Saison Hi Nelson! Nelson Hopped Saison w/Hibiscus

[DrunkleJon]

Mine came out a deep red with 8oz hibiscus. Was beautiful.

 

[RevKev]

Primary is just about finished, my roommate kept messing with the room temp so it varied from 75-85 (so angry at the kid) so I'm wondering what the predominate yeast characteristic will be

View attachment 1457054259995.jpg

 

[jwalkermed]

If I am going to make my saison more sessionable, say 5-6% should I use less of the 1/2 gallon - 1/2 lb hibiscus tea?

 

[DrunkleJon]

My take is that the amount of hibiscus you use is mainly for color. if you make a 2.5 gallon instead of 5 gallon batch you would half it. Lowering the alcohol in my opinion would not really affect the color much.

 

[unclebrazzie]

I'll be brewing something similar this weekend, only with Citra/Galaxy instead of Nelson. Keep y'all posted.

 

[Calaeb]

Can't wait to brew this! All these comments about how awesome it is can't be wrong, right? lol

 

[DrunkleJon]

Brew it, It is amazing. No one I have shared with has had a single complaint. Plus its pretty. The only 'bad' comment was someone calling me fruity because of what it is.
"Oh Hibiscus, huh? Aint you fancy"

 

[RevKev]

As of right now I have it in the keg.. I would say lowering the hibiscus would be the best, it's tart as a mofo RN but very good

 

[mattmmille]

+1 with Drunklejon

 

[RevKev]

Oh-my-biscus it's finally carbed and it's beautiful.. Tartness for sure mellow out since the sample. And for 10.9% the burn is hardly there! Must brew again may become a standard in the kegerator

View attachment 1458849135024.jpg

 

[Yeroc]

Looks great, RevKev!

 

[1fast636]

Just won 1st people's choice with my variation of this using tazo passion tea instead of just all hibiscus that's coming up tho because I want to see the difference, was also pouring my citra pils which is pictured with the Saison
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1461549286.931237.jpg

 

[jared1438]

This looked too far off my usual beaten path not to brew. Ended up with a SG 1.075 finished at 1.004 (prior to dilution from tea during secondary). Intentionally let this ferment warm, and timed it so that we had a string of 80+ days during fermentation. Post boil, I only chilled it down to 75 and let the process take it to where ever it decided to go (my fermtemp thermometer on the side of the carboy was maxed out at 80, so no idea how warm it really went).

I did use 8oz of hibiscus leaves in 1/2 gallon of boiling water. I steeped the leaves for 30 minutes in the water, and ended up with 1.5qts of tea which the beer was racked on to for secondary.

Taste has changed dramatically from bottling until today. At bottling I was very concerned about the tartness and bitterness and overall hibiscus-y-ness of the beer. All of that has mellowed, into just a real nice easy sipping summer beer. There are really nice floral notes, some tartnes, and almost a bit of white wine in the flavor. Very different, very cool, very fun to make. Totally not sessionable, but a great refreshing beer for a hot summer day. Thanks for the recipe!!

 

[steelnoles]

I know that this is an older post but I found it and wanted to brew a version of this. I will be adding hibiscus in the boil and I will add ginger and lemon zest possibly. This will be my first saison. My question, when did you add the sugar? Beersmith shows 7.7% ABV without the sugar but 9.2 with the sugar.

Thanks

 

[val214]

I know that this is an older post but I found it and wanted to brew a version of this. I will be adding hibiscus in the boil and I will add ginger and lemon zest possibly. This will be my first saison. My question, when did you add the sugar? Beersmith shows 7.7% ABV without the sugar but 9.2 with the sugar.



Thanks

Save the hibiscus fermentation addition. Sugar should be added 15min-10min towards the end of the boil.

 

[grassfeeder]

how long is everyone leaving this in the secondary before kegging?

 

[RevKev]

how long is everyone leaving this in the secondary before kegging?

The longer the better, I would just add tea that was steeped and strained to keg and let it sit that way

 

[grassfeeder]

The longer the better, I would just add tea that was steeped and strained to keg and let it sit that way

not a bad idea.....I guess I can just dry-hop in primary then keg it with the tea and let it sit for a bit. Do you think a week is reasonable?

I brewed this on Thursday, trying to get it done by and drinkable by the 26th.

 

[RevKev]

not a bad idea.....I guess I can just dry-hop in primary then keg it with the tea and let it sit for a bit. Do you think a week is reasonable?

I brewed this on Thursday, trying to get it done by and drinkable by the 26th.

Yes.. but the longer you let it sit the deeper it will infuse I'm sure it'll be supremely drinkable in a week. Also the head will become deeper and deeper pink. When I did it I used 64 ounces of water and a half pound of tea

 

[Texconsinite]

I made a 7 gallon Batch of this doing a sortof partigyle: The first 5 Gallons were used to make this recipe, and the last 2 Gallons second runnings I used to make a session Pale ale.

What i didnt account for was how much higher the ABV on the first runnings would be. Ended up at 12% ABV, and was concerned it would be too hot and boozy. After about a month ageing, wow this is fantastic. Like cranberry champagne, goes down very easily for 12%.
Even though it should age well, its not going to last very long.

This is one of the best beers i have made. Great recipe. The hibiscus is a remarkably strong flavor. I used about 2 ox more than the recipe called for, to try and hide some of the high ABV bite, and initially, i was afraid that i had overdone it. It all blended together with time, but the amount listed in the recipe is right on target if i had been in the normal OG range rather than and Imperial Version.

Named mine Full Nelson, bc it gets ahold of you quite quickly

 

[bolus14]

Has anybody "dry hopped" the hibiscus instead of making a tea? If so, did you stick with 8oz of flowers? Did you sanitize them at all?

 

[ratbastrd05]

I brewed this up 4/14/17, it came out fantastic. LHBS was out of Nelson, so on the fly I went with Sorachi Ace, Calypso, and German Blanc. Hibiscus was a bit strong at first but mellowed out after a week or two. Great beer! Thanks for the recipe!

 

[terrenum]

H

Sent a bottle of Hi-Nelson out to member Billy-Klubb. I'm not a trader really, but I had used his base recipe for Scottish Ale to make a Scottish pumpkin ale and, while sending a couple of bottles of that, I sent along a Hi-Nelson.

His comment: "my first ever Hi Nelson from mattmmille. I could drink a gallon of this stuff tonight! I can see why a bunch of you like it so much. great job Matt!"

Passing along kudos to @Fuzzymittenbrewing !!! I've had nothing but positive reviews on this beer!

Hi Matt,
looking to brew this beer. Did you brew the original recipe or modified it slightly?
thanks

 

[terrenum]

Did anyone tried a lower ABV version of this? Was thinking of not adding the sugar. Always had good attenuation with the yeast so very confident I would get it down to 1.004 at least.
Also, I was wondering if I should lower the hibiscus and nelson sauvin. Haven't tried the beer yet but want a more subtle version, unless you tell me it doesn't taste like fruit punch and still taste like beer.
Feedback/learnings are welcome! thanks for sharing. Will brew Friday eve
cheers

 

[terrenum]

Doing a lower ABV version of this one. OG is @ 1.055 so aiming for a 6.5% final beer. Didn't add the sugar and just slightly more flaked oat for a nice mouthfeel. Brewed 15 gallon batch and will add the hibiscus tea to 10 Gal.
Otherwise followed the recipe as is with the Nelson Sauvin. fermenting 10G with Belle Saison and 5G with Escarpment Labs Old World Saison yeast.
both are fermenting nicely after 12 hours and smells great.
Will post results later
thanks for sharing this recipe

 

[HomemadeSauce]

Has anybody "dry hopped" the hibiscus instead of making a tea? If so, did you stick with 8oz of flowers? Did you sanitize them at all?

I know this is an older post, but I did "dry hop" a version of this last spring. I tweaked the recipe slightly, using Galaxy instead of Nelson, and used a different yeast that I had on hand. I ended up using an ounce per gallon of beer. In my case, 3 oz. It's been a few months since I've cracked a bottle but it did have a brilliant color and wasn't especially tart. I definitely recommend a hop sock - something I didn't use for some stupid reason.

I look forward to brewing something like this again, although I'll most likely follow what terrenum did and drop the sugar.

 

[EtchyLives]

I've had the primary fermenting for over a month and I'm getting ready to dry-hop and add the hibiscus this week for bottling next week. Tastes amazing without the dry hop or hibiscus and I can't wait to drink this.

I got crazy high efficiency and if this fermented down to 1.000 it will end up being near 10%. That's OK with me.

Fermented at basement floor temps (ambient 66°F) and was concerned there wouldn't be enough funk. But my sample taste allayed my fears. Pleasantly funky with just a touch of saison dirt.

I did 15 gallons so I might finish 10 with hibiscus and 5 without to compare and contrast and savor the Nelson Sauvin.

So far so good and I think my patience will be rewarded.

 

[EtchyLives]

I made a 7 gallon Batch of this doing a sortof partigyle: The first 5 Gallons were used to make this recipe, and the last 2 Gallons second runnings I used to make a session Pale ale.

What i didnt account for was how much higher the ABV on the first runnings would be. Ended up at 12% ABV, and was concerned it would be too hot and boozy. After about a month ageing, wow this is fantastic. Like cranberry champagne, goes down very easily for 12%.
Even though it should age well, its not going to last very long.

This is one of the best beers i have made. Great recipe. The hibiscus is a remarkably strong flavor. I used about 2 ox more than the recipe called for, to try and hide some of the high ABV bite, and initially, i was afraid that i had overdone it. It all blended together with time, but the amount listed in the recipe is right on target if i had been in the normal OG range rather than and Imperial Version.

Named mine Full Nelson, bc it gets ahold of you quite quickly

I had a similar "high gravity" experience with mine. I did an overnight mash and got much higher efficiency (over 82%) than expected (65%). The result was that my OG before I added the sugar was the target OG for the whole recipe. So I added the sugar at high krausen anyway, because imperial saison has such a nice ring to it. Then Belle Saison fermented this sucker down to 1.001 leaving me with a beer at 10.7%. It's dry-hopping now and next weekend I'll bottle with the hibiscus tea in the bottling bucket.

The taste without dry hops or hibiscus was nice. Potent and definitely a bit of alcohol heat, but delicious.

 

[Abrayton]

Pilsner, white wheat, EKG, Sorachi Ace and of course hibiscus. Delicious

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

I am going to be whipping this up on Sunday. Going to stick with the original recipe given, may up the Nelson a bit as I am trying to get rid of what I have left from last year. I will probably add the pound of sugar to the hibiscus tea and add that one week into primary as I do not secondary. after that I'll let the Bootleg Saison Parfait ferment it as dry as she'll go and package. Excited to have some of this on hand.