What beer will this turn out to be?

[troy2000]

Long story short... I headed to my LHBS with a list of ingredients for Shipwreck Saison. Lost the list, I'm lousy at remembering things I don't write down, and the store was out of pilsner malt anyway. So I winged it....

Now I'm here in the middle of the desert at work, and planning to brew this weekend. This is what I have, and what I'm going with for 5 to 5 1/2 gallons:

8 lb 8 oz Belgian pale malt
2 lb 8 oz wheat malt
8 oz amber malt
8 oz acidulated malt
1 lb homemade amber Belgian candi
Belle Saison dry yeast from Lallemand/Danstar
2 oz Saaz pellets
2 oz Willamette pellets

I'm planning to add 1.5 oz of Willamette @ 60 minutes, 1.5 oz of Saaz @ 10 minutes, then dry hop with the remaining pellets (.5 oz of each) two weeks into fermentation. A week after that I'll start cold-crashing for another week, before siphoning off and bottle conditioning....

Oops, almost forgot: I'll mash at 150* F, and batch sparge. I'll pitch at about 70* F, turn off the temperature controls on the mini-fridge I've converted to a fermentation chamber, and let the yeast do what it wants to do.

I have little doubt this will create a beer I'll drink (I'm easy). But I'd be interested in hearing experienced opinions on what that beer will turn out to be....

 

[andhou27]

It's going to be a very interesting French/American/Belgian hybrid that's for sure.

 

[JimRausch]

I think you'll have a beer with alot of Belgian character. What you call it is up to you. The Belle Saison yeast will take right over and give you the majority of your flavor profiles.
I'm guessing it will be quite tasty.

 

[dobe12]

Looks exactly like a Saison to me. Belgian Saison to be more specific. Pils, wheat, aciduated malt, amber for some flavor and color, sugar to dry it out, some noble hops, and a Saison yeast. Yup... no question... sounds like a very tasty Saison.

I'm thinking dry, crisp, spicy, orangish hue, maybe a little thin, acidic.... sounds awesome!

 

[troy2000]

As I said, I started out to brew Shipwrecked Saison, but lost my ingredient list on the way to the LHBS. Then he was out of pilsner.

So I wound up with Belgian pale instead of the pilsner, bought amber malt instead of Vienna because my memory sucks, and the proportions are off a little too. Not to mention I decided to use the extra .5 oz of Saaz and Willamette to dry hop....

It still looks like a saison to me, too. But being inexperienced, I wondered whether it would still fit the category - especially with the dry hopping.

 

[dobe12]

As I said, I started out to brew Shipwrecked Saison, but lost my ingredient list on the way to the LHBS. Then he was out of pilsner.

So I wound up with Belgian pale instead of the pilsner, bought amber malt instead of Vienna because my memory sucks, and the proportions are off a little too. Not to mention I decided to use the extra .5 oz of Saaz and Willamette to dry hop....

It still looks like a saison to me, too. But being inexperienced, I wondered whether it would still fit the category - especially with the dry hopping.

My bad, I meant Pale, not Pils. That change is minor though. Not enough to alter the style. The dry hopping isn't common for a Saison, but not completely off the wall and you're still using hops that could easily be found in a Saison. You may be taking some liberties with the style, but Saisons are pretty open to interpretations and not as strict as some other styles. The main thing is the yeast. If you made this with some neutral american yeast, I'd say you're not making a Saison. In my opinion, yeast is the biggest factor in determining style.

 

[troy2000]

My bad, I meant Pale, not Pils. That change is minor though. Not enough to alter the style. The dry hopping isn't common for a Saison, but not completely off the wall and you're still using hops that could easily be found in a Saison. You may be taking some liberties with the style, but Saisons are pretty open to interpretations and not as strict as some other styles. The main thing is the yeast. If you made this with some neutral american yeast, I'd say you're not making a Saison. In my opinion, yeast is the biggest factor in determining style.

I bought a five-pack of the Belle Saison online, so guess what I'll be making for a while?

Since I've been brewing every fourth week, that should get me through until summer. After that, I'll try something different. Maybe a porter...

 

[andhou27]

Kinda seems like a belgian pale ale, however it will get a little saison flavor from the yeast. Might work well

 

[troy2000]

I brewed this three weeks ago. The OG was 1.060, not the greatest efficiency in the world. But the final FG is 1.002. That's lower than I would have expected, but I checked it three days running - which incidentally gave me three excuses to taste it....

My vocabulary and experience aren't what they could be when it comes to describing beers. But even though it's a nice golden color, this is going to be a stronger-tasting ale than the two saisons I've brewed previously. It's almost like I mixed some dubbel into one of those earlier saisons.

I'm going to start cold-crashing tonight, and I'll probably bottle Sunday. Still debating whether to throw the leftover .5 oz each of Willamette and Saaz hop pellets into it. I probably should've done that a week ago, but they might still add some flavor and aroma.

 

[plinythebadass]

YES THROW THE HOPS IN! There's nothing wrong with bending the rules of a style for fun? That's how some of the greatest beers ever were created!

 

[troy2000]

Can't find the [bleep]ing leftover hops....

I vacuum-sealed them in two separate pouches, and would've sworn I put them in the refrigerator. But they aren't there - or in with my brewing equipment, or anywhere else I've looked.

Looks like this batch won't be dry-hopped after all.

 

[SDUqualitywines]

no idea