Hoppy Brett Saison

Belgian Session IPA, Hoppy Brett Saison, American Farmhouse.....I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to name this concoction. Call it what you will, either way, it is delicious, refreshing, and sessionable, just like a solid Saison should be.

My intention was to have this be a table saison with awesome hop flavor and brett for complexity and fruitiness. Most saisons you see around these days don't drop below the 6.5% ABV mark. It's a shame because there is something awesome about a session beer with great flavor and complexity, which is what a saison was historically. Sometimes you just want to drink down a few glasses and not be on your ass. I think this brew has achieved my goal, although I think the half that I intend to bottle will meld together much better overtime compared to this fresh version.

Anyways, here's the stats:

Hoppy Session Saison - (brewed 12/18/13)
Size: 10.5 gallons
Boil: 13.0 gallons
OG: 1.042
Yeast: Repitch of WLP Sasion Blend, + WLP Brett B & C, WY Brett L

Grist12 lbs. 2-Row (78.7%)
2 lbs. Wheat Malt (13.1%)
1 lbs. Flaked Oats (6.6%)
1/4 lbs. Caramunich I (1.6%)

Water - (Corvallis, OR)
Treated water for chloramines with Potassium metabisulfite. Added 10 g gypsum/6 g CaCl to mash. Strike water pH = 6.825

Ca: 70.4 ppm            Cl: 51.9 ppm            RA: -27.5 ppm (as CaCO3)
Mg: 2.0 ppm             SO4: 106.8 ppm      Cl:SO4 = 2.1
Na: 17.6 ppm            HCO: 17.2 ppm

Hops
2 oz. each Sorachi Ace (14.7% AAU), Simcoe (14.5% AAU) & Mosaic (11.5% AAU) @ Hop Stand
IBUs calculated @ 10% utilization = 64.19 IBUs

Details
-Mashed at 154F @ 2qts./lb. Mash pH = 5.28. Stuck sparge PITA. New filter is too good, clogged easily. Chilled to 55F accidentally with plate chiller (ground water was really cold already).
-Stuck wort in fermentation chamber for a couple hours and pitched at 65F.
-Aerated 60 second pure O2. Set chamber to 72F.
-OG: 1.042. Initial pH = 5.25
-12/19/13: raised to 75F
-12/20/13: Raised to 78F
-12/21/13: Left for vacation, turned chamber down to 72F
-1/04/14: Brought inside to 68F
-1/07/14: Dry hopped with 2 oz. of Multihead in primary
-1/15/14: Brought outside to cold crash overnight
-1/16/14: Kegged. Aroma is fantastic, funk mixed with tropics, punched me in the face


Tasting - (1/26/14)
Appearance: Hazy yellow corn, white head, good lacing & retention.

Smell: Complex. Pineapple, lemon, barnyard (mostly hay/grass), black pepper, earth, rustic brett b quality, and bitter citrus rind.

Taste: Lemon & Pineapple dominant, with bitter citrus (grapefruit) rind in the finish. Light pepper, rustic, refreshing.


Mouthfeel: Medium high carbonation, medium light body, slightly prickly, dry, refreshing, lightly silky & tart.

Overall: Never had anything like this. Interesting play between the fruity hops (citrus rind/tropical fruit) and the yeasts. I love the aroma, tons of depth. The dry brett/saison yeast character mixed with the expressive hops creates a unique complexity. This does not carry as well into the taste, although the taste is still great, dry, refreshing, rustic and fruity, a great beer. I will definitely rebrew and tweak this recipe. I'm excited to see where bottle conditioning the other 5 gallons takes this beer.

3/1/14: Ran out of beer, so I kegged the other half rather than bottle it. ph = 3.98. Taste similar to the above, except a bit more barnyard in the nose as the hop aroma has faded (mostly right after you pour it). It has become more tart (as expected) and is now bone dry. Will probably loose the brett b next time.

Split Batch IPA

One of the great things about brewing 10 gallon batches is the ability to experiment. For this IPA, I split the wort two ways and did separate boils. One batch was kind of an iteration of the New Zealand IPA, but with Motueka added to the hop stand, along with Nelson Sauvin and Pacifica. The other batch went in the Northwest direction, with Chinook, Centennial, and Citra for the hop profile.

On recent IPA batches I have abandoned the hop stand technique detailed here, and instead chose to throw all the hops in at flame out, and stand for 30 minutes. These results have produced spectacular hop flavor, with extremely smooth bitterness. I then rely on dry hopping for more aroma. One thing I have learned about these large flame out additions is that extra care must be taken to clear these beers before serving, otherwise you will encounter increased astringency. I have done well using highly flocculent English strains, along with cold crashing, and keg conditioning for a week or so before tapping.

I have also been having trouble figuring out my IBUs with these hop stands, relying on sensory to estimate. Some sources suggest that you should be getting about 10-15% utilization as a homebrewer, while some professional breweries estimate they are getting as high as the low 20s. This will take some experimentation to figure out your own utilization on your system.

A bonus of my back log of brew days yet to be posted is that I already have tasting notes to post on this brew. In fact, I think both batches have already been drank.


NW/NZ IPAs - (brewed 9/27/13)

Sizes: 5.5 gal
Boils: 7 gal
Yeast: WLP002 English Ale ~300 Billion Cells each
O.G: 1.065
F.G: 1.014


Water

Exact profile was not saved, but I have jotted down:

Ca = 66 ppm
SO4:CL = 2.1 (hoppy)


Grist

23 lbs. Maris Otter
3/4 lbs. Crystal 40
3/4 lbs. Carapils

-Mashed at 153F for 60 minutes. 1 tsp. irish moss @ 15 minutes.


Hops

NW IPA: 3 oz. each Chinook, Citra, and Centennial @ Hop stand. Dry hopped 1 oz. each for 7 days.
NZ IPA: 3 oz. each Nelson Sauvin, Motueka and Pacifica @ Hop stand. Dry hopped 1 oz. each for 7 days.

9/27/13: Aerated 60 seconds each with oxygen stone. Pitched at 66F, temp raised to 68F after 2 days.
10/12/13: SG: 1.014
10/15/13: Racked to secondary onto dry hops.
10/22/13: Kegged. Force carbonated at 30 psi for 2 days.


NW IPA Tasting Notes - (tasted 11/10/13)

Appearance: Slight haze, orange/golden, white head, great retention.

Smell: Good balance of citrus/pine/mango. Aroma not punching me in the face though.

Taste: Citrus (lemon), orange, grapefruit and bitter citrus rind (in a good way). Slight tropical notes in the
back (mango) similarly in the nose. Faintly sweet malt. Finished with a medium high bitterness, probably almost 70 IBUs.

Mouth feel: Medium body and carbonation, dry, crisp finish. Refreshing.

Overall: Great fruity IPA. Flavor, mouth feel, and finish are excellent. Definitely dry and hop forward, not much malt balance, but a good backdrop for hop heads. Aroma is lacking.


NZ IPA Tasting Notes - (tasted 11/12/13)

Appearance: Same as NW IPA; golden, slight haze, white head, great retention and lacing.

Smell: A lot of pepper. Papaya/mango in the background. Over-ripe tropical fruit. Hard to pinpoint this aroma.

Taste: Pepper up front, not as dominant as the nose. Citrus in the back melds well into the lingering bitterness. No typical white grape Nelson flavor/aroma, but definitely some blue and gooseberry. Upper 50 to low 60 IBU range.

Mouth feel: Medium body and carbonation, similar dry, crisp finish.

Overall: The hop combos did something weird. Hard to pick out what happened between the hop varieties, the Motueka was definitely the contributor of the spice, with the Nelson/Pacifica contributing the fruit. Will probably drop the Motueka out, does not really meld well, but still a quaffable IPA.