[jivetyrant]

It almost seems like fate.

A little while ago I stumbled across some threads discussing the use and availability of Sorachi Ace hops.  They sounded interesting but difficult to find, I ended up going a different route and brewed something else instead.  Well, I went by one of my local micro breweries yesterday to try out their new summer ale and found out that they used solely Sorachi Ace for it!  Wow, what a flavor!  Crisp, dry and very citrusy, I fell in love immediately.  They screamed "Saison" to me!  After some hunting around I found an online source for them and I started working on a recipe.  Here's what I came up with;

Batch size 5.5 gal
OG 1.060
FG est 1.005
Color est 6.4 SRM
IBU est 32.3

1lb Honey Malt, steeped
6.6 lbs Pilsen LME
2 lbs honey, varietal as yet to be determined
1/2 oz Sorachi Ace - 60 mins (10.7% AA)
1/2 oz Sorachi Ace - 30 mins
1/2 tsp yeast nutrient - 10 mins
1/2 tsp Irish Moss - 10 mins
1 oz Sorachi Ace - 0 mins, steeped for 20 mins
Pitch Wyeast French Saison 3711, 1.5L starter

Rack to secondary when complete, dry hop with 1oz Sorachi Ace for 14 days.

I have heard of a technique used when brewing Saisons.  It says to pitch at 68 F and slowly raise the temp, over the course of a week or so, to the max of the range specified by the yeast producer, in this case 77 F.  It seems like this would assist in creating the super dry finish common to the style without creating a beer loaded with fusels.  Has anyone ever tried this technique?  I've also heard of brewers spiking their Saisons with Brett B at bottling time, though I don't know if that would clash with the bright citrus flavors from the hops.  Any thoughts?

[a10t2]

Looks good to me; a little bigger than I'd want it but that's just personal preference. As soon as I read the topic title I thought, "Sorachi Ace in a Saison? Sounds perfect." It's very lemony.

I've never used honey malt, but from what I hear a pound is going to be way over the top.

I have heard of a technique used when brewing Saisons.  It says to pitch at 68 F and slowly raise the temp, over the course of a week or so, to the max of the range specified by the yeast producer, in this case 77 F.

That's more or less my standard technique for Belgian ales in general. I like to pitch cool (~63°F) and let the fermentation warm itself up as quickly as possible. I feel like that maximizes ester production while still keeping fusels in check.

[EHall]

You realize that Sorachi Ace are high alpha hops right? averaging about 13-16% Your recipe looks good but your into that pale ale/IPA range... if you want a saison thats hops fwd, go for it.

[majorvices]

It's very semony.

WTF is "semony"? Maybe I don't wanna know?

I have always though sorachi ace would make a great saison hop. Recipe looks OK, I'd probably drop the honey malt.

[a10t2]

WTF is "semony"? Maybe I don't wanna know?

Lemony! Lemony!

Geez man, head out of the gutter.

[majorvices]

Hey, "L" is on the other side of the keyboard from "S" .... just sayin'. 

[jivetyrant]

Ya, my bittering hop additions are very small,  1/2 oz at 60 and 1/2 oz at 30.  The website (Austin homebrew supply) I'm getting them from says they are 10.7%,though I've gotten conflicting reports on that.  Beersmith 2 reads 12%, Morebeer.com reads 10.7%-15%, misc forum posts read 13%-16%.  All the conflicting information is making nailing down my hop additions tough.  I could bump the 30 minute addition to 20 or 15 minutes if necessary.

[morticaixavier]

AA% stated in a program like beersmith or whatever are an average. Like all agricultural products there is variability. year to year and farm to farm. If the batch you are buying has been tested at 10.4 than that is probably fairly close to what it actually is for those actual hops...actually


actual

[jeffy]

Brooklyn's Sorachi Ace is definitely worth seeking.  It's a very nice Saison.

[jivetyrant]

Oh excellent, they have that at my local place.  I'll pick some up tonight or tomorrow, thanks for the tip!

[a10t2]

Hey, "L" is on the other side of the keyboard from "S" .... just sayin'. 

In my defense, they're right next to one another on my keyboard!

[phillamb168]

Hey, "L" is on the other side of the keyboard from "S" .... just sayin'. 

In my defense, they're right next to one another on my keyboard!

 

Dvorak, that's even more geek than me with my das keyboard with no lettering. Props.

[jivetyrant]

So I took a trip to the local beer Mecca and picked up some bottles for "style research" purposes.    I got a Sorachi Ace from Brooklyn Brewing Company to I can get a sense of the hops in the same style.  Additionally, I got some nice Brett examples including Saison de Lente from The Bruery (a saison spiked with Brett) a Wild Devil from Victory (an IPA fermented almost entirely with Brett) and an Orval, which I didn't like the first time I tried it. (It has grown on me)  I also snagged a Saison du Buff to taste the best example of the style that I know.

Will all of this "style research" get me anywhere but under the table?  Time will tell.

[tankdeer]

Brewed this up a couple months back. Sitting in a keg now awaiting a free tap. Quite tasty, and not "semony" at all (so I'm told). 

7.50 lbs. 2-row
3.00 lbs. Wheat
0.50 lbs. Biscuit

0.50 oz.    Sorachi Ace @ 60 min.
1.00 oz.    Sorachi Ace @ 15 min.
1.00 oz.    Sorachi Ace @ 0 min.

Single infusion at 146° for 90 minutes
My house saison yeast blend

OG: 1.048
FG: 1.000 (yes, zero)
SRM: ~5
IBUs: 50

IBUs are definitely up there, but it's so smooth you'd think it was closer to 35 IBUs

[pinnah]

Yum, I have been thinking of a sorachi saison for a while now.  I love me some semony sorachi.

Tank, what you have there for yeast? and if you were a poor LHBS buyer, would you go with the 3711?