Biere de Mars

[Jonkl]

One of my favorite beers ever is the Biere de Mars from New Belgium. Since they only seem to brew it every time Mars is in full opposition, I thought I'd take a recipe I found and tweak it a bit for my own. The original has lemon peel and lemon verbena, which I'm trying to approximate with the Sorachi Ace and Perle hops.

The yeast plan is to separate the batch after primary into a 1.5 and 1 gallon secondary, add the Brett to the 1 gallon, then blending them back together. The goal is to keep the Brett from jumping front and center. Would that work, or do I just pitch it into the whole thing and let it mellow a while?

The recipe:
2.5 Gallon batch.
Efficiency 57%
Mash 152 for 60min

3 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 37.8 %
2 lbs 12.0 oz White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 2 29.7 %
1 lbs Rye Malt (4.7 SRM) Grain 3 10.8 %
8.0 oz Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 4 5.4 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 5 5.4 %
8.0 oz Munich Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 6 5.4 %
4.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 7 2.7 %
4.0 oz Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 8 2.7 %

0.10 oz Sorachi Ace [12.60 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 9 6.8 IBUs
0.20 oz Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 10 3.6 IBUs
0.15 oz Perle [8.50 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 11 4.1 IBUs
0.10 oz Sorachi Ace [12.60 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 12 4.1 IBUs
0.30 oz Willamette [5.50 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 15.0 min Hop 13 2.2 IBUs
0.15 oz Perle [8.50 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 15.0 min Hop 14 1.7 IBUs

1.0 pkg French Saison (Wyeast Labs #3711) [50.28 ml] Yeast 15 -
1.0 pkg Brettanomyces Bruxellensis (Wyeast Labs #5112) [50.28 ml] [Add to Secondary] Yeast 16 -

Est Original Gravity: 1.076 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 8.3 %
Bitterness: 22.5 IBUs
Est Color: 13.7 SRM

Any thoughts or recommendations?

 

[Jonkl]

Bump. Anyone else brewing spring beers yet?

 

[m00ps]

Blending them together down the road, the Brett would start fermenting the leftover sugars in the other half = bottle bombs. Unless you let it sit for another few months and end up with what you wouldve had in the first place

The malt bill looks good, but I don't think youll get the color you are looking for unless you toss in like an ounce or two of something dark

I think the hop bill is a bit busy for a Biere de Garde. Biere de Gardes are the French equivalent of the Belgian Saison. They are similar in a lot of ways, but much more malt forward. I'd mash it where I mash my saisons (148) because the goal is a very crisp lean body. It might not hurt to add some cane sugar in too so it dries out better.

Also, you could buy a lemon and add 1/2 the peel or something for the lemon flavor

 

[Jonkl]

Thanks. I'd been rolling it over in my head, and came to the same conclusion you did regarding the split Brett addition. I might be able to pull it off if I pasteurized that portion, but that's a little too much trouble. I'll probably mash lower-longer and give the 3711 more sugars to munch on so the Brett doesn't get as much to work with. That also ought to help dry it out a little, too.

I may back off the flavor hops by about half. My experience with lemon peel hasn't been real great - it seems to me that the oils tend to stick around and ruin head formation. Maybe some day I'll get the guts to try it again.

Brew day will probably be next week some time. I know it's not traditional for a Biere de Mars, but it should still be ready at the traditional time. Just in time for the basketball tournament.

 

[Calder]

Biere de Mars, is just a Biere de Garde brewed in March. Brett is not a necessary ingredient, although it seems to have become associated wih it.

It is not a Saison, so the yeast selection is inappropiate. It is a malty beer.

Add the brett to all of it.

 

[m00ps]

From BJCP:
16D. Bière de Garde

A traditional artisanal farmhouse ale from Northern France brewed in early spring and kept in cold cellars for consumption in warmer weather. It is now brewed year-round. Related to the Belgian Saison style, the main difference is that the Bière de Garde is rounder, richer, sweeter, malt-focused, often has a “cellar” character, and lacks the spicing and tartness of a Saison.

Attenuation rates are in the 80-85% range

3711 seems like a perfect yeast to me since it can consistently hit those numbers

 

[Calder]

.......... and lacks the spicing and tartness of a Saison.

Attenuation rates are in the 80-85% range

3711 seems like a perfect yeast to me since it can consistently hit those numbers

3711 will make it spicy and tart, and leave very little malt. Sounds like a poor choice to me. May make a fine beer, but not within the guidelines.

 

[m00ps]

"True farmhouse ales often use indigenous yeasts and molds that are hard for a home brewer to precisely duplicate. Some good options include White Labs French Ale (WLP072), White Labs Belgian Saison (WLP565), Wyeast European Ale (1338), and Wyeast French Saison (3711), though some brewers also use Belgian ale yeasts"

All Im suggesting is that any other yeast I can think of that is capable of +80% attenuation provides a much more noticeable and fruity character than 3711. Also, most commercial examples I've seen that identify their yeast use 3711. It's a french style after all and thats the only french yeast homebrewers have access to. Personally I'd never use anything but 3711 in a biere de garde

 

[Jonkl]

It's definitely somewhere between 16D and 16E. It's a bit lighter than planned, because the Aromatic and Munich malts I ended up getting aren't quite as dark as I'd expected. No biggie.

Brew day went pretty well. On the advice of the guy at the LHBS, I added 4oz of rice hulls, and didn't have a problem with a stuck mash or anything. Mashed lower and longer, and got a gravity of 1.071 (the lower mash temp recalculated to 1.072, so it's pretty close). That should attenuate fairly well. The 3711 is definitely chugging away.

I'll update later on in the process. I think I'm going to have a hard time being patient with this one.

 

[Jonkl]

After 72 hours, it's down to 1.005, and still has a little evidence that it's going lower.

The sample was definitely strong on the yeast character, but it was obviously pretty fresh. The lemon from the Sorachi Ace was present, but not overpowering. Had a lot of wheat character, with just a hint of the rye. While not exactly a malt-forward beer (it could probably use some more Munich), it's still very grain-forward, if that distinction makes sense.

I'm not sure how it will hold up against the Brett.

 

[Jonkl]

Just moved the Biere de Madness to secondary and pitched the Brett. Brux. The saison yeast has done it's thing: spicy and slightly tart. It's not as malty as a biere de garde, but the grains really come through, with some pepper from the rye, creaminess from the oats, and a whole bunch of soft wheat character. I really like this beer.

One thing I noticed is that, since I checked it last, my gravity has gone nowhere, despite having a fair amount of airlock activity and bubbles on the surface.

I'll give the Brett 3-4 weeks to do its funk-tastic thing, then I'll put it in the cask for conditioning and carbonating. It should be ready just in time for the Tournament.

 

[Jonkl]

I opened the first bottle last night. It was fantastic: The leathery funk of the brett, the bready character of the grains, and the citrus twang from the hops and saison yeast blended perfectly. It's a perfect pairing with watching college basketball games.