and the flowers, they just give off a nice taste. I can definitely get the white wine sort of flavor from the hops. It is nice all around.

The color is pretty, darker than I thought so I am hoping this isn't a situation with the tea sitting at the bottom of the keg and it'll proceed to get lighter. I added tea like I would add priming sugar.

It's not fully carbonated, been at 30 PSI for 3 days and could use some more time I suppose.

I like this one and will re-brew. Great saison recipe Fuzzy and thanks for sharing it!

Damn, I put this on my list to brew about a month ago thinking it was an extract recipe but I misread. Anyone tried converting it yet?

I'm doing mine BIAB ...in the bag and underway now. LHBS guy said keg or bottles...saisons generally better after a couple of months. Opinions on this one? I had to use German Pilsner instead of Belgian...local shortage. 6L on the Munich.

mattmmille said:

I'm doing mine BIAB ...in the bag and underway now. LHBS guy said keg or bottles...saisons generally better after a couple of months. Opinions on this one? I had to use German Pilsner instead of Belgian...local shortage. 6L on the Munich.

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I drank my first 1 4 weeks after brewing and it was damn tasty. I am no expert on saisons though I've brewed 2.

m_sell31 said:

Damn, I put this on my list to brew about a month ago thinking it was an extract recipe but I misread. Anyone tried converting it yet?

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You could use Pilsen dme in place of the pilsner malt as far as the flaked grains go that is another matter. this is from byo magazine.
"But what does really happen when raw cereal grains and malted grains are steeped in a dilute solution at or above 160 °F (71 °C)? The starches and simple sugars contained in these grains will dissolve in the steeping liquor and any enzymes present will also be released into solution. The concentration of starches and enzymes in a brewery mash is considerably higher and, in accordance with Michaelis-Menten enzyme kinetics, the rate that these starches are converted to fermentable sugars is also considerably higher compared to what is seen in an extract brewer’s steep pot. Additionally, any enzymes present, for example if Munich malt is steeped, in this solution begin to denature because of the high temperature. In a nutshell, this means that not much starch degradation occurs."
So the opinion of many is dont steep flaked grains. My own personal experience is a cream ale I made when I first started brewing in which I steeped 1/2 pound of flaked maize and it tasted like cream corn. I dubbed the beer can of corn ale. Others disagree of course, it seems there is no agreement on almost anything in homebrewing. You will get unfermentable sugars and haze from steeping the flaked grains. Maybe you could use some wheat dme in place of the flaked malts and steep the munich? It wouldnt be an exact match but would be a saison and after the Hisbicus tea is added I would think it would be close. As far as converting the amounts from grain to extract I used to use a chart like this for converting all grain recipes when I brewed extract. http://www.jaysbrewing.com/2011/11/17/lazy-chart-for-converting-dme-lme-grain/

In the fermenter at 4:15. around a 1.068 OG...a little low, but I think I've seen others in this range for this brew. Tossed in a teaspoon or a little less of Irish Moss at 15 minutes...for the heck of it. I'm a little high on the volume...closer to 6 gallons; so I put a blow off on it.

I didn't see it specified in the recipe which Munich to use...shop recommended 6L, so I went with it. Neither LHBS had Belgian, so I went with German. Got and oxygen tank set-up and oxygenated for about 2 minutes. Looking forward to seeing how this turns out!

Hello said:

My tasting notes are that of someone who clearly cannot really explain what something tastes like past yum or yuck but I'll try.

I get a slight tart, probably from it being a saison, taste with an earthiness from what I think may be the hibiscus tea. They smelled a bit sweet in the tea but I think with the hops and the flowers, they just give off a nice taste. I can definitely get the white wine sort of flavor from the hops. It is nice all around.

The color is pretty, darker than I thought so I am hoping this isn't a situation with the tea sitting at the bottom of the keg and it'll proceed to get lighter. I added tea like I would add priming sugar.

It's not fully carbonated, been at 30 PSI for 3 days and could use some more time I suppose.

I like this one and will re-brew. Great saison recipe Fuzzy and thanks for sharing it!

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Glad you like it! Looks great!

mattmmille said:

In the fermenter at 4:15. around a 1.068 OG...a little low, but I think I've seen others in this range for this brew. Tossed in a teaspoon or a little less of Irish Moss at 15 minutes...for the heck of it. I'm a little high on the volume...closer to 6 gallons; so I put a blow off on it.

I didn't see it specified in the recipe which Munich to use...shop recommended 6L, so I went with it. Neither LHBS had Belgian, so I went with German. Got and oxygen tank set-up and oxygenated for about 2 minutes. Looking forward to seeing how this turns out!

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It does get better with time and also clears. My last few were pretty clear with just a slight haze. Hope you enjoy it!

mattmmille said:

In the fermenter at 4:15. around a 1.068 OG...a little low, but I think I've seen others in this range for this brew. Tossed in a teaspoon or a little less of Irish Moss at 15 minutes...for the heck of it. I'm a little high on the volume...closer to 6 gallons; so I put a blow off on it.

I didn't see it specified in the recipe which Munich to use...shop recommended 6L, so I went with it. Neither LHBS had Belgian, so I went with German. Got and oxygen tank set-up and oxygenated for about 2 minutes. Looking forward to seeing how this turns out!

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Fancy! O2 setup!

I think I used the 6L as well. Did you shop at American Brewmaster? I bought my last batch of grain from them to see if efficiency is boosted.

Anyway, as far as the OG, mine was 1.066 and finished at 1.004. That's a high ABV saison man.

I shared it Thursday with folks and one couple loved it so much they handed me an empty growler and gave me their phone #. HAHA I welcome the sharing of free beer. The wife said she couldn't drink a whole one but the husband was pretty set on killing a growler. I'm fine with that.

Another woman said in a snotty voice "this is pure alcohol". Well yeah, it's beer. But her point was she was saying it's too boozy. She didn't have the right words but I followed her. What I get are white wine notes up front and even on the backend with a nice earthy floral flavor. I like it a lot even not being a white wine fan.

Others just said it was good. Then shared with neighbors who aren't big into craft beer. They liked it, found it "complex" (yes I rolled my eyes) and interesting. They did not ask for more though. Another neighbor enjoyed it a lot. Drank the whole glass and welcomed more. I drank two tall glasses at a cookout. Happily.

Fuzzy, you have a definite winner here.

I did note that the recipe states an ABV of 7.5% and the Brewer's Friend calculator puts it at 9.98% with those numbers. If I get down to around 1.004-ish, mine will be around 8.4% ABV...that's plenty big! I put my fermentation bucket on a heating pad set on lowest setting around 10pm and this morning it is farting big time! Nothing in the blow-off, though. The sample I pulled for hydrometer testing looks good. Big layer of trub on this one? Anyway, I'm psyched about this batch!

Sub'd and adding to brew list as soon as I have a free fermenter

Final gravity was not affected by the hibiscus tea. I left the he tea and dry hop for 8 days. Hydro sample tasted great. Can't wait to try it once it is carbonated


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I'm brewing this on Sunday, with the following changes:

Dropped the pils to 8 lbs, and corn sugar to .5 lbs, as I don't really want a nearly 10% abv beer. Added a pound of rye malt.

Bittering with Calypso. Half ounce of Nelson at flameout with 20 minute hopstand, and another half ounce once the chiller is fired up and the wort temp drops to about 175. 1 ounce nelson dry hop. Those .5 ounce additions would have been a full ounce, but I had less Nelson in the freezer than I thought.

Six days in primary and I'm getting airlock action about every 25 to 30 seconds. Still on the heating pad on the lowest setting. I don't have an exterior thermometer and I really don't want to open it right now. Probably in primary until a week from tomorrow-ish.

I think I had noticeable active fermentation for at least 10 days and krausen did not drop for a bit after that.

Mine is like 8.2%. I drank two big glasses last night. i don't see this lasting long at all and I am glad I bought a pound of hibiscus flowers so I can rebrew soon.

Hello said:

I think I had noticeable active fermentation for at least 10 days and krausen did not drop for a bit after that.

Mine is like 8.2%. I drank two big glasses last night. i don't see this lasting long at all and I am glad I bought a pound of hibiscus flowers so I can rebrew soon.

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Did you keg it?

Fuzzymittenbrewing said:

Did you keg it?

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I sure did. That probably contributes to how quickly I am drinking it. It is my quickest keg drain yet I think.

Hello said:

I sure did. That probably contributes to how quickly I am drinking it. It is my quickest keg drain yet I think.

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Ugh I know it would be Bad News Bears for me lol

I had to try this Brew after week of it being bottled. It still needs more time to carb up but, so far it is tasting great. Big thanks to fuzzymittenbrewing for posting the recipe.


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val214 said:

I had to try this Brew after week of it being bottled. It still needs more time to carb up but, so far it is tasting great. Big thanks to fuzzymittenbrewing for posting the recipe. View attachment 210286


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Looks fantastic! Glad you enjoy it.

Has anyone tried an extract version of this yet? I got really excited reading all about this recipe and wanting to try it, but have not made the leap to BIAB or all-grain yet.

val214 said:

I had to try this Brew after week of it being bottled. It still needs more time to carb up but, so far it is tasting great. Big thanks to fuzzymittenbrewing for posting the recipe. View attachment 210286


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That looks beautiful. Can't wait to drink mine in September


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Delicious. FG went down to 1.000 as measured by my hydrometer, 8.9 ABV. Amazing color and taste, loved by everyone who has tried it. Definitely in my permanent rotation.

Tomorrow makes two weeks in primary for my batch. I figured I'd be moving it into secondary tomorrow, but I spotted airlock activity just a little over a minute between bubbles. I reckon it needs a little more time. I don't think I've had any other beer take more than 10 days in primary before. This one is truly going to be a trial of patience to let it finish, get it bottled and give it time to condition awhile. I know it's going to be worth it, though!

Question for the OP - what kind of fermentation/temp schedule did you use for this?

Sunday will be a week in the fermenter for mine. Started fermentation at 70, then bumped 2 degrees on day two, and 2 more degrees every day until it hits 80, which I'll hold until it's done, then rack and dry hop/add tea.

Staylow said:

Question for the OP - what kind of fermentation/temp schedule did you use for this?

Sunday will be a week in the fermenter for mine. Started fermentation at 70, then bumped 2 degrees on day two, and 2 more degrees every day until it hits 80, which I'll hold until it's done, then rack and dry hop/add tea.

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I did the same.

Doing a hydrometer check on my Hi-Nelson Saison that I brewed on July 4th. After temp correction, I'm at 1.004...maybe .001 less. Hydrometer was borderline. My OG was 1.068, so I should have an ABV of 8.40%. I'm going to get my hibiscus tea going and round up a little nylon bag for my dry hop. The additional 1/2 gallon of liquid might affect the ABV slightly, but I'll verify it again at bottling. Trub is above the spigot on the bottling bucket that I'm using for primary, so I guess I'll have to siphon to secondary.

Secondary is rolling! I know this is kind of high alcohol, but has anyone tried to wash this yeast? I have never harvested yeast or done a starter before...thinking it's time to do a little experiment.

mattmmille said:

Secondary is rolling! I know this is kind of high alcohol, but has anyone tried to wash this yeast? I have never harvested yeast or done a starter before...thinking it's time to do a little experiment.

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I think you would be ok washing the yeast. Its up there but its not a crazy high abv that would stress them so much.