wheat saison. Try using decoction mash.
http://byo.com/grains/item/328-brewing-with-wheat
http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter16-4.html
3 rest decoction mash:
1lb Golden Promise malted barley
2lb Briess White Wheat
0.5lb Best Malz Vienna
6.3 lb maillard malt golden LME (15 min late addition)
1.0oz German Tradition (60 min 5.3% alpha, hoptimus rex)
0.5oz Spalt (30 min 3.1% alpha hoptimus rex)
05/11/2015 8:40pm brought 700mL water to a boil, added 1/2C munton's
extra light DME and a pinch of Wyeast yeast nutrient.
9:00pm removed wort from heat, chilled with icewater bath
9:17pm Pitched about half of one bottle of Wyeast
French Saison leftover from Batch 4 (Saison de Noel)
Bottle had about 10oz of contents, about 60% clear water
on top of the yeast cake. Fluid was cool to the touch,
environment was 80F. Put the rest of the yeast in the
fridge in case I have a future use. Agitated for about
5 minutes.
05/12/2015 7:00am Nothing happening in starter flask
6:17pm about 3/8" very white krausen on top of dark amber
wort. Airlock moves occasionally and there is about
7/8" sediment at the bottom of flask.
7:42pm Began to heat water to 99F.
7:58pm Went too high, had to add a lot of cool water to get
it down to 105F. Doughed in at 105, used 6qt (a much
stiffer mash than I had wanted.) 15 minute rest.
8:13pm Pulled first decoction, about 1/3 mash.
8:26pm Temp of decoction at 150F, 15 minute rest (Note that
candy thermometer reads much lower than turkey fryer thermometer
so actual temp might be much higher.) Actually, temp was
way wrong according to digital termometer, so I'm going
straight to the boil. Bummer
8:33pm Began boil.
8:46pm finished boil. Mixed boiled wort back into mash tun,
temp settled at 143F. I have no idea what is going on. I immediately
pulled about 1/5 of the mash out, will raise to 150 and hope.
8:52pm Second decoction at 150F, resting.
9:05pm cut rest a little short because temp fell too far. Starting
to boil.
9:09pm added boiled mash back to tun, temp only 147F. Put back on
stove to bring mash up to 150F.
9:12pm temp at 151F
9:48pm began mashout. Temp of mash tun fell to 146F
9:53pm began filtering mash liquor through grain bed.
10:08pm totally had a stuck sparge! Began sparging with 170F water.
used 3 qt. Liquor is a little darker than I had hoped.
10:25pm finished sparge. Brought 2 3/4 gal water to boil along with
2 1/4 gal from extracted sugars for a total pre boil volume of
5 gallons.
10:39pm boil finally achieved. Added 1oz German Tradition hops.
Measured extracted malt at 1.06, I must have done something
wrong, there's no way I extracted that much.
11:09pm Added about 0.5oz Spalt
11:22pm added 6.3 lbs gold syrup, a dash of beer yeast nutrient
11:40pm finished boil
11:43pm temp 203F
11:47pm temp 170F
11:50pm temp 150F
11:53pm temp 130F
11:58pm temp 110F
05/13/2015 12:03am temp 96F
12:06am temp 84F (incomplete mixing in kettle, bottom was much cooler
than top.)
12:08am began oxygenation. Ended up with almost 4 gallons of wort.
12:15am finished oxygenation.
12:28am added 1 gal water. Pitched entire flask of yeast starter. There
was a little bit of dark brown stuff on the top of about 1/2" krausen,
and it all went into the fermenter. Wort smelled yeasty and slightly
tart, just like Saison de Noel. OG 1.058 measured at 80F, Wort is a
nice medium coppery amber color, not unlike the Ry's PA. Darker
than I had hoped, but not too bad. About the same as TJ's Heller
bock. Astringent and sweet, it has a
bit of a prickly or tangy quality. Very similar in flavor to the
kolsch, but probably at least one shade more bitter and two shades
more spicy. I think that extra spicyness will be excellent with
the saison funk, but I was hoping for something more wheaty or malty.
Reservoir is at 96F.
7:01am Fermentation is very vigorous, with a rather irregular 2 second
pause between 3-4 continuous bubbles. Reservoir is at 92F
7:10pm Same as above, reservoir is still at 92F! Heater is working!
05/14/2015 6:48am 2 seconds between bubbles, 4 bubbles per burst, reservoir at 92F
8:55pm " "
05/15/2015 7:41am 3 seconds between bubbles, 4 per burst, reservoir at 92F. Fermentation
is just starting to slow. Exhaust smells very sweet, like peaches
and honey.
7:34pm 4 seconds between bubbles, 3 per burst. Smells a little more spicy today.
reservoir at 92F
05/16/2015 9:11am 9 seconds between bubbles, 3 per burst. Reservoir 92F
8:30pm 22 seconds between bubbles
05/17/2015 7:45am 38 seconds between bubbles
8:35pm 38 seconds between bubbles
05/18/2015 7:51am 52 s
8:45pm 47 s
05/19/2015 7:52am 65 s
05/20/2015 6:56am unplugged heater, beginning to to cool to basement temp. Room doesn't smell
anymore, it seems primary fermentation is finished.
5:39pm reservoir down to 76F
05/21/2015 6:59am reservoir down to 69F as it is unseasonably cold outside. Turned the heater
back on, target is 72F
05/22/2015 7:15pm reservoir is at 75F. Racked to secondary. About a half inch of trub in the
bottom of bucket, far less than I expected. Beer is a nice deep gold color,
more orange than red with a touch of brown. Very cloudy. FG is 1.010, which
is an attenuation of 82% (assuming OG of 1.058, which was measured warm.
I don't have a precise measurement of the temperature of the beer during
my FG measurement, so I'm reporting just what the hydrometer reads. wyeast
says it goes up to 83%, so this was almost max attenuation.) At this stage
beer is very fruity, tart, very slightly "grainy" but not very "yeasty". It
does taste peppery (or is that some other spice?) but not terribly "funky."
It has the slightest hint of hop bitterness, which goes well with the peppery
phenols that support the very estery flavor.
I think it will be good when it is finished, but its not super interesting
right now. I think the high level of fruitiness in the nose creates a bit
of dissonance with the highly attenuated, tart finish. This is a beer that
isn't sure what it wants to be yet. Hopefully some time in secondary will
help it figure it out. Kept temp at 75F.
05/31/2015 8:00pm Turned heater off, temp will go down to 66F.
06/03/2015 11:31pm Temp down to 63F
06/15/2015 3:30pm Measured FG of 1.010 Beer is fruity, tart, and kind of uninteresting.
It is a coppery reddish bronze. Tom doesn't like it. Used 3 oz corn
sugar and 2 oz light DME (since I ran out of corn sugar) added to 2C boiling
water for carbonation. Got 49 bottles. Tastes a lot of fruity, tart and
slightly peppery, not wheaty or grainy at all and definitely not "funky".
If I try to do a wheaty saison again, I will use a lower temp to try to
accentuate the grains and not the phenols and tart fruit.
06/16/2015 6:00pm Moved bottles to upstairs bedroom where the temp fluctuates between
75F and 80F; a little more fluctuation than I'd like but should speed the
carbonation process.
06/27/2015 8:30pm chilled one bottle all day, it is sufficiently carbonated but doesn't retain
any head; surprising because of the wheat. Probably needs a few more days.
Beer is sufficiently dry, tart, tons of fruit (at the front of the palate),
a little spice (on the finish.) Sufficient
body, nice color. It is decent and thirst quenching, but not terribly
interesting. Lacks the "wheaty-ness" I had hoped for. Next time I use the
saison yeast, I will try a lower temperature. Also, I should add biscuit
or maybe victory malt next time, and do a late addition of DME
07/01/2015 9:00pm carbonation level much higher, sufficient head while pouring. A little
less "hot" (alcohol-y) than before, a little more wheaty than my first
taste, a little more spicy and little less tart-fruit. Not bad, but
still not great. There was little head retention, and it tasted
rather flat by the end. Probably need more priming sugar next time, will
leave it in the warm area a little longer.
07/09/2015 9:04pm Tastes *much* better today, after being in the fridge for 3 days. Tastes
a little "minerally" and a little more bitter than before. Not wheaty at
all, little head retention, not very clear, but quite good nonetheless.
08/14/2015 8:00pm I like it a lot more now. THe overt frutiness has mellowed into a nice
accent to a "barnyard funk". Sufficient complexity to keep me drinking it.
Not too sweet, sufficient bitterness.
10/03/2015 Last bottle.
http://byo.com/grains/item/328-brewing-with-wheat
http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter16-4.html
3 rest decoction mash:
1lb Golden Promise malted barley
2lb Briess White Wheat
0.5lb Best Malz Vienna
6.3 lb maillard malt golden LME (15 min late addition)
1.0oz German Tradition (60 min 5.3% alpha, hoptimus rex)
0.5oz Spalt (30 min 3.1% alpha hoptimus rex)
05/11/2015 8:40pm brought 700mL water to a boil, added 1/2C munton's
extra light DME and a pinch of Wyeast yeast nutrient.
9:00pm removed wort from heat, chilled with icewater bath
9:17pm Pitched about half of one bottle of Wyeast
French Saison leftover from Batch 4 (Saison de Noel)
Bottle had about 10oz of contents, about 60% clear water
on top of the yeast cake. Fluid was cool to the touch,
environment was 80F. Put the rest of the yeast in the
fridge in case I have a future use. Agitated for about
5 minutes.
05/12/2015 7:00am Nothing happening in starter flask
6:17pm about 3/8" very white krausen on top of dark amber
wort. Airlock moves occasionally and there is about
7/8" sediment at the bottom of flask.
7:42pm Began to heat water to 99F.
7:58pm Went too high, had to add a lot of cool water to get
it down to 105F. Doughed in at 105, used 6qt (a much
stiffer mash than I had wanted.) 15 minute rest.
8:13pm Pulled first decoction, about 1/3 mash.
8:26pm Temp of decoction at 150F, 15 minute rest (Note that
candy thermometer reads much lower than turkey fryer thermometer
so actual temp might be much higher.) Actually, temp was
way wrong according to digital termometer, so I'm going
straight to the boil. Bummer
8:33pm Began boil.
8:46pm finished boil. Mixed boiled wort back into mash tun,
temp settled at 143F. I have no idea what is going on. I immediately
pulled about 1/5 of the mash out, will raise to 150 and hope.
8:52pm Second decoction at 150F, resting.
9:05pm cut rest a little short because temp fell too far. Starting
to boil.
9:09pm added boiled mash back to tun, temp only 147F. Put back on
stove to bring mash up to 150F.
9:12pm temp at 151F
9:48pm began mashout. Temp of mash tun fell to 146F
9:53pm began filtering mash liquor through grain bed.
10:08pm totally had a stuck sparge! Began sparging with 170F water.
used 3 qt. Liquor is a little darker than I had hoped.
10:25pm finished sparge. Brought 2 3/4 gal water to boil along with
2 1/4 gal from extracted sugars for a total pre boil volume of
5 gallons.
10:39pm boil finally achieved. Added 1oz German Tradition hops.
Measured extracted malt at 1.06, I must have done something
wrong, there's no way I extracted that much.
11:09pm Added about 0.5oz Spalt
11:22pm added 6.3 lbs gold syrup, a dash of beer yeast nutrient
11:40pm finished boil
11:43pm temp 203F
11:47pm temp 170F
11:50pm temp 150F
11:53pm temp 130F
11:58pm temp 110F
05/13/2015 12:03am temp 96F
12:06am temp 84F (incomplete mixing in kettle, bottom was much cooler
than top.)
12:08am began oxygenation. Ended up with almost 4 gallons of wort.
12:15am finished oxygenation.
12:28am added 1 gal water. Pitched entire flask of yeast starter. There
was a little bit of dark brown stuff on the top of about 1/2" krausen,
and it all went into the fermenter. Wort smelled yeasty and slightly
tart, just like Saison de Noel. OG 1.058 measured at 80F, Wort is a
nice medium coppery amber color, not unlike the Ry's PA. Darker
than I had hoped, but not too bad. About the same as TJ's Heller
bock. Astringent and sweet, it has a
bit of a prickly or tangy quality. Very similar in flavor to the
kolsch, but probably at least one shade more bitter and two shades
more spicy. I think that extra spicyness will be excellent with
the saison funk, but I was hoping for something more wheaty or malty.
Reservoir is at 96F.
7:01am Fermentation is very vigorous, with a rather irregular 2 second
pause between 3-4 continuous bubbles. Reservoir is at 92F
7:10pm Same as above, reservoir is still at 92F! Heater is working!
05/14/2015 6:48am 2 seconds between bubbles, 4 bubbles per burst, reservoir at 92F
8:55pm " "
05/15/2015 7:41am 3 seconds between bubbles, 4 per burst, reservoir at 92F. Fermentation
is just starting to slow. Exhaust smells very sweet, like peaches
and honey.
7:34pm 4 seconds between bubbles, 3 per burst. Smells a little more spicy today.
reservoir at 92F
05/16/2015 9:11am 9 seconds between bubbles, 3 per burst. Reservoir 92F
8:30pm 22 seconds between bubbles
05/17/2015 7:45am 38 seconds between bubbles
8:35pm 38 seconds between bubbles
05/18/2015 7:51am 52 s
8:45pm 47 s
05/19/2015 7:52am 65 s
05/20/2015 6:56am unplugged heater, beginning to to cool to basement temp. Room doesn't smell
anymore, it seems primary fermentation is finished.
5:39pm reservoir down to 76F
05/21/2015 6:59am reservoir down to 69F as it is unseasonably cold outside. Turned the heater
back on, target is 72F
05/22/2015 7:15pm reservoir is at 75F. Racked to secondary. About a half inch of trub in the
bottom of bucket, far less than I expected. Beer is a nice deep gold color,
more orange than red with a touch of brown. Very cloudy. FG is 1.010, which
is an attenuation of 82% (assuming OG of 1.058, which was measured warm.
I don't have a precise measurement of the temperature of the beer during
my FG measurement, so I'm reporting just what the hydrometer reads. wyeast
says it goes up to 83%, so this was almost max attenuation.) At this stage
beer is very fruity, tart, very slightly "grainy" but not very "yeasty". It
does taste peppery (or is that some other spice?) but not terribly "funky."
It has the slightest hint of hop bitterness, which goes well with the peppery
phenols that support the very estery flavor.
I think it will be good when it is finished, but its not super interesting
right now. I think the high level of fruitiness in the nose creates a bit
of dissonance with the highly attenuated, tart finish. This is a beer that
isn't sure what it wants to be yet. Hopefully some time in secondary will
help it figure it out. Kept temp at 75F.
05/31/2015 8:00pm Turned heater off, temp will go down to 66F.
06/03/2015 11:31pm Temp down to 63F
06/15/2015 3:30pm Measured FG of 1.010 Beer is fruity, tart, and kind of uninteresting.
It is a coppery reddish bronze. Tom doesn't like it. Used 3 oz corn
sugar and 2 oz light DME (since I ran out of corn sugar) added to 2C boiling
water for carbonation. Got 49 bottles. Tastes a lot of fruity, tart and
slightly peppery, not wheaty or grainy at all and definitely not "funky".
If I try to do a wheaty saison again, I will use a lower temp to try to
accentuate the grains and not the phenols and tart fruit.
06/16/2015 6:00pm Moved bottles to upstairs bedroom where the temp fluctuates between
75F and 80F; a little more fluctuation than I'd like but should speed the
carbonation process.
06/27/2015 8:30pm chilled one bottle all day, it is sufficiently carbonated but doesn't retain
any head; surprising because of the wheat. Probably needs a few more days.
Beer is sufficiently dry, tart, tons of fruit (at the front of the palate),
a little spice (on the finish.) Sufficient
body, nice color. It is decent and thirst quenching, but not terribly
interesting. Lacks the "wheaty-ness" I had hoped for. Next time I use the
saison yeast, I will try a lower temperature. Also, I should add biscuit
or maybe victory malt next time, and do a late addition of DME
07/01/2015 9:00pm carbonation level much higher, sufficient head while pouring. A little
less "hot" (alcohol-y) than before, a little more wheaty than my first
taste, a little more spicy and little less tart-fruit. Not bad, but
still not great. There was little head retention, and it tasted
rather flat by the end. Probably need more priming sugar next time, will
leave it in the warm area a little longer.
07/09/2015 9:04pm Tastes *much* better today, after being in the fridge for 3 days. Tastes
a little "minerally" and a little more bitter than before. Not wheaty at
all, little head retention, not very clear, but quite good nonetheless.
08/14/2015 8:00pm I like it a lot more now. THe overt frutiness has mellowed into a nice
accent to a "barnyard funk". Sufficient complexity to keep me drinking it.
Not too sweet, sufficient bitterness.
10/03/2015 Last bottle.
