Finally doing a Christmas saison

[sven945]

First brew in a while, but I've been toying with this recipe for a few months. Probably will be a better Christmas 2018 beer if I can keep any, if all goes to plan...

12 litres total
2.5kg lager malt
0.5kg munich
0.25kg wheat malt
0.1kg Double Roasted Crystal
0.3kg dark homemade candi syrup

30g Hallertauer Hersbrucker bittering hops
20g Hallertauer Hersbrucker at 20 minutes

25 IBUs, aiming for 1.070 OG. Fermenting with White Labs WLP566.

Thinking about it now, it's going to be incredibly potent. I probably should have cut down on the malt side to make it nearer 7% than the over 8% that it's likely to end up, but hey ho. I'm definitely not going to cut down on the candi syrup additions, because it's tasting delicious.

I'm brewing after a day's work that started at 0530 this morning so I'll no doubt forget something. Especially as this is my first brew for a few months. Hopefully Beersmith will keep me in check.

 

[sven945]

Well it's in the FV at 23ºC. I'm just going to let it ride temperature wise, without letting it drop (I've got a heat belt set to 23º, and if I see it's gone above that I'll raise the temperature setting). I added some orange zest for the last five minutes of the boil to give it something extra. Only about 3g or so, so it might not be enough to make a difference. I'd rather go for something subtle than something that'll overpower it. I'm excited to try a sample in about ten days' time.

 

[sven945]

First sample after a week and it’s down to 1020. I’ve been warming it up a bit at a time and it’s at 27°C now. It’s not as dark as I was expecting, and it’s heavy on the banana flavour. I think it’s tasting a bit like Legge blonde, with a bit of spice. The gravity should go down a fair bit, hopefully bringing out the Saison fruitiness, all being well. I don’t think the orange zest has done much. I was careful not to put too much in, perhaps too careful.

 

[sven945]

Second sample and gravity reading (I know I should just be patient! But I'd really like to bottle this weekend and get on with another brew if I can. Obviously I won't if there's any doubt over whether it's fermented or not) and it's tasting pretty good. Gravity is down to 1006 (from 1065) so it's 7.8% at the moment. There's a fair bit of not unpleasant banana (although I probably should have fermented cooler for the first couple of days before ramping up, but never mind), and it's got a decent amount of spice. It feels surprisingly full bodied for 1006. It could probably benefit from a little more fermentation, but I don't think it'll be a problem if this is it.

 

[stigman]

First sample after a week and it’s down to 1020. I’ve been warming it up a bit at a time and it’s at 27°C now. It’s not as dark as I was expecting, and it’s heavy on the banana flavour. I think it’s tasting a bit like Legge blonde, with a bit of spice. The gravity should go down a fair bit, hopefully bringing out the Saison fruitiness, all being well. I don’t think the orange zest has done much. I was careful not to put too much in, perhaps too careful.

We all love the taste of a legge blonde don't we chaps.

 

[Zephyr259]

Thanks for keeping us posted on this brew, I'm gonna be getting a saison on the go mid-november and I am temped to go for more of an amber but then I remember that my new beers for winter are a porter and a belgian dark strong so should probably stay light. Good luck resisting it until it's finished.

Stigman: :lol:

 

[sven945]

We all love the taste of a legge blonde don't we chaps.

Oops!

Bottled this today in five champagne bottles and twenty two 330ml bottles. Named Tis The Saison To Be Jelly, because more beers should (sort of) be named after obscure Frank Zappa live albums. There's a decent level of spice in it, and I think the orange zest is just about coming through. It's 7.8%, so it'll hopefully be warming in the winter months.