Saison Hi Nelson! Nelson Hopped Saison w/Hibiscus

[Owly055]

Here's the variant I'm going to try today....... 2.5 gallon brew This is based on what I have on hand. I'm going very light on the IBUs to highlight the tartness of the hibiscus. In my experience sour and bitter do not play well together.

Comments please? I won't be brewing until this evening. I'll be mashing at around 155 to maintain some body and sweetness.

H.W.

OG 1.069 (based on Brewer's Friend at 75% eff)
IBU 17
SRM 6.08

2 pounds 2 row
1/2 pound Munich 20
1 pound of malted wheat
10 ounces torrified wheat (the only unmalted grain I've got on hand.... all of it)
1/2 pound malted rye
1 pound invert sugar

.25 ounce Nelson @ 30
.5 ounce Nelson Dry hop (1 day)
1 quart Hibiscus tea = ( 1/4 pound hibiscus in 1 quart water ).... at cold crash

 

[wobrien]

Are you guys just pitching one packet of belle? The pitching rate calculators are showing an underpitch, but maybe that's a good thing for the style? Just wondering what you all are doing.

 

[Hello]

Are you guys just pitching one packet of belle? The pitching rate calculators are showing an underpitch, but maybe that's a good thing for the style? Just wondering what you all are doing.

I pitched one package.

 

[wobrien]

I pitched one package.

Cool, thanks

 

[Owly055]

Cool, thanks

I pitched cropped yeast from a previous brew....... a pretty heavy pitch, far more than one packet. I wanted to keep the saison character understated. I did a second brew with IBUs in the 30's using USA 05, and it came out very much like a dry red wine.... quite good actually. A third brew uses a bit of Motueka to "broaden" the fruity base, and was fermented as a lager. It's in cold crash right now, and looks like it's going to be a winner.


H.W.

 

[mattmmille]

As I recall, I followed the original recipe and pitched one packet of yeast. Belle Saison is a monster!

 

[finsfan]

Are you guys just pitching one packet of belle? The pitching rate calculators are showing an underpitch, but maybe that's a good thing for the style? Just wondering what you all are doing.

One packet of Belle will do work. Ive used it 4 times in different saisons and all have ended under 1.004. All seem to have residual sweetness in mouthfeel though, even the one sitting at .999. That is my go to saison yeast now. Incredible finished product.

 

[burninator]

As I recall, I followed the original recipe and pitched one packet of yeast. Belle Saison is a monster!

Belle Saison will ferment your carboy, if you're not careful.

 

[wobrien]

Got all the supplies. Now I need to empty a couple fermenters and make time to brew!

 

[finsfan]

Got all the supplies. Now I need to empty a couple fermenters and make time to brew!

Emptying all that air youve been fermenting shouldn't be too difficult of a task.

 

[wobrien]

Emptying all that air youve been fermenting shouldn't be too difficult of a task.

yeah, yeah, yeah, been too long since I've brewed anything. Problem with making sours is tying up fermenters for so long. I've got 8 fermenters tied up with sours at the moment...

I got a new better bottle and I'm going to clean up an old brewing bucket and use them so I don't think I have to rush any of the sours into bottles.

Shooting for a brew day either tonight after the kids go to bed, or early tomorrow! :rockin:

 

[finsfan]

yeah, yeah, yeah, been too long since I've brewed anything. Problem with making sours is tying up fermenters for so long. I've got 8 fermenters tied up with sours at the moment...



I got a new better bottle and I'm going to clean up an old brewing bucket and use them so I don't think I have to rush any of the sours into bottles.



Shooting for a brew day either tonight after the kids go to bed, or early tomorrow! :rockin:

I feel you. I need more glass carboys. Only have 3 and that doesnt work when trying to brew a lot of sours.

 

[wobrien]

Brewed 8 gallons this am and I've got airlock activity already. Dry yeast is so easy, wow.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433010964.727311.jpg
Wort seems too dark to turn red after the hibiscus tea is added. Did yours look this dark when you first brewed it?

 

[finsfan]

Brewed 8 gallons this am and I've got airlock activity already. Dry yeast is so easy, wow.
View attachment 281365
Wort seems too dark to turn red after the hibiscus tea is added. Did yours look this dark when you first brewed it?

I tried to tell you how beast that belle saison yeast is.

 

[wobrien]

I tried to tell you how beast that belle saison yeast is.

I'm half tempted to take a gravity reading out of curiosity. It's got an inch and a half of krausen already. Needless to say, I'm excited about this one.

 

[finsfan]

I'm half tempted to take a gravity reading out of curiosity. It's got an inch and a half of krausen already. Needless to say, I'm excited about this one.

Damn, ive never had it start that quickly haha did you pitch a packet in each fermentor?

 

[wobrien]

Damn, ive never had it start that quickly haha did you pitch a packet in each fermentor?

I pitched two packs into the kettle then drained into the two fermenters. I did blast the kettle with O2, so I'm sure that helped

 

[onetoeddogbrewery]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433039384.468249.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433039451.693257.jpgthis was the hit of the party. This beer converted many BCM drinkers over to HB none of them could believe it was a 8% beer. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

 

[wobrien]

The fermenter hasn't shown any signs of life since day three, so I'm thinking it's been done for a few days now. Took a sample, 1.002 after a week at most. Wow. Glad I reduced the amount of sugar. My OG was 1.062 which puts this a hair under 8%.

Pretty hot, but tasty. Going to give it another week to clean up, then dry hop and add the hibiscus.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433724709.581190.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1433724720.148855.jpg

 

[1fast636]

Would the tazo tea bag with hibiscus and some other herbs and spices work the tea is pretty tasty but wasn't sure if there was something i should look out for with using a boxed tea bag pre packaged? Think this is the next one up on the brew deck

 

[mattmmille]

The recipe calls for dried hibiscus flowers...and be careful not to get sweetened ones! I found mine at a local Middle Eastern market, but there are online sources as well. If you use prepacked tea bags, I don't see a problem, as long as there aren't preservatives or anything chemical, but any other added ingredients will, of course, affect the flavor...maybe good, maybe not. If you like the tea, you'll probably like the beer, but no guarantee.

 

[1fast636]

Yea I'll look into the ingridents on the tea alittle further the tea is really good and from how everyone describes the saison it hit me when I was drinking it over the weekend lol, I'll look for
Hibiscus flowers tho too

 

[truvr]

Would the tazo tea bag with hibiscus and some other herbs and spices work the tea is pretty tasty but wasn't sure if there was something i should look out for with using a boxed tea bag pre packaged? Think this is the next one up on the brew deck

Fwiw, I have used that tea in a batch of EdWort's Apfelwein. It turned out great.

 

[wobrien]

Kegged 5 gallons yesterday and bottled 3 gallons today. Really excited to start drinking this one!

 

[1fast636]

Fwiw, I have used that tea in a batch of EdWort's Apfelwein. It turned out great.

How many bags and how much liquid to gal ratio did you use by chance?

 

[truvr]

How many bags and how much liquid to gal ratio did you use by chance?

It's been a while and I don't have my notes handy. But I'm pretty sure I used 1 tea bag per gallon. I made a strong low volume (like 2-3 cups) tea and added that to the fermenter.

 

[1fast636]

Sounds good I'll play around with it

 

[Yeroc]

I’m putting this on my to-brew list next in line, but I was hoping to get answers to a couple of questions. How is it that this recipe only needs a 60 minute boil and not 90 minutes to evaporate the DMS precursors? Is the 90 minute boil an antiquated idea with modern malts?

I also wanted to ask about yeast. I’ve only ever made saison’s with Wyeast 3724 or WLP 565 (I’ve read they are the same strain). I know they have a finicky reputation, but I’ve always had luck with ramping the temperature up slowly to mid/upper 80s and leaving them in primary for a month. Has anyone made this recipe with 3724 or 565? Do you recommend the Belle yeast instead simply for easier fermentation or for flavor?

Thanks for any thoughts you have on these subjects.

 

[wobrien]

I had the same concerns about the length of boil so I hedged my bets and did a 75 min boil, haha.

I've not tried the other yeasts, but if you use the belle, beware than it attenuates like crazy. Mine went down to 1.002 from 1.05-something. Came in at 8%. I like my saisons on the dry side, so that's good, but next time I'll back down the OG to have an easier drinker.

Speaking of which, it was a hit at my 4th of July party yesterday. My guests drank about 4.5 gallons of it!
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1436143891.890562.jpg

 

[Yeroc]

Thanks for the reply Wobrien. I'm looking for a really dry, tart saison and it sounds like this recipe fits the bill. I also love the way it looks in everyone's pictures.