Recipe Tweak: Lawnmower Saison w/ Blueberries and Brett

[adamjackson]

I think this recipe will turn out okay. My two concerns are

• What should I expect from this Brett strain? Will it compliment the dry wit yeast?
• How many blueberries should I use? Plan is to boil them and add right to the primary and do a 30 day primary fermentation

Ingredients:

Schedule:

 

[hough77]

You are gonna need some rice hulls, and why not use WLP Farmhouse Blend with Brett? That recipe looks busy for a Saison IMO.

 

[hough77]

It's basically a Wit recipe but adding blueberries and Brett. But I don't have Brett experience, so maybe someone else will be able to answer better. Should be an interesting beer though!

 

[Darwin18]

I made a blueberry kolsch a few weeks back. I brewed and fermented the kolsch as I would normally do, then transferred it post fermentation to another carboy to sit on 9 lbs of blueberries for a few days. The beer has a great blueberry aroma, very slight blueberry flavor, but is purple.

Reading through Designing Great Beers, the addition of fruit to beer is recommended following fermentation not during the boil. You'll end up with a lot of haziness due to the pectins. I would also little aroma as boiling and fermentation should drive the subtle fruit aromas off. Additionally for more subtle fruits like blueberries, Designing Great Beers recommended up to 2 lbs per gallon of beer.

 

[adamjackson]

You are gonna need some rice hulls, and why not use WLP Farmhouse Blend with Brett? That recipe looks busy for a Saison IMO.

Good idea. I still have half a pound of them from another recipe. I can add 4-6 ounces of them.

For the yeast, honestly I bought two vials from the LHBS that were nearly expired for $4 a piece and decided to make a beer around them using some online sources.

I made a blueberry kolsch a few weeks back. I brewed and fermented the kolsch as I would normally do, then transferred it post fermentation to another carboy to sit on 9 lbs of blueberries for a few days. The beer has a great blueberry aroma, very slight blueberry flavor, but is purple.

Reading through Designing Great Beers, the addition of fruit to beer is recommended following fermentation not during the boil. You'll end up with a lot of haziness due to the pectins. I would also little aroma as boiling and fermentation should drive the subtle fruit aromas off. Additionally for more subtle fruits like blueberries, Designing Great Beers recommended up to 2 lbs per gallon of beer.

wow 2 pounds per gallon? Okay, noted and I'm glad to have posted here for that input. I really should pickup that book.

So I'll ferment and then add the blueberries once primary fermentation has subsided or maybe even better, transfer to a secondary and add the blueberries.

...makes me wonder, should I primary with the Wit yeast and then add the Brett C to the secondary with he blueberries?

 

[tagz]

If you don't want to add as much fruit, you can go raspberries. They pack a punch flavor-wise. I used half a pound per gallon on a belgian wheat and it was pretty dominant... Great beer though.

 

[TNGabe]

Couple ideas. I think saisons are defined by the yeast character, so if you use wit yeast, your beer won't be a saison. I don't the number of cells in a white labs brett vial will be enought to contribute much in the short term. If that's the route you want to go, I'd think more along the lines of a brett secondary over the course of months. I'd also save the berries until the end, after it has the brett character you want.

The clear syrup is a waste of money, just use white sugar or none at all as it seems to contradict your high mash temp.

If you stick with what you've got and make a few shifts, you could have a very funky blueberry wit. Sounds like it could be quite tasty.

 

[adamjackson]

Couple ideas. I think saisons are defined by the yeast character, so if you use wit yeast, your beer won't be a saison. I don't the number of cells in a white labs brett vial will be enought to contribute much in the short term. If that's the route you want to go, I'd think more along the lines of a brett secondary over the course of months. I'd also save the berries until the end, after it has the brett character you want.

The clear syrup is a waste of money, just use white sugar or none at all as it seems to contradict your high mash temp.

If you stick with what you've got and make a few shifts, you could have a very funky blueberry wit. Sounds like it could be quite tasty.

Unfortunately enough, this is based on a kit from midwest supplies called "lawnmower de saison" which for some reason comes with a belgian wit vial from WLP

I ended up buying 10 pounds of frozen blueberries today at $7 a pound so I'm all ready to go!

 

[Darwin18]

Please let us know how it turns out! I haven't tried Brett in any of my homebrews but I'm very interested after having a few from the Secret Santa swap. I thought the Brett paired wonderfully with an American Brown - the sourness really complimented and balanced the roastiness.

Keep an eye on it when it's on the blueberries. Mine were literally only on them for a few days but the beer is purple. My wife loves it but it really throws me off. Oh, and pickup a copy of Designing Great Beers. The very first recipe I made was a California Common that I created using that book as a guidance and it was my first 1st place ribbon winner!

 

[adamjackson]

Please let us know how it turns out! I haven't tried Brett in any of my homebrews but I'm very interested after having a few from the Secret Santa swap. I thought the Brett paired wonderfully with an American Brown - the sourness really complimented and balanced the roastiness.

Keep an eye on it when it's on the blueberries. Mine were literally only on them for a few days but the beer is purple. My wife loves it but it really throws me off. Oh, and pickup a copy of Designing Great Beers. The very first recipe I made was a California Common that I created using that book as a guidance and it was my first 1st place ribbon winner!

Noted. I'm overdue on grabbing that book. I've been drinking a lot more brett beers lately and have grown quite fond of it. a lot of guys are brewing IPAs but using only brett for fermentation and reporting great things. I just had to get over my fear of wild yeast and label all of my equipment as "wild only" and separate what is used for brett and what is not.

 

[Piratwolf]

Noted. I'm overdue on grabbing that book. I've been drinking a lot more brett beers lately and have grown quite fond of it. a lot of guys are brewing IPAs but using only brett for fermentation and reporting great things. I just had to get over my fear of wild yeast and label all of my equipment as "wild only" and separate what is used for brett and what is not.

Thanks from me too. I've only done 1 Brett (Brux) beer but I've been thinking about a Brett IPA. Please report back on this beer, Adamjackson!