Fruity Hops/Saison/Tequila

[yard_bird]

Greetings,
I have a pile of Motueka, pilsner malt, and Wyeast 3711 (homebrew club thing). I've used 3711 in the past with Cascade and Amarillo and in my experience, it went with fruity hops fairly well. This being said, I haven't tried it with Motueka. I have half a mind to soak some oak cubes in mid-grade gold tequila, add this to some ~1.055 pils wort with a clean bittering hop and late Motueka, and then dry hop with Motueka right before bottling. Leaning into the tropical fruit, lime/citrus zest that Motueka has. Any thoughts?

 

[Kickass]

The saison yeast has me hung up. It feels like it might clash with the oak and tequila. That’s purely a personal assessment. I love everything else. Regardless, it sounds like a fun idea. Please keep us posted.

 

[yard_bird]

Thanks kickass. Yeah I agree, the yeast is a sticking point here. I'll need to look at my 3711 notes from yesteryear. One of the resolutions is to brew with more Belgian yeast this year. I guess to add from Wyeast: "aromatic, spicy, peppery, citrusy". Kind of a bunch of different flavors that might bump into some of the hops/tequila. Maybe if I run this a little hot I'll get more fruit out of it.

 

[Knightshade]

Barrel aged tequila beer is a verrrry specific taste and it will vary based on upon what you’re planning on using. I’d make sure you have an outstanding idea of how you think that will meld with your anticipated recipe.

As in..”I think it will work.” vs “I’m sure this is going to be amazing.”

 

[yard_bird]

Good perspective nightshade. I might try making this beer straight and adding a couple mls of tequila when serving. Seems less risky off the bat as a test batch.

 

[homebrudoc]

Thanks kickass. Yeah I agree, the yeast is a sticking point here. I'll need to look at my 3711 notes from yesteryear. One of the resolutions is to brew with more Belgian yeast this year. I guess to add from Wyeast: "aromatic, spicy, peppery, citrusy". Kind of a bunch of different flavors that might bump into some of the hops/tequila. Maybe if I run this a little hot I'll get more fruit out of it.

In my experience, if you stress 3711 with with low cell count and no oxygen, it get's fruity to the point that the final beer seems to taste sweet. Same thing with higher gravity worts (>1.055). If you pitch a healthy starter, oxygenate properly and run the temp up you get fewer esters and greater perception of more phenols.

I haven't used enough Motueka to know what to expect from that. And tequila......no data points.
homebrudoc