Saison - Dumping in Some Random Grain

[theck]

My Recipe is:
Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
7 lbs Avangard Pilsen (1.5 SRM) Grain 1 66.7 %
2 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 2 19.0 %
1 lbs Avangard Malz Wheat Malt (2.0 SRM) Grain 3 9.5 %
8.0 oz Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain 4 4.8 %
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 60.0 Hop 5 16.9 IBUs
0.75 oz Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 6 6.9 IBUs
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 15.0 Hop 7 4.2 IBUs
1.0 pkg French Saison (Wyeast Labs #3711) [50.28 Yeast 8 -
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But I have a bunch of random grain left over from various other brews so I am thinking about just replacing the 2# of Munich with... .25 Munich, .25 Vienna, .5 biscuit, .5 aromatic, .25 40l, and yes... .25 caramalt. Is this stupid?

 

[fantomlord]

Generally saisons have a fairly simple grain bill, and get the bulk of their flavor from the yeast.

 

[theck]

Generally saisons have a fairly simple grain bill, and get the bulk of their flavor from the yeast.

Ya I know, just wondering if it would taste off or odd?

 

[joyceman]

BYO's style profile for saison's has this to say about potential grains...

A bière born of homebrew freedom

Considering the bière de saison’s genesis as a farmhouse brew, we should expect a natural amount of variation. Uniformity in ingredients and brewing practices across a wide geographical region is a phenomenon only of the modern age, and Belgium in particular has been loath, unlike its neighbor Germany, to abandon its idiosyncratic medieval beer-making habits. As farmer-brewers have done for eons all over the world, Wallonian country homebrewers have obviously relied mostly on ingredients they were able to raise themselves. Not surprisingly, their beers were more dependent on what they might have had at hand when the annual brew season was upon them than on broad brewing guideline

With a bière de saison grain bill, it seems, you simply cannot go wrong. While some saison grain bills are nothing but Pils malt, others may contain 5–15% caramel malts for added color and a bit of sweetness to balance any estery spiciness. You can also use small amounts of Vienna, Munich or aromatic malts for more breadiness and as a balance to the hops. Even raw grains, malted wheat, flaked barley or adjuncts would not be out of style. These lighten the body and add flavor nuances.

Its a style made for tinkering, I say go for it.

 

[theck]

Ah why not... thanks!

 

[theck]

Recipe: Saison - crazy grain
Style: Saison
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.49 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.24 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.055 SG
Estimated Color: 6.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 27.6 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 81.8 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
7 lbs Avangard Pilsen (1.5 SRM) Grain 1 63.6 %
1 lbs Avangard Malz Wheat Malt (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 9.1 %
12.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 3 6.8 %
8.0 oz Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 4 4.5 %
8.0 oz Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain 5 4.5 %
8.0 oz Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM) Grain 6 4.5 %
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 7 2.3 %
4.0 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 8 2.3 %
4.0 oz Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 9 2.3 %
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 60.0 Hop 10 16.7 IBUs
0.75 oz Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 11 6.8 IBUs
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 15.0 Hop 12 4.1 IBUs
1.0 pkg French Saison (Wyeast Labs #3711) [50.28 Yeast 13 -

 

[SpeedYellow]

Wyeast 3711 will eat through anything and everything, so it really doesn't much matter what grains you use. And consequently, every beer from 3711 will taste pretty similar, as 3711 throws off strong & distinctive notes. They should have named this Wyeast 1004 since every beer seems to finish around 1.004. The perfect "cleaning out the cupboard" beer!

 

[theck]

Tends to be on ths dry side then?

 

[StLouBrew]

Tends to be on ths dry side then?

I did a Saison over the winter. OG was 1.080. FG was 1.003. As I figure it.. it's nearly a 10.3 ABV. I'm having a VERY difficult time getting any sort of carbonation in the bottle. Thinking I may need to add more yeast directly to the bottle to get any carbonation. I'm open to suggestions!

Cheers