Red Door Saison

I have gotten back on a bit of a Saison kick lately, especially since White Labs WLP-670 – American Farmhouse has become available to homebrewers. White Labs has this to say about the strain. “Inspired by local American brewers crafting semi-traditional Belgian-style ales. This blend creates a complex flavor profile with a moderate level of sourness. It consists of a traditional farmhouse yeast strain and Brettanomyces. Great yeast for farmhouse ales, Saisons, and other Belgian-inspired beers.”

What I have created here could be described as either a Saison or a farmhouse ale (those terms seem to be interchangeable these days). I have brewed this beer twice now and I’m happy with the outcome of batch two so I figured I might as well share the recipe here. The brett character is still very light in this beer, however I really like how quickly the Saison strain works and how well it dries out the beer. The “sourness” that White Labs references in there description is also not there, however I think doing a starter with this yeast, in addition to saving the yeast and using it on a second batch has really helped the Saison strain overpower anything else that may have been in the original vial. I do like how this strain is progressing and I plan to keep this strain going for quite a few more generations. I might even try it in my Christmas Ale this year.

On this batch I was lucky enough to have a friend pass on some Galaxy hops that they didn’t plan to use. Going forward I will most likely continue to finish this beer with the Galaxy hops (really like the tropical fruit/citrus character they provided) however I could also see myself using Amarillo or Citra and even dry hopping the beer with those hops as well.

11 Gallon Batch
90 Minute Boil

Brew Day – 8/10/13

Grain
12 lbs of German Pilsner Malt (57%)
4 lbs of Red Rye Malt (19%)
1 lbs of Flaked Oats (5%)
3 lbs of Wheat Malt (14%)
1 lb of Clear Belgian Candi Sugar (5%)
Rice Hulls (as needed based on your mash tun)

Hops
3 oz. Styrian Goldings (Pellet, 3.8% AA) @ 60 min.
1 oz. Styrian Goldings (Pellet, 3.8% AA) @ 10 min.
3 oz of Galaxy at Flame Out

Yeast
WLP-670 – American Farmhouse – 2nd Generation

Targets
Pre-Boil Gravity without sugar addition = 1.035
OG = 1.044
OG with Sugar = 1.047
FG = 1.005
ABV = 5.5 %
IBU = 22

Mash
7.5 gallons – target 142 F

Sparge
10 gallons

Fermentation Notes
Start ferment at 69 degrees. Raise 1-2 degrees each day until 78 F is reached. Hold at 78 F for 2-3 weeks or until FG of 1.005 is reached. Crash cool to 45 F to drop out yeast.