Dark Funky Saison - A Retrospective

Since 2008 my friend Alex and I have been brewing dark funky saisons. Each year we come up with a new concept, usually involving dried fruit and/or spices. We've been a bit lax the last couple years, the ninth iteration was brewed a year ago, and neither of us has bottled our share yet.

For my birthday a couple weeks ago, Alex came over to the brewery and we opened bottles of all the versions (including a few variants). I shot a video of our discussion, enjoy!

Recipes:

2008 Dark Orange Rosemary Saison

2009 Funky Dark Saison with Black Cardamom

2010 Fig Honey Anise Dark Saison

2011 American Farmhouse Currant Dark Saison

2012 Dark Saison with Quince Paste

2013 Cranberry Dark Saison

2014 Dark Saison Etrog

2016 Dark Saison Date and Pomegranate

Dark Brett Saison: Date and Pomegranate

What started as an annual tradition in 2007 is coming up on its tenth anniversary. That's right, Alex and I have been brewing dark saisons together since the year the first iPhone was released! We've managed to fall a year behind though. We’re just now planning Dark Funky Saison #9, by next year we might be brewing a big batch of #10 at Sapwood Cellars?! I'd love to create similar series of seasonal beers at the brewery, the same concept but continually evolving the base beer and additions. Rich-ponderous beers for the winter, fresh-floral for the spring, and bright-fruity in the summer.

Taking a step back a year to when we brewed Dark Funky Saison #8. It was a “what’s on hand” batch. I had sacks of Weyermann Bohemian malts on hand for Pilsner and Tmave, my House Brett Saison Culture, and Mandarina Bavaria hops. Bootleg Biology is taking pre-orders for the second release of their version of my Brett-Lacto-saison culture this week, 7/5-7/10. Lots of good reports from the first release in this thread.

Rather than the usual dried fruit we added pomegranate molasses and date syrup. I’d brewed an Easter Quad with pomegranate molasses, and my split batch sugar experiment included date sugar. Anytime water is removed from fruit whether by drying or boiling it takes some of the subtle aromatics with it, but the resulting concentrated flavors tend to be more complimentary to dark malts.

We decided to keep the starting gravity low, much lower than Dark Saison 7's 1.071. With the high attenuation even the seemingly session-strength original gravity of 1.045 resulted in 5.6% ABV.

Dark Funky Saison Eight

Smell – Rich aroma of dark fruit, pumpernickel toast, and clay or steel. I don’t get dates or pomegranate specifically, but I don’t think a beer at 1.045 could have that nose without them.

Appearance – The brown color of a brown ale, with rich red highlights. Clear. Pours with a voluminous tan head that sinks over a couple minutes receding to a ring.

Taste – The fruits add an rich, dark, authentic flavor that I usually associate with Belgian dubbels and oud bruins. A combination of date and CaraMunich? Slight cherry or plum, some from the house culture. Mild tartness and funk even after all of this time between the fermentor and bottle. Finishes with a bright fruitiness I take to be the pomegranate.

Mouthfeel – Rounded, firm carbonation at first but it seems to leave the beer quickly.

Drinkability & Notes – Drinks like a bigger beer than it is, in a good way. Reminds me of a less-sour, less-cherry version of Russian River Supplication. Not a wow beer, but it works. The date and pomegranate play supporting roles that could have been taking by candi syrup or another adjunct. My house culture did well, staying restrained despite the age compared to its usual duty.

Changes for Next Time – I can't think of much to change on this beer, maybe pull back on the IBUs to allow a little more lactic acid production from the bacteria. Although the strain in the blend seems to be getting more hop-tolerant with time.

Recipe

Batch Size: 12.00 gal
SRM: 21.7
IBU: 14.2
OG: 1.045
FG: 1.002
ABV: 5.6%
Final pH: 3.91
Brewhouse Efficiency: 78%
Boil Time: 90 mins

Fermentables
-----------------
38.1% - 7.00 lbs. Weyermann Floor-Malted Bohemian Pilsner
38.1% - 7.00 lbs. Weyermann Floor-Malted Bohemian Dark
5.4% - 1.00 lbs. Briess Caramel Munich
5.4% - 1.00 lbs. Weyermann Carafa II
8.2% - 1.50 lbs. Alwadi Date Syrup
4.8% - .875 lbs. Alwadi Pomegranate Molasses

Hops
-------
1.00 oz. Mandarina Bavaria (Pellet, 6.50% AA) @ 75 min.
2.25 oz. Mandarina Bavaria (Pellet, 6.50% AA) @ 0 min.

Extras
---------
5 g Calcium Chloride @ mash
1.00 Whirlfloc @ 5 min.
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 5 min.

Calcium	Chloride	Sulfate	Sodium	Magnesium	Carbonate
70	70	50	20	10	90

Yeast
-------
Mad Fermentationist House Saison Blend

Mash Schedule
-------------------
Sacch Rest 45 min @ 154F

Notes
---------
Brewed 3/12/16 with Alex

16 gallons filtered DC tap water. 5 g of CaCl.

Heated to 165 slowly over 15 minutes. No sparge.

Date syrup added at the start of the boil, pomegranate molasses added at the end. Chilled to 65F. Shook to aerate. Pitched decanted House Saison culture.

1/2/17 Bottled 5 gallons with 4 oz of table sugar and Champagne yeast.

I get a commission if you buy something after clicking the links to MoreBeer/Amazon/Adventures in Homebrewing!

Dark Saison 7 Etrog: Tasting

Having finally brewed Dark Saison #8 (with date and pomegranate molasses – recipe post to follow) it seemed appropriate to post tasting notes for the previous iteration, Dark Saison 7 (Recipe)! This was an aberration from my standard dark saisons, brewed with nearly 80% toasty Maris Otter (plus Crystal 55, Abbey, and Kiln Coffee).

Shortly before bottling, I infused 40 g of zest harvested from an etrog into the beer. I happened to see this giant lemon-cousin at the store and decided to give it a try. It turns out that they are more frequently used for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot than culinary purposes. The aroma was closer to lemon than anything else, but without being as distinct.

Dark Saison #7

Appearance – Clear flame-brown, not far from a Newcastle Brown Ale. Head pours nicely, but deflates quickly.

Smell – The aroma is hard to place. There is some pale-coffee and dubbel-like maltiness, damp hay, and a touch of citrusy perfume. Reminds me more of a De Dolle, than most American sours. Almost licorice as it warms, a character I've never gotten in an amber sour beer like this! Perhaps created by the microbes from Trou du Diable by way of Mark of the Yeast?

Taste – Acidity is mild, more acidity than Brett-only, but not by much. Mild red-wine-berry fruitiness. The etrog plays a pleasant role, helping to cut through the malt and funk without being obvious. The finish is a combination of funky Brett and toasty malt, lingering a beat too long. The toasty flavor has mellowed since my previous informal sensory evaluations (aka drinking a bottle for fun).

Mouthfeel – Surprisingly creamy mouthfeel for a funky saison. Thanks perhaps to the Omega Saisonstein's Monster? Carbonation is medium, could be slightly higher.

Drinkability & Notes – Weird and subtle at the same time. In the series it is most similar to Dark Funky #5 (based on Munich and Vienna), although less acidic. Etrog's contribution isn't especially distinct, but maybe that isn't the worst attribute when you are trying to make a beer without an identifiable citrus addition.

Changes – I would swap half of the Maris Otter for Pils to cut the toasty flavor. Otherwise I think it works surprisingly well for such a weird combination of ingredients! Bottle dregs could be used to replace the Lactobacillus and Brett, WY3711 or another saison strain could be used if Omega's strain isn't sitting in your fridge!

Cranberry Dark Saison Tasting

Hard to believe Alex and I are already talking about our eighth annual dark/funky saison! The bottle I’m drinking tonight is from batch #6 (recipe), brewed almost two years ago with the help of a few of the Modern Times Kickstarter  backers. A year later, I cooked down two quarts of fresh cranberries with orange zest to add to the fermentor. Applying heat accomplishes a similar effect to drying fruit, it destroys many of the brighter/fresher flavors, producing a richer singular flavor that usually meshes more seamlessly with dark beers.

Also hard to believe that in that time Modern Times has gone through such raid growth, recently announcing that they’re opening a second brewery with a restaurant in Aneheim!

Dark Saison VI - Cranberry

Appearance – Foamed up slightly when I opened the bottle, which in turn churn up the sediment. Pours a hazy rusty-chestnut. Moderate off-white head, better than many sours (but still not great).

Smell – Mild aroma, with bready malt, and jammy red fruit. The Brett is wonderfully leathery, a hint of toasty oak as well. A hint of alcohol warmth towards the end of the glass. Certainly reminds me of the fall.

Taste – More oud bruin than dark saison (not that it is brewed to any sort of style-guidelines). Not too surprising given the base-malt-trio of Maris Otter, Vienna, and Munich. Rounded, malty, with that saturated berry-cherry fruit. It is obvious there is real fruit, but I’m not sure I would have been able to say cranberry definitively. Acidity is pleasantly puckering, but not aggressive or harsh. Earthy funk is subdued, allowing the fruit and malt to lead. Lingering bready-fruity finish.

Mouthfeel – Medium-light body with less carbonation than I expected given what happened when I opened the bottle.

Drinkability & Notes – Cooking the cranberries softened their flavor enough that I would probably up the amount next time. I don’t taste any influence from the orange peel, which is nice because I was planning to add orange peel directly to the fermentor a few days before bottling Dark Saison VII!

Dark Saison VII - English Citrus

I'm not a big fan of seasonal beers. Why isn't an Oktoberfest appropriate to drink in November (or October for that matter)? Sometimes I want a wit in February or a Double IPA in August! While there are a few "true" seasonals, like wet-hopped beers, most recipes can be brewed and enjoyed anytime of the year. What I’m more interested in is brewing and drinking beers that evoke a certain time and place. Each year for the last seven years that has included a dark/funky saison. While Alex and I brew them each fall, it isn’t a “seasonal” in the sense of dusting off last year’s recipe and re-brewing. We also aren’t slowly dialing in on a target. Our goal each year is to reimagine what fall tastes like.

We’ve started with an original gravity as high as 1.078 and as low as 1.051. As dark as 29 SRM, and as light as 15 SRM. We’ve added raisins, dates, figs, currants, cranberries, wine grapes, citrus, honey, and numerous spices and herbs. For the 2014 iteration we decided on English and citrus. Going for toasty malts, including a base of Maris Otter, paired with bold citrus zest in the fermentor just before bottling.

Toasty and funky isn't a common flavor combination. Brettanomyces produces tetrahydropyridine (THP), which at low levels provide a toasty flavor (at higher levels the perception of THP shifts to urine, or euphemistically "mousy."). I suspect this compound also plays a role in the "Cheerios" flavors bottle-conditioned sours often temporarily develop. As a result, many brewers avoid adding toasty malts to beers that will be fermented with Brett. However, I've actually had pretty good results with beers like my Courage Russian Imperial Stout clone (which included Maris Otter, amber, and brown malts) as well as a Brett-influenced version of Capitol City's ESB. An unauthorized collaboration, I won a 15 gallon keg of it and had to figure out something to do with the last few gallons.

The fermentation of Dark Saison VII is being carried out by a diverse mix of microbes. The brewer's yeast is Omega Saisonstein's Monster. A hybrid strain resulting from the controlled mating of a Saison Dupont isolate and French Saison (the goal being the classic peppery phenolics of the first with high attenuation of the second). Brett isolates from Le Trou du Diable were provided by Richie (Mark of the Yeast). Lastly a little Lactobacillus brevis from White Labs. If you don't get random boxes of yeast in the mail a couple times a month, and as a result can't procure all of these strains, then choose a saison yeast and whatever microbes suit your tastes!

On a related side-note, I'm now the Advanced Brewing columnist for Brew Your Own magazine! You can read more about Saisonstein's Monster in my February/March article about blending yeasts. The April/May issue will have an article I wrote with Matt Humbard featuring an experiment comparing the pH drops at four temperatures by four commercial strains of Lactobacillus, including White Labs L. brevis. Subscribe to BYO via this link to support the blog!

Dark Saison VII

Recipe Specifics
--------------------
Batch Size (Gal): 11.00   
Total Grain (Lbs): 31.50
Anticipated OG: 1.071   
Anticipated SRM: 16.3
Anticipated IBU: 6.0
Brewhouse Efficiency: 67 %
Wort Boil Time: 65 Minutes

Grain
------
79.4% - 25.00 lbs. Thomas Fawcett Maris Otter                  
6.3% - 2.00 lbs. Rahr Wheat Malt
6.3% - 2.00 lbs. Simpsons Medium Crystal (~55L)                  
6.3% - 2.00 lbs. Weyermann Abbey Malt
1.6% - 0.50 lbs. Franco-Belge KilnCoffee

Hops
-------
0.50 oz. Palisade (Whole, 8.00% AA) @  60 min.

Extras
--------
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 15 min.
1.00 Whirlfloc @ 15 min.

Yeast
-------
OYL-500 - Omega Saisonstein's Monster
BBY009 - Wild Canadian Blend
WLP672 - White Labs Lactobacillus brevis

Water Profile
-----------------
Profile: Washington, DC

Mash Schedule
------------------
Sacch Rest - 60 min @ 152F

Notes
-------
12/11/14 2.5 L stir-plate starter with Saisonstein's Monster and Canadian Brett (Le Trou du Diable isolates).

12/14/14 Brewed with Alex. Mash pH 5.36. No adjustments. Cold sparged with 3 gallons of water. Collected 13 gallons of 1.060 runnings. Boosted my efficiency more than expected.

Chilled to 72F with plate chiller, pitched half starter with the addition of White Labs L. brevis (directly) into mine. Shook to aerate. Left at 67 F to ferment.

1/29/15 Racked to secondary, moved to cool basement.

11/13/15 Added the zest from 1 etrog, 40 g to be precise.

11/15/15 Bottled 5 gallons with 4.5 oz of table sugar.

5/3/15 Tasting notes, happy with how it turned out, but would dial back the Maris Otter for a re-brew.

Membrillo (Quince Paste) Saison

Quince is a close relative of apples and pears. All three are in the Rosaceae family, but unlike the other two quince are almost never eaten raw. If you cook quince down with sugar the result is membrillo, a thick, floral, jelly. Dulce de membrillo is actually the correct term (membrillo is just the Spanish word for quince). This paste is traditionally served with cheese (often Manchego), and as a result can be purchased from many well-stocked cheese counters.

The only quince beer I can recall drinking is Jackie O's Quincedence (a tart, wine-barrel-aged, smoky wee heavy served as the base). In that beer the quince was a bit lost in all of the other flavors. Apples, pears, and quince all have relatively subtle flavors, so concentrating them or using a condensed form can be a good option.

I originally planned to add rhubarb to the fifth annual incarnation of the dark-ish sour-ish saison that Alex and I brew each fall, but when a sample revealed that batch was sour enough already, I audibled to 20 oz of membrillo. The rhubarb found a better partner in an under-soured Berliner weisse.

Saison de Membrillo

Appearance – Orange-red (cinnamon?). Not quite clear, a bit of that countryside. Pectinase likely would be needed if a clear beer was the goal. The buff head leaves sticky crescents of lacing behind as it gradually recedes.

Smell – Subdued aromatics. Hints of apple, well quince, but I’d forgive you if you didn’t know what one smelled like. Pear-like and floral, but with some distinct apple-sauce notes as well. Light clove-spice, and a hint of caramel malt as it warms. Certainly seems seasonally appropriate. Minimal Brett funk.

Taste – Pleasant, almost refreshing tartness. The acidity melds beautifully with the general pomme fruitiness. Less distinctly membrillo compared to when it was freshly bottled. Marginal saison character remains after the microbes and fruit, but the finish is long, dry, and spicy. Beautiful!

Mouthfeel – Crisp, but it could be crisper. Medium carbonation, and it could be punchier. I didn't want this beer to be Saison-Dupont-dry/sparkling, but the goal was saison!

Drinkability & Notes – I really enjoy this weird beer. It doesn’t exhibit the layers of complex Brett aromatics I hoped for from the ECY Bugfarm and bottle dregs, but it is nicely balanced with plenty of appealing flavors. For my first time tasting a beer brewed with membrillo, I think 20 oz in five gallons provided enough to taste, but not enough to dominate. Drinking this is getting me in the mood to brew dark/funky saison #7 sometime in the next couple months and add cranberries to dark/funky saison #6!

Funky Dark Saison 6 - The Unknown

Another year, another batch of funky dark saison, our sixth so far! For this iteration Alex and I decided to go with our lowest OG to date, 1.051. Mixed-fermentation beers often overshoot the alcohol content you'd expect from a similar gravity clean beer because of the high attenuation of Brettanomyces. While ale and lager yeast are only able to ferment carbohydrate chains up to three glucose molecules long (maltotriose), Brett is capable of tackling chains three times that length (aka "unfermentable" dextrins). In doing so it continues to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide long after a standard fermentation ends.

For this batch we decided to ferment with slurry from two of the three variants of the Furlough Rye Saison. One appropriately contained dregs from Dark Saison 4, the other had two isolates from the Bootleg Biology's Pithos Blend. Using either yeast slurry or established sour beer is a great source for bugs because it allows you to taste what the microbes have already accomplished. It is like getting a writing sample rather than a transcript; it allows you to personally evaluate each applicant. Alex and I are hoping we get some of the tartness from the DS4 culture, while the Pithos elevates the earthy funk.

As for our usual addition of dried fruit, I'm planning to give this batch a bit more time before I decide. Maybe cranberries, I want something bright to help cut through the rich flavors from the raisiny Special B and D180 candi syrup. My half of the last batch, Dark Saison 5, is still sitting on quince paste (membrillo). It already tastes great, I'm just waiting for the temperature in my basement to rise a few degrees so I can be sure fermentation is complete before bottling.

Dark Saison #6

Recipe Specifics
--------------------
Batch Size (Gal): 10.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 19.25
Anticipated OG: 1.051
Anticipated SRM: 17.6
Anticipated IBU: 18.3
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 75 Minutes

Grain/Sugar
--------------
26.0% - 5.00 lbs. Maris Otter
26.0% - 5.00 lbs. German Munich Malt
26.0% - 5.00 lbs. German Vienna Malt
10.4% - 2.00 lbs. Wheat Malt
5.2% - 1.00 lbs. D180 Candi Syrup
5.2% - 1.00 lbs. Special B Malt
1.3% - 0.25 lbs. Acidulated Malt

Hops
------
1.00 oz. Horizon (Pellet, 10.00% AA) @ 45 min.

Extras
-------
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 15 min.
1.00 Whirlfloc @ 15 min.

Yeast
------
White Labs WLP585 Belgian Saison III
White Labs WLP568 Belgian Style Saison Ale Yeast Blend

Water Profile
----------------
Profile: Washington, DC

Mash Schedule
-----------------
Sacch Rest 75 min @ 153 F

Notes
-------
Brewed 12/8/13 with Alex and the MT Kickstarter Crew.

4 g of CaCl added to both the carbon filtered mash and sparge water. Otherwise untreated.

Collected 11 gallons of 1.045 runnings with a batch sparge. Plus an extra gallon of final runnings.

D180 candi syrup added near the start of the boil.

Topped off with the final runnings with 15 minutes left in the boil.

Chilled to 75 F, shook to aerate, pitched 5 oz each slurry from two versions of Furlough Rye Saison (White Labs Saison III and Saison Blend) with DS4 dregs and Bootleg Biology Pithos Isolates. Very clear wort. Left at 67 F ambient to ferment.

4/30/14 Racked to secondary finally, and added ~15 Hungarian oak cubes from our homemade red wine (Cellar Craft Showcase Red Mountain Cabernet).

10/7/14 Cooked down 2 qrt of cranberries with the zest from two oranges for 25 minutes. Added to the secondary.

 4/12/15 Added 2 g of rehydrated Champagne yeast. 1.006, I'll let it warm up for a few days to make sure it really is done. Tastes very nice!

4/16/15 Bottled with 4 1/8 oz of table sugar. Aiming for 2.8 volumes of CO2.

9/28/15 Tasting notes.

Dark Zante Currant Saison Tasting

With the second test batch for Modern Times Lomaland saison bubbling away next to a radiator and on a heating pad (it is similar to the first batch, but with wheat in place of spelt and fermenting with WY3711), I wanted to post a tasting of a dark saison I brewed around the same time I began working with the brewery. Brewed fall 2011, this is the fourth in the series of dark saisons my friend Alex and I have brewed. This is the darkest thus far, with cold steeped roasted barley added to the boil. Fermentation was a mixture of saison yeast and several Brett strains (including some White Labs American Farmhouse sent to me by Brandon who writes the always fascinating Embrace the Funk blog); the beer was aged on dried Zante currants and an oak stave that had previously soaked in a red wine barrel.

Dark Funky Saison IV

Appearance – Dark brown with amber-ruby highlights when held to the light. Head retention is dreadful, the thin mocha head fizzing out almost completely in less than a minute.

Smell – Lots of dank Brett funk. Raisin (probably the currants) is the lead fruit, but there is a red wine as well. I'd initially worried that I'd pulled the beer off the fruit too early (to avoid over-oaking), but the currant is at about the right level. As it warms, vanilla from the oak becomes apparent, as does some toasty malt.

Taste – Similar to the nose, with damp leaves, port, cherries, but also a subtle light-roast coffee dark malt flavor. Cold steeping the dark malt successfully prevented them from adding a harsh or acrid character. This is a dry beer, but not overly so, it is after all saison-inspired. The only issue is that all of this complexity covers up the simple peppery flavors of the primary fermentation. Lightly tart, minimal bitterness, slight warming alcohol.

Mouthfeel – Thin, but not watery. Solid carbonation, lower than many spritzy saisons, but I tend to like dark beers a bit under-carbonated compared to pale beers. Somewhat tannic from the oak, but it isn’t obnoxious.

Drinkability & Notes – Really happy with the way this batch turned out. Rich flavors in a drinkable package. The right saison for a winter evening, like the other version I’ll be enjoying this one for years to come!

Fifth Annual Dark Saison - Sour Red

Alex and I have been brewing variations on funky dark saison each fall for the last five years. The recipes are never the same, and for the most part aren't even that similar. Over the years the strength has fluctuated from around 7% ABV to over 9%, with the malts, yeasts, hops, spices, and dried fruit varying based on how we were feeling at the time.

The first two brews were on our friend Noah's system. We probably would have kept that up had he not moved to Colorado shortly after the second batch. Luckily for us, Noah recently returned to the area (moving back into the very same house). Hopefully we’ll get him on board for Dark Saison #6 next year!

I’m hoping to convince the big-wigs (ha) at Modern Times to brew something like this as an annual tradition. Maybe not this exactly, but I enjoy the concept of seasonal beers that aren’t just dusting off the same recipes each year. Creating variations on a theme, rather than dialing in a stagnant target. Jason Yester of Trinity Brewing really inspired me while I was at GABF (recording an episode of Basic Brewing Radio); he brews a huge number of saisons each year, many with seasonal ingredients (grain of paradise, pumpkin, cacao nibs, brown sugar candied endive, Buddha's hand etc. and that’s just one beer, Capitane Petite Bouddha! Jason’s ode to Peter Bouckaert of New Belgium).

The dark saison Alex and I brewed last year was the first time we didn’t sour the beer, relying on Brett to add earthy-funk without significant acidity. For #5 we went back to our sour ways, but brewed the lightest colored wort of the series thus far. The reddish hue is pretty unique for a saison, and we tried to give it a caramel malt profile reminiscent of a Flemish red. Our original plan was to age the beer on quince (tastes like an extra-tart pear), but sourcing them has proved difficult. Jackie O’s Quincedence is the only sour I’m aware of brewed with quince although I wasn’t enamored with the combination of the fruit with a wine barrel aged smoked Scotch ale, and earthy Brett.

As a result of the scarcity of quince, this batch is currently sitting without an added fruit, herbs, or spices. Alex and I have discussed splitting the 10 gallon batch a few ways to create additional variety. Even if we get our hands on quince, we may end up adding it to only a few gallons of the batch. I think this beer would go beautifully with rose hips, hibiscus, schisandra (five flavor fruit), rooibos, or something else we turn up at the local co-op. I’ll wait to see where the flavor is in a few more months before anything goes in.

Dark Saison V

Recipe Specifics
-----------------
Batch Size (Gal): 10.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 28.75
Anticipated OG: 1.065
Anticipated SRM: 15.3
Anticipated IBU: 21.0
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65 %
Wort Boil Time: 95 Minutes

Grain
------
41.7% - 12.00 lbs. Munich
41.7% - 12.00 lbs. German Vienna
7.8% - 2.25 lbs. Oatmeal
3.5% - 1.00 lbs. Crystal 90L
1.7% - 0.50 lbs. CaraRed
1.7% - 0.50 lbs. Melanoidin Malt
1.7% - 0.50 lbs. Special B

Hops
------
1.25 oz. Comet (Whole, 10.00% AA) @ 65 min.

Extras
-------
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 15 min.
1.00 Whirlfloc @ 15 min.

Yeast
-------
White Labs WLP585 Belgian Saison III

Water Profile
--------------
Profile: Washington, DC

Mash Schedule
----------------
Sacch Rest - 60 min @ 156 F

Notes
-------
10/5/12 Made a 1.5 L stir plate refresher for the yeast I harvested from the Spelt Saison about a month earlier. Yeast starter took off quickly.

10/6/12 Oats were Country Choice Toasted. 4.5 lbs of the Munich was Briess 6-row, the rest was German.

Chilled to 75 F with the plate chiller. 45 seconds of pure O2. Pitched half the undecanted starter, a few ounces of East Coast Yeast Bug Farm IV, and the dregs from bottles of Dark Saison IV and Duchessic.

11/10/12 Racked to secondary, no fruit or oak yet.

11/10/13 Added 20 oz of quince paste, dissolved in an equal amount of boiling water.

4/13/14 Bottled with 3 1/8 oz of table sugar, and a splash of rehydrated Pasteur Champagne yeast.

9/25/14 Tasting notes for this tart, fruity, interesting addition to the series.

Dark Saison III Tasting - Figs and Honey

For the third beer in our series of dark-funky-fall saisons, Alex and I created this earthy fig and buckwheat honey permeated batch late in 2010. The brown honey produced by bees collecting nectar from buckwheat smells like nothing so much as dark malt extract that has been left out too long, pungent. Overpowering on its own, we hoped that a small amount would add depth and complexity to the funk provided by the Brett. We also added a few grams of anise and cinnamon, our attempt at sub-threshold saison spicing.

Complex recipes are hard to learn from. Alex and I combined a bunch of malts, adjuncts, fruits, oak, spices, an expressive yeast, and it is terrific, but I am completely lost on where most of what I taste is coming from. There is definitely dark fruit, but is that the figs or the Special B? I think most of the funk is from the Brett, but I’m sure the buckwheat honey is boosting it. I like the beer, but it would be a hard recipe to refine.

Fantôme has been a big inspiration for this series of beers. Not any of their beers in particular, but rather the notion of making a seasonal beer, like their Hiver or Noel, that evolve from batch to batch. It is a lot more fun to have a general concept to brew towards, rather than trying to recreate the same thing each year. Hopefully Alex and I can keep up this project; it shouldn’t be too hard given all of the dried fruits and spices we have yet to experiment with. Last fall’s Batch #4 is still aging, although I had to rack my share off of the wine-soaked oak stave and dried Zante currants sooner than anticipated when, after just six weeks, the wood character was already becoming too evident.

Dark Fruit Saison III

Appearance – The meager off-white head puts up a good fight, holding on to the last sip. It sits atop a beer has a dark molasses color at the top, but turns transparent Newcastle brown near the bottom of the fluted glass.

Smell – The aroma is dark, port-like, with plenty of dried fruit (although not specifically figgy). There is some dusty Brett funk as well, backed up by some toasty malt (or is that buckwheat honey?). There is so much going on that the peppery yeast and spices get lost in the shuffle.

Taste – Fresh cherries or plums right off the bat, before transitioning into dark fruit in the finish. The acidity is soft and complementary, the saison yeast didn’t leave too much for the bugs. The flavor is dry, but it isn’t grating. The buckwheat honey has calmed down from its once potent position, although it is still there at least in the distinct barnyard finish.

Mouthfeel – I’m usually a fan of low-moderate carbonation, but this one could use a little more oomph. The body is medium-thin, about right for a dark-funky-Belgian.

Drinkability & Notes – I think each year our dark saisons have gotten a little bit better, although this one is probably closer to a funky dubbel. Still waiting to see how the most recent version turned out, but I have high hopes.

American Farmhouse Currant Dark Saison

I like the idea of seasonal beers that are always similar, but never the same. For the last four falls a few friends and I have brewed dark funky saisons with dried fruit. Each year we keep the basic concept the same, but change the ingredients and methods to suit the dried fruit we select.

After previously using raisins, dates, and figs we decided that currants were the next logical choice. Dried currants have a flavor similar to raisins, but it is slightly more acidic with winey complexities. While there are "cassis" lambics flavored with fresh (or juiced) currants, I think the best example of their use is dried in Russian River's Consecration. Recently I went to a tasting at a friend's house where we opened five bottlings, and while each one was interesting in its own way the 001 had the perfect balance of acidity, Cabernet Sauvignon, tobacco, and dark fruit (too bad it was my last bottle).

For the malt bill of this year's dark saison we used a base of Vienna to give it more bready/toasty flavors than previous batches. Rather than getting all of the dark color from dehusked roasted malts in the mash, I made a cold extraction with roasted barley first processed in coffee grinder. I mixed a half pound with 20 ounces of water, although I probably would use a quart the next time. After sitting overnight at room temperature I strained it through a tea strainer (my initial attempt with a paper coffee filter quickly became clogged). We added the resulting 10 ounces of syrupy jet-black extract to the kettle at the start of the boil.

Fermentation was a mix of saison strains and Bretts. This was my first time using White Labs WLP670 American Farmhouse which includes a mutated version of Brett bruxellensis from The Lost Abbey. I missed the initial release last summer, but Brandon (who writes the excellent sour beer blog Embrace the Funk) was kind enough to send me a slurry he had saved (the strain will be available again as a year round release for 2012). Alex and I also pitched Wyeast Brett bruxellensis and Farmhouse Ale to complete the fermentation team. For once we did not add bacteria, so while this beer will be funky it will not have the sourness that the previous batches did.

For the first three dark saisons in this series we pureed the dried fruit and added it to the end of the boil, but this time Alex and I decided to wait until secondary to preserve more of its flavor. As these currants were coated in oil (from the feel of them) I gave them a quick rinse in Star-San followed by filtered water to remove the head destroying lipids.

For oak a fellow homebrewer (Tom, who also hooked me up with a bottle of Surly Five) sent me a few slices of an oak stave that had been in a red wine for some time. Even the smallest one, at 1.75 oz, was a bit more than I usually add, but since it had already had a good deal of its character extracted and had relatively low surface area I decided to risk over-oaking. I am also planning on adding some citrus zest when the beer is closer to bottling, but that will depend on the flavor.


We are starting to run out of dried fruits to use in dark saisons, so if anyone has a suggestion please post a comment. I think maybe even prunes would be a good choice...?

Dark Saison IV
Recipe Specifics
----------------
Batch Size (Gal): 10.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 25.00
Anticipated OG: 1.067
Anticipated SRM: 29.3
Anticipated IBU: 22.4
Brewhouse Efficiency: 77 %
Wort Boil Time: 80 Minutes

Grain
-------
92.0% 23.00 lbs. Vienna Malt
2.0% 0.50 lbs. American Chocolate Malt
2.0% 0.50 lbs. Carafa Special II
2.0% 0.50 lbs. Special B Malt
2.0% 0.50 lbs. Roasted Barley

Hops
-------
0.75 oz. Warrior (Pellet, 16.00% AA) @ 75 min.

Yeast
-----
WYeast 3726 Farmhouse Ale
White Labs 670 American Farmhouse
Wyeast 5112 Brettanomyces bruxellensis

Water Profile
----------------
Profile: Washington DC

Mash Schedule
-----------------
Sacch Rest - 60 min @ 159 F

Notes
-----
Brewed 12/17/11 with Alex.

Used spring water for the mash and sparge.

One week earlier had made a cold extraction with the roasted barley and one pint of water. Filtered after 18 hours at room temperature, rinsed with a few more ounces, and saved in the fridge. Added to the start of the boil.

Chilled to 70 F. Aerated with ~45 seconds of pure O2. Pitched my five gallons with 375 ml of loose slurry from the acid malt saison, 75 ml of dense slurry from WLP670 American Farmhouse, and half a package of Wyeast Brett B.

Good fermentation by the next morning at 64 F ambient in a large bucket fermentor. Never produced much krausen. Left the lid on lightly to mimic the low pressure of open fermentation.

12/27/11 Racked to secondary with 27 oz of dried currants (first rinsed with Star-San and then filtered water) and a long chunk of oak from a wine stave (1.75 oz).

2/7/12 Already had enough oak character (tannins especially), racked off of currants and oak stave. It would have been nice to let the currants ferment longer, but at 6 weeks they should have given up most of their flavor.

7/21/12 Bottled with 3.25 oz of table sugar and 1 g of Primere Cuvee yeast rehydated.

2/6/13 Tasting notes, nice contribution from the currants and oak. The cold steeping worked to prevent an acrid flavor.

Dark Saison on Cabernet Grapes

The brew day for our fourth annual Funky Dark Saison is right around the corner and I'll be blending and bottling the third batch this weekend, so there was no time like the present to taste the second batch aged on Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. At two years old it is a wonderful marriage of sour beer and wine: hearty, complex, and still balanced.

Funky Dark Saison #2 on Cabernet Sauvignon

Appearance – A thin off-white head sits on top of a nearly opaque dark brown body. During the pour I can see deep purple tones, but the beer is too dark for them to be visible in such a wide glass. The edges look clear (not surprising after two years). Despite the poor head retention the ring that persists is trailed by lacing.

Smell – Huge aroma that I can smell as soon as I start pouring. Toasted and chocolate malt, jammy fruit, spice, and clean alcohol. It is hard to tell if the spice is from the yeast, grapes, oak, or black cardamom (probably something from all four).

Taste – Starts like a bold red wine, the sourness hits the middle of the tongue fading as the malt picks up in the finish. I love a beer that progresses through each sip, changing as it travels over the tongue. The lactic acid is smooth and not overpowering, but there is no question that this is a sour beer. The peppery spice of the yeast comes through more than in the aroma. ~11% ABV adds warmth, but the sourness hides the booze surprisingly well.

Mouthfeel – Doesn't come off as thin or hot, but the featherweight body and moderate-high carbonation let you know it is Belgian. The tannins extracted during the long time spent sitting on the grape skins helps to add firmness.

Drinkability & Notes – I think this batch is terrific, I'd put it up against Russian River Consecration any day. The grapes temper the black cardamom, and their sugars helped spur additional souring. I'm trying to hang onto as many bottles as I can, this one should be even better in a year or two.

Funky Date Dark Saison Tasting

After posting the recipe for the dark saison we brewed a few weeks ago it seemed like it was about time I posted a first tasting of the dark saison Noah, Alex, and I brewed last fall.  It had a complex grain bill, red wine deglazed dates, and a touch of black cardamom.  It was fermented with 3711 (French Saison), along with dregs from several sours we drank during the brew. 

Dark Fruit Saison II

Appearance – A hard pour produces a two-finger-dense-tan (Guinnesque) head. Decent retention paired with some lacing, but it's not nitro foam. The beer itself is a few shades darker than Guinness, deep leathery brown, but clear when held to a light.

Smell – Big dark spicy nose with just a touch of tobacco (it's amazing what 3 grams of black cardamom can do in 15 gallons). Not much sour/funk in the nose, but there is some beautiful dried/red fruit . There is a light ethanol nostril burn, but at a year old I still consider a 10% sour a toddler.

Taste – I'd call this beer tart bordering on sour. The roast is long and on the light side of coffee/chocolate. There is a red wine character that is really nice (can't wait to see how the 3 gallons on Cabernet Sauvignon grapes turns out).

Mouthfeel – Medium-light body, perfect for a big Belgian. Moderate carbonation, about right for the body and complex flavors.

Drinkability & Notes – The flavors are great, but it certainly needs another year or two to mellow/meld and round some edges, but it is getting there. 

Fig Honey Anise Dark Saison

When most people think about saison they are imagining Saison Dupont (pale, moderate gravity, relatively hoppy, peppery yeast) while in fact saison has a huge range, from featherweights like Dupont's 3.5% ABV Avril to a darker 10% ABV beer like Fantôme Spéciale De Noel.  In my opinion the only constraint for calling a beer a saison is that it is fermented with a saison yeast strain.

After successes with our first two dark winter saisons Alex and I (Noah moved to Colorado a few months ago) decided on a similar plan for the third in the series.  This year we opted to add figs (instead of dates or raisins), buckwheat honey, and warming spices (cinnamon and anise).

The malt bill was similar to its forebears, but we reduced the original gravity to produce a more drinkable beer.  The high lovibond crystal malts will provide some dark fruit character to complement the figs, and the Carafa will add a light roast without causing the dry finished beer to be harsh/acrid.  For some body we added steel cut ("Irish") oats to the mash, but not before gelatinizing their starches with a quick boil (a step you can skip when using oats that have been rolled or flaked).

For additional fermentables we added buckwheat honey, the darkest most flavorful varietal we could get our hands on.  After smelling the musty honey (not too far off of dark LME) we cut back the amount to lend a rich earthiness (hopefully without letting it get too funky).  When Nathan and I were brewing with Terry at Bullfrog Brewing he mentioned that he used a small amount of buckwheat honey (~3%) in his 2008 GABF Gold Winning Beekeeper (a sour barrel aged saison) along with a more substantial addition of a milder honey (~7%), I've been looking for an excuse to play with the ingredient ever since.

A small amount of bitterness was all we asked from a single addition of Simcoe hops.  In a big complex beer the hop variety is of little import, so I used up the last of my 2007 "hop crisis" order.  Fermentation was ably carried out by the yeast cake from the Petite Funky Saison I'd brewed a few weeks earlier (with added dregs from a couple commercial sours).

So far this has been a great yearly tradition that I'm hoping we'll be able to continue for a few more falls before we get bored of the dark fruit saison concept.

Dark Fruit Saison III

Recipe Specifics
--------------------
Batch Size (Gal): 10.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 25.94
Anticipated OG: 1.066
Anticipated SRM: 22.6
Anticipated IBU: 22.9
Brewhouse Efficiency: 67 %
Wort Boil Time: 85 minutes

Grain/Sugar
-----------
61.7% 16.00 lbs. German Pilsener
15.4% 4.00 lbs. German Munich Malt
8.1% 2.10 lbs. Fig Puree
3.9% 1.00 lbs. Steel Cut Oats
3.3% 0.84 lbs. Buckwheat Honey
2.9% 0.75 lbs. Carafa Special II
2.9% 0.75 lbs. CaraMunich
1.9% 0.50 lbs. Special B

Hops
-----
1.25 oz. Simcoe (Whole, 11.00% AA) @ 70 min.

Extras
------
1.00 Whirlfloc @ 10 min.
1.00 Tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 10 min.

2.00 gm Anise @ 5 min.
1.00 gm Star Anise @ 5 min.
0.50 gm Cinnamon @ 5 min.

Yeast
-----
White Labs WLP565 Belgian Saison I
White Labs WLP645 Brettanomyces claussenii

Water Profile
-------------
Profile: Washington DC

Mash Schedule
-------------
Sacch Rest 90 min @ 156

Notes
-----
Brewed 11/13/10 with Alex

Chalk and baking soda added to the mash to make sure the pH doesn't go too low.

Oats were steel cut and boiled for 15 minutes to hydrate/gelatinize before adding to the mash about 10 minutes dough-in.

Batch sparged with 180 degree water.

Hops ~3 years old, adjusted down from 13.6% AA.

Spices ground in a coffee grinder for 10 seconds before adding.

Half Black Mission figs, half Canadian. Both organic from the CO-OP. De-stemmed, and halved. Boiled in the the final runnings for 15 minutes, then pureed with a stick blender. Added with 10 minutes left in the boil.

Organic buckwheat honey warmed in a pot of water to loosen, then added after the end of the boil (2 minutes into chilling).

Chilled to 72, then pitched half yeast cake from Bretted Saison (along with dregs from Supplication and Consecration). Shook to aerate.

Fermented for 10 days on a heating pad set to low to try to keep the fermentation temp above the ambient ~63 degrees.

12/14/10  Racked to secondary with .75 oz of dark rum soaked American oak cubes.

10/15/11 Blended some, and bottled the remaining 2.25 gallons with - 1 5/8 oz cane sugar.

5/3/12 Tastes great, although the carbonation isn't quite as strong as it could have been.The buckwheat honey softened out nicely from some earlier samples.

Funky Dark Saison with Black Cardamom

Last fall I got together with my friends Noah and Alex at Noah's place to brew a big, dark saison seasoned with blackened raisins, rosemary, and orange peel. The base beer turned out alright, but the funky portion to which we had added the dregs from various sour beers turned out fantastic, a blend of earthy funk and dark herbal complexity. It turned out so well in fact that this year we decided to brew a 15 gallon batch of dark saison, and sour the whole thing.

While the basic concept of the beer remained consistent the recipe itself went through some big changes in regards to the malt, yeast, and spices. Noah's brew system had also gone through some changes, making it now approximately four times more complex than mine (no I'm not really clear what that box does either).


The malt bill was overhauled, making it much more complex this time around (not my idea) but for something funky I don't mind some extra complexity (and unfermentables) from the additional crystal and dark malts.


We got some extra fermentables from caramelized dates instead of the raisins we used last year. We deglazed them with a bit of the final runnings which we boiled down to a thick syrup, along with a cup of red wine. They were then pureed with a stick blender and added this paste right at the end of the boil.


We didn't get great efficiency because the boil kettle size limited us to collecting only 12 gallons of wort. As a result we added light dry malt extract so we could get a full 15 gallons of 1.078 wort out of Noah's keggle system after topping off with water post-boil.


This time around we replaced the rosemary with black cardamom, an African cousin of the more common green/white variety. It has a darker more complex flavor (notes of smoke and creosote), and is most often used in African and Indian cooking. We erred on the side of caution going with just 3 g of the crushed inner seeds added with 2 minutes left in the boil. We had also intended to add the zest from an orange as we did last year, but between the activities of brew days and the microbial harvesting we forgot to add it.


The yeast changed from one Wyeast VSS saison strain to another when we replaced the 3725 Bier de Garde with 3711 French Saison. The yeast cake for the 15 gallon batch came from the Hoppy French Saison I had brewed a few weeks earlier. The bugs came from a variety of sour beers, both commercial and homemade that we sampled during the brew.

At least we kept the hops pretty much the same going with 2 oz of Amarillo to bitter.


With the mash finished Alex vacuumed out the spent grain using a shop vac, seemed like a good way to get rid of that large a mass of wet grain if your mash tun is too heavy to lift.


Seems like this is becoming a yearly tradition, hopefully this batch lives up to its predecessor.

Winter Saison (Funky Dark Saison w/ Black Cardamom)

Recipe Specifics (All-Grain)
----------------
Batch Size (Gal): 15.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 50.33
Anticipated OG: 1.078
Anticipated SRM: 32.4
Anticipated IBU: 17.2
Brewhouse Efficiency: 62 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Grain/Extract/Sugar
----------------------
77.5% - 39.00 lbs. American Pale Malt
6.0% - 3.00 lbs. Light DME
4.0% - 2.00 lbs. CaraMunich Malt
2.5% - 1.25 lbs. Crystal 40L
2.5% - 1.25 lbs. Special B Malt
2.0% - 1.00 lbs. Belgian Chocolate Malt
1.6% - 0.81 lbs. KilnCoffee Malt
1.6% - 0.80 lbs. Crystal 90L
0.8% - 0.41 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt
0.8% - 0.41 lbs. Carafa Special II
0.8% - 0.41 lbs. Flaked Soft White Wheat

Hops
-----
2.00 oz. Amarillo (Pellet 8.00% AA) 60 min.

Extras
-------
3 g Black Cardamom Seeds 2 Min.
20 oz Dates toasted and deglazed with wort and red wine

Yeast
-----
WYeast 3711 French Saison

Water Profile
-------------
Profile: Vienna Virginia Aquifer

Mash Schedule
-------------
Sacch Rest 90 min @ 154

Notes
-----
Brewed 11/15/09 with Alex at Noah's house.

3 grams of black cardamom (inner part of seeds ground) added with 2 minutes left in the boil.

Dates caramelized in pan, deglazed with 1 cup of red wine, and then 5 cups of first runnings that had been reduced to ~1.5.

Cooled to about 72. Pitched slurry from my Hoppy French Saison, plus the dregs of numerous homebrewed sours, as well as a Russian River Consecration and Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noir. Oxygenated with 60 seconds of pure O2.

Strong hard fermentation in my basement. Did not ramp the temperature up in an attempt to save some fermentables for the bugs. Soaking some Hungarian oak cubes in port to add when I transfer to secondary.

Alex added orange zest to his as well as wine soaked oak cubes. Noah is going with Grand Marnier soaked oak, it will be interesting to see how the batches differ.

11/29/09 Boiled 1 oz of house toast Hungarian oak cubes in water for just a few minutes.  Poured ~1 cup of port over to cover.

12/06/09 Racked to secondary, gravity down to 1.012.  Added port and oak cubes.  Put back in the ~60 degree basement.

10/14/10 Racked half of the beer onto 3.5 lbs of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.

10/15/10 Bottled the remaining 2 gallons of beer with 1 5/8 oz of table sugar.

12/9/10 After a year it is doing pretty well, with the cardamom is at about the right level. It is tart, but not sour with layers of complex savory flavors.

3/12/11 Bottled the 2.75 gallons of the cabernet portion 1.625 oz of table sugar.  Aiming for 2.4 volumes of CO2.  Added 1 gram of 71B-1122 to the bottling bucket.

10/13/11 The Cabernet portion is terrific, more sourness than plain, and muted spice.

Funky Dark Orange Rosemary Saison - First Tasting

I have only been moderately happy with the “clean” version of the Dark Orange Rosemary Saison that Alex, Noah and I brewed last October. It is a fine beer but it still tastes a bit rough and has a slight soapiness, I am hoping that it will improve with more age. It finished so dry (1.003) that we decided there wasn't much sense in giving the funky version too much time to age. Surprisingly it only took a few months (and a few points) for the bottle dregs and port soaked oak cubes we added to transform the funky version into a beautifully earthy funk bomb.

Tasting 5/12/09

Appearance – Nearly opaque black with just a few chocolate brown edges when held to the light. Good looking creamy tan head with great retention and lacing.

Smell – Cherries and rosemary come first, but are quickly followed by earthy damp basement funk. There is a faint toastiness, but other than that there is no sign of the malt. The hops are similarly absent, as is (surprisingly) the considerable alcohol.

Taste – No sourness, just a Brett funk manifested somewhere between wet hay and mushrooms. The roasted malt pokes its head out, sort of a weak coffee flavor (milder than the clean version). In the taste I get more of a general herbal note rather than a rosemary specific aroma. The alcohol is well concealed, but there is a hint of belly warming that suggests the nearly 10% ABV. The citrus/orange that was apparent in the clean version a few months back is absent in this one.

Mouthfeel – The mouthfeel has a surprising amount of creaminess for a beer that finished within a couple points of 1.000. The carbonation is moderate-high, which helps to conceal any thinness. I wonder if the tannins from the oak helped to add some body.

Drinkability & Notes – I wish we had given the funk/oak treatment to the entire batch, this one has such great balance and complexity. Certainly in the same direction as something like Fantome Noel or Black Ghost, complex, but still very drinkable. At only 6 months old I am excited to see how this ages over the next year or two (if the six-pack I have left lasts that long).

Dark Saison - 1st and 2nd Tastings

Saturday my friend Alex came over to lend a hand while I was brewing a sour honey wheat. While he was here he dropped off a couple bottles from his half of the dark orange rosemary raisin sasion we brewed together in October. You may remember that we split the pitched wort each taking half home to ferment, age, and bottle. I thought it would be interesting to taste my first bottle of his along side a bottle of mine.

The two beers seemed like they would probably be similar. They started as the same wort from the same mash/boil, and had the same yeast pitched from the same yeast cake, and both have similar final gravities (1.003 for mine, 1.004 for his).The biggest difference was fermentation temperature, mine peaked around 84, while he got his into the low 90s. While these temperatures might sound high, the yeast was Wyeast's VSS 3725 Bier de Garde, which they say performs well at up to 95 degrees. The only other major difference between the batches was how they were aged, his got six weeks in secondary including one week at 40, while mine just got two weeks at room temperature.

Mine (left)
Appearance – Nearly opaque-black, with just a faint rusty highlight when held to the light. A rocky, one finger tall, tan head with good stability. Mine appears to be the more carbonated of the two beers (but not by much).

Smell – The rosemary is certainly upfront, with some light roasted coffee following behind it. Not a particularly Belgian aroma (not much yeast character). Solid aroma, but I think the rosemary is covering up the yeast character.

Taste – The citrus is more prominent in the taste than the rosemary. Pretty dry (but not as dry as the hydrometer indicates), yet very malty. Despite the lack of sweetness it still has good balance because of the low IBUs. Finishes with a bit of alcohol warming (much more after it has a chance to warm up).

Mouthfeel – Good prickly carbonation, medium-light body (particularly for such a big beer).

Drinkability & Notes – As this beer ages the herbs/spices have become more integrated into the malt and yeast character, if that continues it will become an even better beer with time. This one will probably be doing very nicely by next Christmas.

Alex's (right)
Appearance – The color is virtually identical to mine. The head looks the same as well, except for the fact that it is a bit creamier and about 1/3 the size right after pouring. However, after getting the chance to sit for 5 minutes while I concentrated on mine the head actually doubled in size. Both beers have good lacing, but this one is particularly sticky.

Smell – I get the rosemary here, but it is mingled more with an assertive spicy/peppery yeast character. The coffee character seems more subdued.

Taste – The alcohol is a bit more upfront in this version (probably due to the higher fermentation temperature). I don't get much of the citrus, but I get a hint of the raisins which was missing from mine.

Mouthfeel – The mouthfeel is creamier and a touch fuller due to the lower carbonation, a bit more satisfying for a big beer like this.

Drinkability & Notes – This one tastes like it needs more time than mine for the alcohol to calm down, but I think that next year it will be better than mine because of the bigger yeast character.

It is surprising that you can split a wort, and pitch yeast from the same yeast cake yet get such different beers. It makes you appreciate how difficult the idea of cloning a complex brew like 10 Commandments really is (and what a challenge it is to brew a beer like this consistently). I may try a bottle of each of these again next winter to see if they diverge or converge over time.

With how dry both of these got I am going to guess that the portion of the batch that we infected, with the dregs from a few bottles of sour beer, will not be getting that funky (not much is left for the wild microbes to eat). Although that may also mean that it won't need much more than the 3 months it has already had in secondary.

Dark Orange Rosemary Saison

Brew days on someone else's system are always fun. I met Noah and Alex at a NOVA HomeBrew club meeting a few weeks back when I went to pickup my share of a bulk grain buy. Noah has a very nice keggle HERMS system, way more advanced than my little stove top setup. Water is heated with electric elements in the keggle and cooler (right), this hot water is pumped through the outside of the copper counterflow chiller (middle) and back into the tanks. At the same time wort from the mash tun (left) is pumped through the pipe in the center of the chiller in the opposite direction and returned to the top of the mash tun. A temperature sensor allows Noah to dial in the mash rest temperature.


The recipe we brewed was a joint effort inspired by The Lost Abbey's 10 Commandments (formerly Pizza Port SPF 8). The grain bill is mostly pilsener, with some caramel malts for flavor, and Carafa Special II for color without too much roasted flavor. The saccharification rest was a few degrees higher than I would do on my system because Noah's system takes 15 minutes to go from the protein rest to the target saccharification rest, giving the beer time in the lower end of the saccharification range.


For hops, we used a couple ounces of Amarillo pellets as a first wort hop addition. Amarillo has some pine and citrus characteristics that should compliment the spicing and yeast. We decided to skip any late boil additions in favor of letting the yeast and spices provide the aromatics.


We spiced the beer with a combination of orange and rosemary. For the orange we zested two Valencia oranges. Rosemary is very potent, so we used the leaves off of just one sprig for 11 gallons of beer. Both were added at flameout to protect as much of their aromatics as possible.


We also blackened a pound of Thompson seedless raisins in a pan. Once they had taken on some color we deglazed with the final runnings which we had been boiling down for an hour. We used a stick blender to puree the raisins and wort, the puree was added at flame out along with the spices.


Alex and I are each fermenting 4 gallons of the batch with Wyeast's VSS Biere de Garde strain (supposedly from Fantome). In addition Alex is fermenting 3 gallons that also got the dregs from a couple sour beers along with the Biere de Garde strain (hoping it will be ready in 6-9 months).

Dark Saison

Recipe Specifics (All-Grain)
----------------
Batch Size (Gal): 11.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 29.50
Anticipated OG: 1.072
Anticipated SRM: 22.6
Anticipated IBU: 25.4
Brewhouse Efficiency: 73 %
Wort Boil Time: 100 Minutes

Grain/Extract/Sugar
---------------------
13.00 lbs. Belgian Pilsener
13.00 lbs. German Pilsener
1.00 lbs. Carafa Special II
1.00 lbs. CaraWheat
0.50 lbs. Special B Malt
1.00 lbs. Raisins Blackened

Hops
-----
2.00 oz. Amarillo First Wort Hops

Extras
-------
Zest of 2 Valencia Oranges @ 0 Min.(boil)
1 Sprig of Fresh Rosemary @ 0 Min.(boil)

Yeast
-----
WYeast 3725 Bier de Garde

Water Profile
-------------
Profile: Vienna

Calcium(Ca): 7.0 ppm
Magnesium(Mg): 3.0 ppm
Sodium(Na): 3.2 ppm
Sulfate(SO4): 5.8 ppm
Chloride(Cl): 5.0 ppm
biCarbonate(HCO3): 9.0 ppm

Mash Schedule
-------------
Protein Rest 20 min @ 130
Sacch Rest 90 min @ 152
Mash Out 15 @ 168

Notes
-----
10/11/08 Brewed with Alex and Noah on Noah's system

Vienna VA well water, which Noah told us is similar to Pilsen.

2 Valencia oranges zested, 1 sprig of fresh rosemary.

Seedless Thompson raisins blackened in a skillet until they took some color then deglazed with the final runnings, which we had been reducing for an hour.

Divided three ways, aerated all three with pure O2. Pitched yeast cake from one of Noah's beer into all three. One got dregs from Alex's Berliner Weisse (Wyeast Blend), Temptation Clone (RR Chips), and my Mo Betta Brett Clone 2 (Brett A). In secondary the funky version also received about .5 oz of medium toast French oak that I soaked in port for a couple weeks.

Big krausen by 24 hours at ~75 room temp. After another 24 hours I gave it some heat with the heating pad set to low to get the temperature up a bit (wort temp around 84).

10/18/08 Down to 1.010 (86% AA, 8.2% ABV), pretty good for 1 week. The krausen has fallen, but it still looks cloudy so the yeast may still drop it another few points.

10/19/08 Transferred to secondary, 3 gallons straight, ~7/8 gallon dry hopped with .5 oz of Amarillo.

11/02/08 Bottled the plain batch with 2.5 oz of white sugar (2.5 volumes CO2), and the dry hopped batch with 7/8 oz of sugar (3 volumes CO2). Both taste good, slightly resiny, with a toasty malt backbone.

2/08/09 Finally took a FG reading... 1.003 (96% AA, 9.1% ABV). It doesn't taste infected, so that is one heck of an aggressive strain.

2/09/09 1st and 2nd Tastings

5/12/09 1st tasting of the funky portion