Help with recipe: Hibiscus Saison

[sathrovarr]

Hi,
I've designed a recipe for a saison with hibiscus and a lot of other spices, I would like to get your comments on it before I will brew it. I want to brew this for a local competition so it should also fit the BJCP style guide:

Recipe: Hibiscus Saison
Brewer:
Asst Brewer:
Style: Saison
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 31.37 l
Post Boil Volume: 24.10 l
Batch Size (fermenter): 20.00 l
Bottling Volume: 20.00 l
Estimated OG: 1.050 SG
Estimated Color: 5.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 21.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 69.0 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
3.19 kg Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 69.7 %
0.57 kg Wheat Malt, Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 12.5 %
0.19 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 4 4.0 %
0.19 kg Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 3 4.2 %
8.00 g Citra [12.00 %] - First Wort 90.0 min Hop 5 14.4 IBUs
4.00 g Cascade [5.50 %] - First Wort 90.0 min Hop 6 3.3 IBUs
4.00 g Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 7 2.2 IBUs
4.00 g Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 8 1.4 IBUs
30.00 g Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 5.0 mins) Spice 12 -
100.00 g Organic Dried Hibiscus (Boil 10.0 mins) Spice 10 -
14.00 g Black pepper, Fresh ground (Boil 5.0 min Spice 13 -
1.0 pkg French Saison (Wyeast Labs #3711) [50.28 Yeast 16 -
0.44 kg Honey (1.0 SRM) Sugar 17 9.6 %
22.00 g Citra [12.00 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 19 0.0 IBUs
22.00 g Cascade [5.50 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 18 0.0 IBUs
70.00 g Organic Dried Hibiscus Tea (Secondary 5. Spice 20 -
14.00 g Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 mins) Spice 14 -
14.00 g Seeds of Paradise (Boil 5.0 mins) Spice 15 -
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 mins) Fining 9 -
14.00 g Lemongrass (Boil 10.0 mins) Spice 11 -


Mash Schedule: BIAB, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 4.57 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Saccharification Add 29.31 l of water at 67.4 C 64.4 C 90 min
Mash Out Heat to 75.6 C over 7 min 75.6 C 10 min

 

[J343MY]

Those tiny little hop additions throughout the boil don't make a lot of sense to me. Obviously with the dry hop addition you are going for some hop presence, so why don't you just get rid of all the other additions and add one ounce of each towards the end of the boil? Play around with the time of the addition to achieve you desired IBUs.

the amount of orange peal looks good. Make sure its from a fresh orange you zest right before you add it in. The amount of Hibiscus looks on the high side to me. Start lower, 35-50 grams right at the end of the boil. Adjust it later with the hibiscus tea if you think it needs more. I've included a picture of the wort of a recent Saison with 35g of hibiscus added at flameout as a reference. The other spices I haven't used so I can't really comment.

Edit: I was just thinking about it again, and with all those different ingredients maybe you are trying to do too much. You have a lot going on, and it may not be to the benefit of the beer. I would take a step back and think about each ingredient and why they are in the recipe. You may find you can cut out a few of them and end up with something more cohesive.

 

[sathrovarr]

Thanks for the reply,
I based my recipe on a past saison that I've brewed with lemongrass, coriander, peppercorn, and orange zest. That recipe was a great success among the tasters so I wanted to make something similar but to add the hibiscus for color and more sour taste. Also I read about Saison de Wench that it has in it hibiscus, lemongrass and roses.
Maybe I will left out the grains of paradise as I have never brewed with it before and also leave the chamomile out..

 

[hopbrad]

i just bottled a saison today after a 3 week primary. i took about a gallon of it and added some hibiscus tea i brewed to test it out. i took 1/4 oz in a cup of water, brought to a boil then let it steep for 15 minutes. the sample was interesting. very cool color. i love hibiscus tea on its own...tart, sour. and it makes total sense in a saison. but my sample wasnt what i expected. who knows how it will blend and age tho. i will update in 3-4 weeks when i try my first bottle and compare it to the regular saison, ill include pics.

i also agree that you have a lot going on with the spices, but if you brewed it before and it was a success, go for it.

my recipe:
pale malt, wheat, and 1/2 lb of cane sugar.
hops 3oz styrian goldings - 1.5 @ 60 and 1.5 @ 15.
i used 1/2 oz of coriander @ 5
yeast Belle Saison