The following beer recipe is featured in the January/February 2005 issue of Zymurgy magazine. Access this issue along with the archives with Zymurgy Online!
Spring has sprung, and it's time to start planning brews for the warmer months ahead.
In Belgium, particularly the French-speaking regions, saison was a style typically brewed on farms in the wintertime and enjoyed through the following spring and summer. Brewing gave farmhands something to do in the winter as well as a tempting beverage to motivate them through the day.
Mike Heniff, author of the following recipe, has spent a great deal of time quaffing his way through Belgium and exploring the styles and variations all over the country. His saison recipe keeps things simple, allowing for the yeast character and some hop bitterness to shine through. The result is a light-bodied ale perfect for quenching warm weather thirst, while still packing a bit of a punch. À votre santé!
This recipe was featured in the article "Beer Ventures: Belgian Beer Paradise" by Michael Heniff in the January/February 2005 Zymurgy.
The following beer recipe is featured in the January/February 2005 issue of Zymurgy magazine. Access this issue along with the archives with Zymurgy Online!
Spring has sprung, and it's time to start planning brews for the warmer months ahead.
In Belgium, particularly the French-speaking regions, saison was a style typically brewed on farms in the wintertime and enjoyed through the following spring and summer. Brewing gave farmhands something to do in the winter as well as a tempting beverage to motivate them through the day.
Mike Heniff, author of the following recipe, has spent a great deal of time quaffing his way through Belgium and exploring the styles and variations all over the country. His saison recipe keeps things simple, allowing for the yeast character and some hop bitterness to shine through. The result is a light-bodied ale perfect for quenching warm weather thirst, while still packing a bit of a punch. À votre santé!
This recipe was featured in the article "Beer Ventures: Belgian Beer Paradise" by Michael Heniff in the January/February 2005 Zymurgy.
Ingredients:
- 12.5 lb (5.67 kg) Pilsener malt
- 1.5 lb (0.68 kg) Vienna malt
- 1.0 lb (0.45 kg) CaraPils malt
- 1.3 oz (37 g) German Perle pellet hops, 8.0% a.a. (60 min)
- 0.7 oz (20 g) Czech Saaz pellet hops, 3.5% a.a. (10 min)
- 0.5 oz (14 g) Czech Saaz pellet hops, 3.5% a.a. (0 min)
- White Labs WLP565 or Wyeast 3724
Specifications:
Yield: 5 gallons (19 L)
Original Gravity: 1.07
Final Gravity: 1.016
ABV: ~7.1%
Boil Time: 60-75 minutes
Directions:
Mash crushed grains in 4.5 gallons of water at 153° F (67° C) for 90 minutes. Run off while sparging 4 gallons. Collect 6 gallons of wort and just very lightly boil, being careful not to darken the wort. Boil for 60 to 75 minutes and add the hops per schedule. Cool to 80° F (27° C), whirlpool and drain wort from trub. Pitch the slurry from a half-gallon starter of White Labs WLP 565 Belgian Saison or Wyeast 3724 Saison and ferment at 75° F (24° C) for 14 days.
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