I am trying to develop a Boulevard Saison Brett clone. I only have 7 batches under my belt, so I am going to need some help coming up with a good clone. Here is what I know: Saison Brett is 8.5% ABV, 35 IBUs, Brett Yeast, mostly pale malt, some malted wheat, and a small amount of corn. It is bittered with Magnum and Simcoe and is dry-hopped with Amarillo. Here is my first draft of the recipe (from Hopville):
% LB OZ Malt or Fermentable ppg °L
65% 9 0 Belgian Pale info 37 3
20% 2 12 American Wheat info 39 2
7% 1 0 Belgian Candy Sugar Light info 36 0
5% 0 10 Flaked Corn (Maize) info 40 1
4% 0 8 Corn Sugar info 40 0
13 14
Batch size: 5.5 gallons
Original Gravity
1.072
(1.065 to 1.075)
Final Gravity
1.016
(1.014 to 1.017)
Color
5° SRM / 10° EBC
(Yellow to Gold)
Mash Efficiency
75%
hops
use time oz variety form aa
boil 60 mins 0.5 Magnum info pellet 14.4
boil 15 mins 0.5 Simcoe info pellet 13.2
boil 5 mins 0.5 Simcoe info pellet 13.2
dry hop 7 days 1.0 Amarillo info pellet 8.8
Boil: 6.1 avg gallons for 60 minutes
Bitterness
35.6 IBU / 7 HBU
: Tinseth
BU:GU
0.49
yeast
Belgian Saison Yeast info
ale yeast in liquid form with low flocculation
Brettanomyces Bruxellensis info
ale yeast in liquid form with medium flocculation
Alcohol
7.5% ABV / 6% ABW
Calories
236 per 12 oz.
Mash @ 150 deg C for 1 hour. Sparge @ 168 deg C.
Primary fermentation with Saison yeast at 75-80 deg C for 1 week.
Secondary fermentation with Brett yeast for 3 weeks at 65-70 deg C.
Bottle with 3/4 cup corn sugar and condition for 3-6 months.
My questions are as follows:
1) Should I be using the Belgian Saison yeast? I bet that Boulevard just uses the same strain of Belgian yeast for all their Smokestack series.
2) I know it calculates the alcohol at 7.5%, and I will get a 0.2% ABV boost at bottling, but since I am mashing low and fermenting with Brett and a high attenuating yeast, what should I shoot for an original gravity?
3) What strain of Brett should I use?
4) Does my fermentation schedule seem right for the yeast? Boulevard says they bottle condition with Brett. Do they just add the yeast at bottling? Or should I just add it in the secondary? I know you should let Brett age, but I would rather age it in bottles than tie up a carboy for months.
5) What do you think of my ratios of grain to adjuncts? Does that seem right for the beer? Should I add more or less malt?
I think that is all I have now, but if you have anything else to add, feel free to type away. This is by far the most complicated brew I will be attempting, and I don't want to ruin an entire batch.
% LB OZ Malt or Fermentable ppg °L
65% 9 0 Belgian Pale info 37 3
20% 2 12 American Wheat info 39 2
7% 1 0 Belgian Candy Sugar Light info 36 0
5% 0 10 Flaked Corn (Maize) info 40 1
4% 0 8 Corn Sugar info 40 0
13 14
Batch size: 5.5 gallons
Original Gravity
1.072
(1.065 to 1.075)
Final Gravity
1.016
(1.014 to 1.017)
Color
5° SRM / 10° EBC
(Yellow to Gold)
Mash Efficiency
75%
hops
use time oz variety form aa
boil 60 mins 0.5 Magnum info pellet 14.4
boil 15 mins 0.5 Simcoe info pellet 13.2
boil 5 mins 0.5 Simcoe info pellet 13.2
dry hop 7 days 1.0 Amarillo info pellet 8.8
Boil: 6.1 avg gallons for 60 minutes
Bitterness
35.6 IBU / 7 HBU
: Tinseth
BU:GU
0.49
yeast
Belgian Saison Yeast info
ale yeast in liquid form with low flocculation
Brettanomyces Bruxellensis info
ale yeast in liquid form with medium flocculation
Alcohol
7.5% ABV / 6% ABW
Calories
236 per 12 oz.
Mash @ 150 deg C for 1 hour. Sparge @ 168 deg C.
Primary fermentation with Saison yeast at 75-80 deg C for 1 week.
Secondary fermentation with Brett yeast for 3 weeks at 65-70 deg C.
Bottle with 3/4 cup corn sugar and condition for 3-6 months.
My questions are as follows:
1) Should I be using the Belgian Saison yeast? I bet that Boulevard just uses the same strain of Belgian yeast for all their Smokestack series.
2) I know it calculates the alcohol at 7.5%, and I will get a 0.2% ABV boost at bottling, but since I am mashing low and fermenting with Brett and a high attenuating yeast, what should I shoot for an original gravity?
3) What strain of Brett should I use?
4) Does my fermentation schedule seem right for the yeast? Boulevard says they bottle condition with Brett. Do they just add the yeast at bottling? Or should I just add it in the secondary? I know you should let Brett age, but I would rather age it in bottles than tie up a carboy for months.
5) What do you think of my ratios of grain to adjuncts? Does that seem right for the beer? Should I add more or less malt?
I think that is all I have now, but if you have anything else to add, feel free to type away. This is by far the most complicated brew I will be attempting, and I don't want to ruin an entire batch.