First Crack at an Extract Saison

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

mikeposthumus

New Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2012
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
This is maybe my 5th homebrew ever, and I love Saisons, so I thought I'd give it a try.

I'm a homebrew newb, so I'd love some critique of the recipe for those of you with more knowledge than me (which should be most of you).


3lb Light LME
3lb Bavarian Wheat LME
1lb Honey

1.5 lb Crystal 20L (45 min steep at 150°)

60 min 1 oz US Goldings (5.0 alpha)
15 min 1 tsp Irish Moss
10 min 0.25 oz Citra (14.9 alpha)

Wyeast 3724

0.75 Dry Hop Citra during secondary fermentation (~2-3 weeks hopefully).

Hoping to keep this stored around 75° F

Thoughts? Critiques? Glaring errors?

Thanks for reading my first of hopefully many posts on here...
 
Welcome!

Saisons typically finish very dry, so I would not use nearly that much crystal. Usually just a couple ounces is all you'd want.
For a bit more flavor complexity, I'd use some Munich LME if you can get it. Around 5% of the grain bill would be good.
I'd also drop the wheat to 8-10% of the bill, upping the total of the pale or pilsen LME as needed.
I haven't run your hop numbers, but I like saisons hopped around 25-35 IBU.
That yeast is great, but you need to keep it really warm!
Start at 70 and ramp it up to 85-90 over 2 weeks and check your gravity. It should be below 1.010. If not, let it go another week.
 
This should be about 29 IBU according I what I actually used.

I also made a mistake, it was 3 lbs Belgian Wheat, not Bavarian...

So, the crystal is adding the unfermentable sugars? Is that why you wouldn't use so much? I don't really completely understand how the steeped grains differ from the LME in that sense. I was operating under the assumption that the specialty grains add "complexity" to the beer, but that's all I know.

What will Munich provide in terms of flavor or feel? I do have access to pretty much anything I could imagine at my lhbs.
 
Crystal malts add caramel-type sweetness at lower roast levels and burnt sugar, raisiny notes at higher levels. Non-crystal specialty malts add roasted/toasted/nutty type flavors. The malt chart on hbt wiki ( homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Malts_Chart ) can help explain what adds what. Saison are typically dry, pale and yeast-driven, and often taste great with no specialty malts, but I've seen people put just about anything and everything in them. I'd try adding 1/3 to 1/2 pound each of honey malt and biscuit malt, but it's your beer, so you can add whatever sounds good to you.

What Wolfman said about the yeast is 100% correct. If you can't get it under 1.015, you can add US-05 or something similar to help it finish.
 
You don't need (or really want) any crystal in a Saison; all the flavors are formed by the yeast.

I'd use table sugar in place of honey. Most honey flavor will dissapear during fermentation, and if it doesn't its flavor will be misplaced in a saison.

With just the LME and honety, that is about 1.049 OG. That is low for a Saison.

Citra has no place in a Saison. A Belgian Pale Ale maybe.

I would reconsider your yeast choice. While a great yeast, as others have said it need to be hot and can be temperamental.
 
I hate to argue with Calder; he knows more about brewing than I do. But here I go...

1.049 is perfectly fine for a saison. The "official" BJCP guidelines are 1.048 to 1.080, but saison is a wide-open style. I usually aim for the low 40's with mine.

Citra is certainly not traditional for a saison. They usually use Strian Goldings and/or Saaz, or something along those lines. But that doesn't mean Citra wouldn't be good. A lot of people use Amarillo, and I recently used Motueka (like Saaz with a little Citra) in a tasty saison. He's right about the honey, which is why I suggested a small amount of honey malt, which I've heard pairs well with Citra. You can put just about anything in a saison, but just remember that the yeast is the star.
 
I appreciate all of the advice. On the next go-round I'll switch to more pale lme, try a traditional hop bill, and try a small amount of a few select specialty grains. Then I'll have two to compare and will be better equipped to make more informed changes.

On a side note, I did a full boil, and put about 4.25 gallons in the fermenter at about 1.062 OG.
 
Back
Top