Cottage House Saison extract recipe? (And: dumping Edwort's Apfelwein on yeast cake?)

[zonkman]

Howdy all,


Two questions that may, or may not, be related:


1. Does anyone have ideas for converting the Cottage House Saison (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=254684 ; also pasted below) from an all grain to extract recipe? Speciality grain subs, etc?


I do plan to use Belle Saison yeast instead of Wyeast 3711, because...


2. Once this bad boy is out of there, I plan to dump Edwort's Apfelwein (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14860 ; also pasted below) on the yeast cake, right away, just like that. Wise?


Any pointers on any aspects would be awesome. Will post results (eventually).


Thanks all!

Cottage House Saison

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines:
-------------------------------

16-C Belgian & French Ale, Saison

Min OG: 1.048 Max OG: 1.080
Min IBU: 25 Max IBU: 45
Min Clr: 5 Max Clr: 12 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics:

Batch Size (Gal): 5.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 12.00
Anticipated OG: 1.062
Anticipated SRM: 7.5
Anticipated IBU: 36.3
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes


Grain/Sugars:

8.50 lbs. Pilsner Malt(2-row)
1.50 lbs. White Wheat
0.50 lbs. CaraMunich Malt
0.50 lbs. Flaked Oats
1.00 lbs. Orange Blossom Honey (added with 5 minutes left in the boil)

Hops/Spices:

0.50 oz. Sorachi Ace, 10.50%aa @FWH.
0.50 oz. Fuggle, 4.75%aa @FWH.
0.50 oz. Fuggle, 4.75%aa @30 min.
1.00 oz. Fuggle, 4.75%aa @15 min.

1.5 tsp Black pepper, Fresh ground @5 min.

Yeast:

WYeast 3711 PC French Saison


Mash Schedule:
Mash Type: Single Step

Grain Lbs: 11.00
Water Qts: 14.30
Water Gal: 3.58

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.30:1

Saccharification Rest Temp:148 degrees, 60 minutes (3.58 gal.)
Mash-out Rest Temp: 212 degrees, 10 minutes (1.25 gal.)
Sparge Temp: 170 degrees, 10 minutes (3.50 gal est.)


Mash at 148 degrees for 60 minutes, then add your mash-out water and give it another 10 minutes, vorlauf and collect in boil kettle, you already have your FWH additions in the kettle right?

After draining (and tipping, I am a mash tun tipper) add your sparge water and give it a good stir and let it rest for 10 minutes, vorlauf and drain to the kettle. I personally split my sparge water into two separate sparges, it gives me better efficiency so I do it on every batch, however a single sparge should work fine.

The boil is pretty straight forward, with nothing out of the ordinary, just add the pound of honey and black pepper at 5 minutes left in the boil.

Chill to 65 degrees, aerate well on the way to the fermenter and pitch the yeast starter, ferment at 68 degrees for 2 weeks, move the fermenter at that point to ambient room temp for another 2 weeks, for me that was 78 degrees in the brew closet.

Rack to keg or bottle and carbonate to 2.75 to 3.25 volumes.

The color is beautiful, slightly hazy from the wheat, Rocky head that just doesn't quit, in short it looks like a Saison! I really like the haze for this style as it seems more rustic to me which is why there is no finings in the boil.

This recipe was specifically made to do two things:

1) A simple recipe without much spices or zests to let the yeast driven flavors be the star.

2) To clear out my brew closet of some misc hops, and the last bits in some specialty grain buckets.

It was a fantastic success on both fronts.

7th generation brewer Jef Versele of Brouwerij Van Steenberge in Ertvelde, Belgium happened to stop in our monthly club meeting on his way to a beer pairing dinner to talk a bit about brewing techniques and the similarities between homebrewing and commercial brewing.

He asked for a sample of some good homebrew. (I am thinking great, I have my Saison here, and here is a guy who REALLLY knows his way around a Belgian beer, I'm doomed... but I could use the criticism)

I offered him a sample of my Cottage House Saison, after spending a few minutes sniffing, swirling and tasting he stated that I had produced a fantastic Saison, not doctored up with too many spices, but that the yeast shines through, exquisite mouthfeel, an example of what a Saison should be. He sampled several other beers giving some praise, and others pointers on how to improve the off flavors he was picking up.

On his way out he said he had to have another sample of mine and told me that were it his recipe that it would be in the brewery's lineup most definitely.


That is what I call a heck of a compliment.

My head almost didn't fit through the door that night.

Apfelwein - Fermenting

Award Winning Apfelwein Recipe (German Hard Cider) Apple Wine Recipe
Placed 1st in the Cider & Apple Wine category at the BJCP sanctioned Alamo Cerveza fest (out of 11 entries) and took 2nd place for Best of Show for the main category of Meads & Ciders (out of 50 entries).

Ingredients

5 Gallons 100% Apple Juice (No preservatives or additives) I use Tree Top Apple Juice
2 pounds of dextrose (corn sugar) in one pound bags
1 five gram packet of Montrachet Wine Yeast

Equipment

5 Gallon Carboy (I use a Better Bottle)
Carboy Cap or Stopper with Airlock
Funnel

1. First sanitize the carboy, airlock, funnel, stopper or carboy cap.
2. Open one gallon bottle of apple juice and pour half of it into the carboy using the funnel.
3. Open one bag of Dextrose and carefully add it to the now half full bottle of apple juice. Shake well.
4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3, then go to step 5.
5. Pour in the mixture of Apple Juice and Dextrose from both bottles into the carboy.
6. Add all but 1 quart of remaining 3 gallons of apple juice to the carboy.
7. Open the packet of Montrachet Yeast and pour it into the neck of the funnel.
8. Use the remaining quart of juice to wash down any yeast that sticks. I am able to fit all but 3 ounces of apple juice into a 5 gallon Better Bottle. You may need to be patient to let the foam die down from all shaking and pouring.
9. Put your stopper or carboy cap on with an airlock and fill the airlock with cheap vodka. No bacteria will live in vodka and if you get suckback, you just boosted the abv.

There’s no need to worry about filling up a carboy so full when you use Montrachet wine yeast. There is no Kreuzen, just a thin layer of bubbles (see here). I'm able to fit all but 4 oz. of my five gallons in the bottle. Ferment at room temperature.

It will become cloudy in a couple of days and remain so for a few weeks. In the 4th week, the yeast will begin to drop out and it will become clear. After at least 4 weeks, you can keg or bottle, but it is ok to leave it in the carboy for another month or so. Racking to a secondary is not necessary. It ferments out very dry (less than 0.999, see here)

Apfelwein really improves with age, so if you can please let it sit in a carboy for up to 3 months before bottling or kegging, then let it sit even longer. Here's what some folks think.



If you want to bottle and carbonate, ¾ cup of corn sugar will work fine. Use as you would carbonate a batch of beer.

Remember to reserve judgment till after 3 glasses. It grows on you.

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND START ANOTHER BATCH 2 WEEKS AFTER YOU START THIS ONE.
YOU WILL THANK ME LATER!


GENERAL QUESTIONS
compiled by Dammed Squirrels from the first 37 pages of this thread. Thanks DS!

How does it taste?
It ferments quite dry. Some people have tried different yeasts in order to achieve a sweeter taste. It may take you a few glasses to get a feel for the flavor. It is very reminiscent of a sort of apfelwein produced locally in Germany. There really is no comparable product in the United States. It's drier and less sweet than commercial hard ciders. It gets better with age and at 6+ months, the apple flavor really comes out.

How do you sweeten it?
Many folks back sweeten it with Wine Conditioner. Wine Conditioner is a blend of sucrose and sorbic acid. The addition of 2-4 oz. per gallon adds sweetness and prevents renewed fermentation. It can be purchased as any LHBS that caters to wine makers. Others will use Splenda or lactose (other non-fermentable sugars). Germans who prefer it sweet (or Suß as they say) will add a splash of Sprite or 7up to a glass. This is the easiest method as you don't have to make a whole "sweet" batch that way.

What is the difference between Apfelwein and hard cider?
EdWort says, “Most ciders are a bit sweeter. Ciders and Apfelwein are about 6% abv, but I like the little boost I give it with 2 pounds of Dextrose. It adds no body or flavor and still tastes like Possmann's Apfelwein, only it will kick your butt much quicker.”

Is this like Apfelmost / Apfel Korn?
No. Apfel Korn is a german liqeur made from wheat spirits. Apfelmost is spontaneously fermented with fresh-pressed apples or apple juice. It is probably similar, but the results may vary as a result of the spontaneous fermentation. Either way, Apfelmost is most certainly has a lower alcohol content since the initial gravity is not increased by the use of concentrate or corn sugar.

What’s the difference between apple juice and cider?
Cider is made by pressing apples. Juice is then filtered to remove all of the stuff that makes it cloudy.

Can I use apple cider instead?
Sure! You can use whatever you want. However, there is not enough information in this thread to give you any better details as to how it will turn out. I recommend starting a new thread or ask more experienced cider-makers.

What kind of Apple Juice should I use?
Ideally, you want to use 100% natural apple juice with no preservatives. The only acceptable preservative is ascorbic acid, which is a source of vitamin C and does not affect fermentation. Pasteurized juice is preferred, since it will have less bacteria.

How much will this recipe cost me?
5 gallons of Apfelwein can be made for between 20 and 25 dollars.

What else can you do with this recipe?
EdWort says, "this makes a great Grog in the winter time. Take a quart in a sauce pan, add some rum, turbinado sugar, and float a cinnamon stick in it and simmer for a while. Serve hot in mugs. It'll warm you right up."

Drink a quart of water and take 3 aspirin before going to sleep tol help reduce the effects of excessive Apfelwein consumption as well as the urge to call EdWort a M'F**kR the next morning!