Saison Old Country Ale (Lithuanian Farmhouse Ale)

[Sammy86]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

Omega Yeast Labs - Jovaru Lithuanian Farmhouse OYL-033

Yeast Starter

No

Batch Size (Gallons)

11

Original Gravity

1.054

Final Gravity

1.007

Boiling Time (Minutes)

60

IBU

25.5

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

14 Days at Garage Temp

For this recipe I took inspiration from my maternal Great-Grandparents. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to meet them however all of my family members spoke very highly of them. From my research, it appears the Lithuanians have a long and traditional brewing history where simplicity reins supreme. Unfortunately, I will not be pulling out part of the mash and baking it until golden brown and delicious this time around, maybe next time SWMBO is out of town. I will be brewing this next week after a very successful school year and high school baseball season (made it to the State Quarterfinals).

HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Old Country Ale (Lithuanian Farmhouse Ale)
Author: Sammy

Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: Saison
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 11 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 13.5 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.044
Efficiency: 72% (brew house)

Hop Utilization Multiplier: 0.99

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.054
Final Gravity: 1.007
ABV (standard): 6.15%
IBU (tinseth): 25.5
SRM (daniels): 11.27
Mash pH: 5.4

FERMENTABLES:
20 lb - Pilsner Malt (87%)
3 lb - Munich Malt 40L (13%) (@bracconiere special)

HOPS:
1.5 oz - Hallertau Mittelfruh, Type: Pellet, AA: 3.75, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 10.13
1.5 oz - Hallertau Mittelfruh, Type: Pellet, AA: 3.75, Use: Boil for 30 min, IBU: 7.78
2 oz - Hallertau Mittelfruh, Type: Pellet, AA: 3.75, Use: Boil for 10 min, IBU: 4.9
2 oz - Hallertau Mittelfruh, Type: Pellet, AA: 3.75, Use: Boil for 5 min, IBU: 2.69

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 144 F, Time: 45 min, Amount: 11 gal
2) Temperature, Temp: 160 F, Time: 30 min
3) Temperature, Temp: 168 F, Time: 10 min
4) Fly Sparge, Temp: 152 F, Amount: 6.5 gal
Starting Mash Thickness: 2 qt/lb

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
1.5 g - Calcium Chloride (dihydrate), Time: 60 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
1.25 g - Epsom Salt, Time: 60 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
1.5 g - Gypsum, Time: 60 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
3.25 ml - Lactic acid, Time: 60 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash
1 g - Salt, Time: 60 min, Type: Water Agt, Use: Mash

YEAST:
Omega Yeast Labs - Jovaru Lithuanian Farmhouse OYL-033
Starter: No
Form: Liquid
Attenuation (avg): 85%
Flocculation: High
Optimum Temp: 70 - 95 F
Fermentation Temp: 68 F
Pitch Rate: 0.75 (M cells / ml / deg P)

PRIMING:
Method: co2
CO2 Level: 3.25 Volumes

TARGET WATER PROFILE:
Profile Name: Balanced Profile
Ca2: 80
Mg2: 5
Na: 25
Cl: 75
SO4: 80
HCO3: 100
Water Notes:


This recipe has been published online at:
Lithuanian Farmhouse Ale | Saison All Grain Beer Recipe at Brewer's Friend

Generated by Brewer's Friend - Brewer's Friend | Homebrew Beer Recipes, Calculators & Forum
Date: 2021-06-11 00:52 UTC
Recipe Last Updated: 2021-06-11 00:49 UTC

 

[JohnSand]

Very cool. My grandfather came from Lithuania. I never met him either. If you want to bake part of your mash without upsetting your partner, consider using your grill.
Keep us posted on this recipe.

 

[Sammy86]

Very cool. My grandfather came from Lithuania. I never met him either. If you want to bake part of your mash without upsetting your partner, consider using your grill.
Keep us posted on this recipe.

That is an excellent idea! I didn't even think of that. Maybe next time though...in all honesty I want to try the yeast and see how it goes.

To be honest, this beer is WAY out of my normal comfort zone. I'm looking forward to brewing it and trying it.

 

[Miraculix]

I made on keptinis, or howrver it is called, with the baked mash and all. Nice ale! Don't fear the browning of the malt, it can take a lot of heat,I took mine too early or of the oven I guess. But the flavour was excellent.

 

[madscientist451]

I tried the baked mash and it didn't do anything special for me. But I'm going to try a variation by making a wheat-rye unleavened bread, pulverize it and use the bread crumbs to replace 50% of the malt. Not sure if any farmhouse brewers actually did this but, from what I can tell from here, wheat and rye grow better in Latvia than barley so its likely farmhouse brewers used what was easiest to grow. Malted grain also took time to make or had to be purchased, so its likely anything to reduce that expense, like using un-malted rye and wheat flour. My hope is that the baked unleavened bread will provide a distinct flavor, something that I didn't get when I baked the mash in my first attempt. It was also a hassle to bake the gloppy mash, and it didn't really cook all the way through. Having a rainy weekend here, I may give it a try.

 

[Sammy86]

Brewed this up today! Uneventful brew day! Overshot my numbers, OG came in at 1.058. Oh well, it will be a higher ABV!

Pitched Jovaru at 75 and put it in the basement we'll see where we are at in a few days. I'll keep y'all posted!

 

[DBhomebrew]

I used Mittlefrüh for the first time in my last beer. They sure do smell good. Kind of lost in this RIS, but I plan on using them in a kveik pale ale pretty soon.

 

[Sammy86]

I used Mittlefrüh for the first time in my last beer. They sure do smell good. Kind of lost in this RIS, but I plan on using them in a kveik pale ale pretty soon.

Mittlefrüh is my absolute favorite noble hop! I use it mostly in my Pilsners and Bocks but i figured with the simplicity of and origin of the recipe i said why not.

 

[Sammy86]

Took a sample:

Jovaru is a beast! 1.005 and when I looked at the fermentor the yeast look like their still moving so I'm gonna give it a few more days and another check before cold crashing and kegging.

Sample tasted FANTASTIC!

 

[cmac62]

Awesome, I'm very interested in the Jovaru yeast.

 

[Sammy86]

First pint pulled of this beer and it is fantastic! The simplicity of it while also being yeast driven just makes me giddy!

If you like saisons, give this a try!

 

[Gusso]

I recently used Jovaru for the first time. I used 12# Maris Otter and 2# rye malt in a 5 gallon batch. Finished dry at 1.003 and a 9% abv. Tastes great.

 

[Sammy86]

Update:

This beer is still hazy, even after being hit with gelatin and lagering for 2 weeks. The taste is fantastic and so unique. I've never had anything like it. It's citrus, clove, floral, sweet orange, slight banana type flavor and a hint of black pepper at the end. This is fantastic and I'm very happy with it!

Which leads me to my next point. Next summer I'm going to take it a step further. I recently read an article HERE that discussed the brewery where Jovaru originated. In case you don't go read the article basically the brewery does a raw ale adds a hop tea and ferments at 85º. Next summer this is going down. I'm very excited to try the brewing technique and see what I can make.

 

[bracconiere]

i like the color!

 

[ThatVideoKid]

Great looking beer! No worries on not doing the mash baking as it appears you've seen from the Jovaru blog post. Several styles of Lithuanian beer exist!

Keptinis doesn't use that saison-ish style of yeast it seems anyway. They seem to be using english yeasts for the most part, though lars did find someone with their own yeast. It was still a fruity non-phenolic strain though. Its available from The Yeast Bay.

 

[Protos]

Unfortunately, I will not be pulling out part of the mash and baking it until golden brown and delicious

Similar (although not exactly the same) effect could be achieved by using 2 to 4 percents of Fermented Rye Malt, I think. I have used it in some Nordic beers and it was good in small quantities, giving beer a dark-baked bread crust note.
I remember some German Roggenbier recipes suggesting specifically Lithuanian Fermented Rye Malt, so it seems to be an ingredient authentic to the country.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Keptinis doesn't use that saison-ish style of yeast it seems anyway. They seem to be using english yeasts for the most part, though lars did find someone with their own yeast. It was still a fruity non-phenolic strain though. Its available from The Yeast Bay.

I thought Simonaitis was meant to be POF+, although its levels of phenolics can be variable. Eg Escarpment, who work most closely with Lars.

 

[ThatVideoKid]

I thought Simonaitis was meant to be POF+, although its levels of phenolics can be variable. Eg Escarpment, who work most closely with Lars.

I'm wrong. Phenolics just aren't often how the yeast is described. I see TYB mentions some spice now.

 

[Drebin]

Does this typically need yeast nutrient to start taking off?

 

[Sammy86]

I didn't add any nutrients...just yeast to wort and it took off like crazy!

 

[darrendelamancha]

Super glad you liked this one! I actually did a Lithuanian farmhouse earlier this summer - but went all in with the raw ale and hop tea from Lars Gashol's "Brewing Classic Styles." I actually pulled my own recipe - a SMaSH with Maris Otter and Hallertau -- and it turned out phenomenal. People in my club couldn't believe there weren't any adjuncts in the beer. I would give it a try - and don't be afraid to pitch Jovaru hot!

 

[JaggersBrewingCo]

I have used the Jovaru yeast about three or four times in a Farmhouse style of ale. I got all the way down to 1.000 each time for a 7.22% Abv. This yeast made me fall in love with the style and had me testing all kinds of combos now.

I really like this yeast. This was my summer jam that has turned into my fall jam. I am about ready to just turn it into a normal brew to keep around the house. I noticed that it seems to take awhile to drop out. The last time I brewed with I think it was about a month from the time that I pitched to until it fully dropped out. I do not remember that from the times before.

That is a pretty good idea about a raw ale. I just did my first last Thursday but I used Voss.

 

[Jayjay1976]

When I first read the thread title, I thought for a moment that Old Country Buffet had finally gotten a liquor license

 

[Sammy86]

Super glad you liked this one! I actually did a Lithuanian farmhouse earlier this summer - but went all in with the raw ale and hop tea from Lars Gashol's "Brewing Classic Styles." I actually pulled my own recipe - a SMaSH with Maris Otter and Hallertau -- and it turned out phenomenal. People in my club couldn't believe there weren't any adjuncts in the beer. I would give it a try - and don't be afraid to pitch Jovaru hot!

Sounds delicious! Next spring I'm gonna go all in with the raw ale and hop tea...would love to get my hands on Lars book...maybe for Hannukah or my birthday!

 

[Sammy86]

Here is the last bottle conditioned pour of this delicious brew:

This was a fantastic beer and highly recommend stepping out of the comfort zone with this one.

ill be brewing this up again next late spring/early summer...gosh this was good!

 

[Sammy86]

Super glad you liked this one! I actually did a Lithuanian farmhouse earlier this summer - but went all in with the raw ale and hop tea from Lars Gashol's "Brewing Classic Styles." I actually pulled my own recipe - a SMaSH with Maris Otter and Hallertau -- and it turned out phenomenal. People in my club couldn't believe there weren't any adjuncts in the beer. I would give it a try - and don't be afraid to pitch Jovaru hot!

How much hop tea did you make/use? I'm starting to develop my recipe for the summer brew of this. I'm going to go the raw ale route as you did. Prelim recipe 6 gallons includes Viking Pils and Munich to get an OG of 1.049-1.050. I'm just unsure of how much hops/hop tea to use and when. Watching a presentation Lars did mid 2021 he should Jovaru Alus adding the hop tea during cool down before transfer to the fermenter. Any guidance would be great!

EDIT: changed the time Jovaru added the hop tea.