- Joined
- Mar 6, 2011
- Messages
- 665
- Reaction score
- 56
I've always been devoted to a good process and repeatability. This time I wanted to try something different.
It started when my expensive laptop died. What? No Beersmith? I'm not an engineer type. Nor am I particularly analytical. Even if I knew the formulas involved in brewing, they would give me a headache.
I decided to use what experience I have to blindly formulate a recipe, and blindly brew it.
I'm aware of tastybrew and other online calculators. I used tastybrew when I was done, just to see some numbers on what I did.
This was fun. That's all I cared about. Even though I believe I brewed a good beer, but I don't intend on doing it again.
I wanted a very petite Saison/maybe Belgian Blonde. It falls in the middle of the styles, but I look at it very much as a Saison.
7lbs pilsner
3 lbs wheat malt
.5 lbs fkaked oats
.25 acid malt
1.5 ounces EKG FWH
2 ounces aged Styrian Goldings 5 min.
90 min mash at 145 F (this was lower than I intended, but in retrospect is perfect)
Batch sparge collect 7.5 gallons (oops. Doing a 90 min boil. Could use more than that.
So I was thinking about a 1.040 OG. I neglected to consider that I would be doing a ninety minute boil. I could have topped off, but I was out of RO water. My tap is a no no. I ended up around 1.055. With what I learned is IBU around 20-25, some folks might have a problem with that. I do not.
This is very pale. Lighter than a Saison "should" be. I say a Saison is whatever I say it is.
Example 2 of this thinking, I used a starter from banked 3787 Trappist High Gravity. Had I anticipated the higher gravity, I would have made a larger than 1600 mil starter. No biggie. The banked yeast was a drooling monster.
Something else I never do, no temp control on fermentation. This is believed to be acceptable with Saison yeast. I did not use a Saison yeast.
I can tell this beer is going to be great. My Belgian beers just want to be good. The only thing that could ruin it is fusal alchohols from the beginning stages of a free rise fermentation. I'll get a sample and have a taste tomorrow.
I know this is not the way to do things. I just wanted to see what would happen.
It started when my expensive laptop died. What? No Beersmith? I'm not an engineer type. Nor am I particularly analytical. Even if I knew the formulas involved in brewing, they would give me a headache.
I decided to use what experience I have to blindly formulate a recipe, and blindly brew it.
I'm aware of tastybrew and other online calculators. I used tastybrew when I was done, just to see some numbers on what I did.
This was fun. That's all I cared about. Even though I believe I brewed a good beer, but I don't intend on doing it again.
I wanted a very petite Saison/maybe Belgian Blonde. It falls in the middle of the styles, but I look at it very much as a Saison.
7lbs pilsner
3 lbs wheat malt
.5 lbs fkaked oats
.25 acid malt
1.5 ounces EKG FWH
2 ounces aged Styrian Goldings 5 min.
90 min mash at 145 F (this was lower than I intended, but in retrospect is perfect)
Batch sparge collect 7.5 gallons (oops. Doing a 90 min boil. Could use more than that.
So I was thinking about a 1.040 OG. I neglected to consider that I would be doing a ninety minute boil. I could have topped off, but I was out of RO water. My tap is a no no. I ended up around 1.055. With what I learned is IBU around 20-25, some folks might have a problem with that. I do not.
This is very pale. Lighter than a Saison "should" be. I say a Saison is whatever I say it is.
Example 2 of this thinking, I used a starter from banked 3787 Trappist High Gravity. Had I anticipated the higher gravity, I would have made a larger than 1600 mil starter. No biggie. The banked yeast was a drooling monster.
Something else I never do, no temp control on fermentation. This is believed to be acceptable with Saison yeast. I did not use a Saison yeast.
I can tell this beer is going to be great. My Belgian beers just want to be good. The only thing that could ruin it is fusal alchohols from the beginning stages of a free rise fermentation. I'll get a sample and have a taste tomorrow.
I know this is not the way to do things. I just wanted to see what would happen.
