First attempt at a Saison

[vsanchez949]

Hey Guys,

This is my first attempt at an all grain Saison. Heres my grain bill. How does it look??

9lb Pale Malt ( 2 Row)
1lb 4oz Cara-pils
8oz White Wheat
4oz Caramel/Crystal malt- 20l
12oz Brown Sugar, Light
.62oz Cascade- Boil 60min
.62oz Willamette- Boil 30min
.62oz Cascade- 10min.
Wyeast Labs WLP566

The hops are leftover, any input/critiques appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Native302]

IMHO to much carapils. I would cut it back to 8 oz max. Other that that bitter to whatever ibu you want with cascade and use the rest for aroma.

 

[Native302]

Also ditch the brown sugar and just use plain ol white table sugar.

 

[DoctorDuvel]

1# 4oz. of carapils is a lot - i'd drop a pound...and i'm not a fan of adding sugar, especially more than 8 oz

also, i don't think willamette is a great choice for a saison, but saison is a very wide-ranging genre...cascade for bittering is a bit different but might be nice...

 

[vsanchez949]

Also ditch the brown sugar and just use plain ol white table sugar.

What would be the difference between brown and plain table sugar?

 

[phenry]

IMHO, anything over 2-3% of crystal malts in a saison is just defeating the purpose of the style. All of my saisons are almost always 100% base malts, which helps the yeast finish out dry. I would completely drop the crystal and cara pils, along with the sugar. Unless you're going for a very high gravity saison, it really isn't needed if you follow a proper mash schedule. Honestly just 9 lbs 2-row and 1 lb wheat malt is sufficient for a good base. Maybe throw in some munich or vienna, flaked wheat maybe, even some flaked corn or spelt. Mash around 147*F or so.

As for hops, I do like Cascade in reserved amounts. I haven't ever used Willamette in one, so I can't really say if it would be out of place or not.

 

[mewithstewpid]

Styrian goldings and czech saaz are better hop choices for the 60 and 30 min additions IMO. Cascade at the finish sounds nice.

As far as the sugar I always add 1# Belgian candi sugar to my saisons. I also agree ditch the carapils and crystal maybe add 1# Belgian biscuit or aromatic if you want some breadiness.

 

[DoctorDuvel]

What would be the difference between brown and plain table sugar?

plain table sugar won't add any flavor, just dry the beer more and give you more alcohol

brown sugar, you get a little caramel/molasses flavor, but not much, especially with the light

use too much of either and you run the risk of "hot" alcohol and/or unwelcome cider taste in the finished beer, especially if the fermentation isn't rigidly controlled

 

[vsanchez949]

Came out tasty!! Super clear too. not bad for my first all grain.

 

[res291que]

Did you stick with original recipe?

 

[vsanchez949]

Did you stick with original recipe?

No, I decreased the brown sugar to 8 oz and upped my first hop addition to 1oz. And added the remainder of my cascade at flameout. (.3oz).
It was slightly more bitter than saisons I've tasted. But overall I think I tasted pretty good.

 

[res291que]

Nice job thanks for sharing

 

[befus]

No, I decreased the brown sugar to 8 oz and upped my first hop addition to 1oz. And added the remainder of my cascade at flameout. (.3oz).
It was slightly more bitter than saisons I've tasted. But overall I think I tasted pretty good.

Just had some advice on my saison on fermentation length. How long did yours sit on the yeast and at what temps? TIA.

 

[vsanchez949]

Just had some advice on my saison on fermentation length. How long did yours sit on the yeast and at what temps? TIA.

I let it sit for about 2.5 - 3 weeks. I didn't have very much temp control, I got lucky it was fairly warm in my garage. 80* for three days then it dropped to 78 for the remainder.