Pacific Gem in a Saison?

[Mk010101]

Fall weather approaches and the end (for me) of making Saison's. I have 2 oz. of Pacific gem hops that I want to use up and while I know most of the character of a Saison comes from the yeast, what about using this hop in a late addition? I am always of the mind to just try it and see what happens, but just curious if there are others who have tried it this way. Would it take away too much character of the Saison? Or, would the hop flavor/aroma not even be felt because of the yeast profile? Here is the recipe I am thinking of making:

Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 5.15 gal
Boil Size: 7.11 gal
Boil Time: 90 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.50 lb Pilsner (Weyermann) (1.7 SRM) Grain 70.83 %
1.50 lb Wheat - Red Malt (Briess) (2.3 SRM) Grain 12.50 %
0.50 lb Caramunich I (Weyermann) (51.0 SRM) Grain 4.17 %
0.50 lb Oats, Flaked (Briess) (1.4 SRM) Grain 4.17 %
0.30 oz Magnum [11.00 %] (90 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 12.8 IBU
0.50 oz Saaz [3.90 %] (90 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 6.8 IBU
0.50 oz Pacific Gem [14.00 %] (10 min) Hops 8.4 IBU
0.50 oz Pacific Gem [14.00 %] (5 min) Hops 4.6 IBU
1.00 oz Pacific Gem (Dry Hop for 5 days)
1.00 lb Candi Sugar, Clear (0.5 SRM) Sugar 8.33 %
White Labs 566 Belgian Saison II yeast - fermented from 68 degrees to 82 degrees max

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.067 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.017 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.54 %
Bitterness: 32.7 IBU
Est Color: 6.6 SRM

Mash Profile

Mash Name: Single Infusion, Light Body Total Grain Weight: 11.00 lb

Single Infusion, Light Body Step Time Name Description Step Temp
75 min Mash In Add 13.75 qt of water at 159.1 F 148.0 F
10 min Mash Out Add 8.80 qt of water at 203.8 F 168.0 F

Note: bittering hops - using up the last bit of Magnum hops in inventory, but might just use Saaz and increase the amount to get the same ending IBU's

 

[Mk010101]

No feedback? Ah well, then I will go for it! I will use only Magnum for the bittering, as I need to get rid of them. Will save the Saaz for some lager later this year. So, maybe it's not quite to style, but it should make a really good beer.

 

[nofootbreak]

With a 1.067 og, youre going to end up around 7-8% abv. I prefer my saisons around 6% max. Just assume it will dry out to sub 1.010.

 

[Mk010101]

With a 1.067 og, youre going to end up around 7-8% abv. I prefer my saisons around 6% max. Just assume it will dry out to sub 1.010.

Hmm, yes you are right. I will consider taking a lb. of pilsner out. 7% is to my liking. What about IBU's? 20-35 is the range for these from BJCP. I am actually thinking of dropping the IBU's to around 25 now, especially if I drop the OG to 1.060.

Ever use Saison II yeast? This is my first time to try it.

 

[MrOH]

I've found that when you use body-building malts in a saison (wheat, oats, rye, crystal malts), then it can stand a few extra IBUs and not seem out of whack.