I’m going for a farmhouse ale / biere de mars type beer. I may end up splitting off a portion of this batch to add brett c or WLP655 Belgian Sour Mix 1. It’s my first attempt at this “style” so I definitely appreciate any feedback or suggestions on the recipe.
Farmhouse Ale
5 gallons
Est. OG = 1.064
Est. FG = 1.015
SRM = 7°
IBU = 26.2
BU:GU = .41
6.5% ABV
Fermentables
6 lbs 10 oz Briess Pilsen Light LME (70%)
1 lb 10 oz Wheat Malt Extract Syrup (17%)
8 oz Simpsons Golden Naked Oat (5%)
8 oz Crystal 40L (5%)
4 oz Briess Carapils (3%)
Hops
1.5 oz German Hallertau (4.1% AA) @ 60 min
1 oz Strisselspalt (3.5% AA) @ 10 min
.5 oz Wyeast Yeast Nutrient @ 10 min
.1 oz Crushed Corriander @ 5 min
.1 oz Orange Zest @ 5 min
That should be OK.
I’ve used up to 4 oz zest and 2 oz coriander for 10 gal wit. Half in the boil and half in the keg.
Coriander is easily over done, not enough is better than too much.
If you 2nd or keg, you could always add more.
if i was you i would take out the caramel in a famhouse you will not need that let the yeast take you there. Most important is fermenting i start at 72 end at 80. Won a few golds in saison.
I have only made all grain saisons, but here are some tips:
You don’t need the spices unless you really like them. The yeast and hops will produce the spicy character. Use a hop like Styrian Goldings for citrus character without that American Pale Ale character.
I think you will need some pale malt instead of cara-pils to convert the oat starch to sugar. I have not used oats before so I am not positive.
Drop the crystal malt. Try something like aromatic that will give you a little color but no caramel. You might even add an ounce of black malt. You should not be able to taste it. I would only worry about color if you are going to enter it into a BJCP competition. They think saison should be golden to amber and I have lost points for entering one too pale.
Don’t be afraid to ferment this beer hot. This yeast likes 80-90 degrees after the fermentation starts. Don’t rack the beer before it finishes at 1.008 or below or you will have bottle bombs. Be patient. Sometimes it takes a few weeks for this yeast to finish out. It will go down to a very low final gravity with time. These are just suggestions. The only real requirement to a saison is that it has a dry finish. I have had good sweet ones (Saison 1900) but it had a dry finish.
