100% Wheat Saison?

[dr_bollinger]

I've got lots of wheat malt and an old pack of WL585 Saison III sitting around that need to get used.

I'm considering making a saison with 7 lbs of wheat, 1 lb of rice hulls, and 2 lbs of sugar.

Question #1: Is that a terrible grain bill?

Question #2: Is 1 lb of rice hulls enough?

 

[Metalhead_brewer]

Answer #1: depending on your efficiency you'll end up with around 5.5% to 6% of ABV for a 5 gallon batch with that wheat and sugar.

Answer #2: I used half pound of rice hulls in a 4.5 pounds of finely milled wheat and 2 pounds of pilsner for a Dunkelweizen with no issues so i guess 1 pound for 7lbs of wheat i'll be ok.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

Answer #1: Terrible, not at all. A little odd, yes Try it! If it scares you, add a pound or two of some sort of malted barley and back off the sugar a tad.

Answer #2: Depends on a lot of factors. When I do a 10 gallon batch of 60/40 wit or hef, i'll use 1 pound. It flows wonderfully. My hunch is you will be fine.

Saison's (Farmhouse Ales) were simply "a refreshing and sessionable brew made with whatever that person had". I'm sure many similar concoctions were brewed all over Belgium and France. If you don't have any hops, toss in a little ginger and coriander. When it comes to a Saison, their really are no rules (ok, the judging thing has some guidelines I guess). The unique yeast flavors is what defines the style.

 

[radwizard]

I would go for it. Sounds like it could come out very well.

Personally, I would take it two directions:
1)consider adding fruit, and maybe Brett in a secondary.
2)use some interesting new school hops as late additions/dry hopping. (something that works well with the yeast)

Just some ideas. Good luck on the beer!

 

[HomemadeSauce]

Doesn't sound so bad to me. You could get really wild and brew a Grätzer/Lichtenhainer.

 

[dr_bollinger]

Thanks for the great ideas, guys! I'm gonna go for it.