Saison Homebrew Recipe

A few months ago I found a couple of good looking beer recipes at HomeBrew.com. The first one I chose to try was a Milk Stout recipe. When brewing it, I had an issue with the White Labs yeast that I had used. It basically failed to activate. I had to make an emergency substitution with a couple of packets of Safbrew S33. This was the only other yeast that I had in my house at the time. The Safbrew S33 did the job and the Milk Stout turnecd out pretty good.

Today I am trying out a Homebrew.com Saison Recipe. The recipe is called “Bridget’s Love Potion Saison” and here is my attempt at it:

Ingredients

• 8 ounces Belgian Caravienne malted barley
• 4 ounces Belgian Aromatic malted barley
• 6 pounds powdered light malt extract
• 1.5 ounces Styrian Golding – bittering hops
• 1 teaspoon Irish Moss
• 1 pound Candi Sugar (smells like it would be great for making cookies)
• 1 ounce Saaz – flavoring hops
• 1 ounce Saaz – aroma/finishing hops
• 0.5 ounce Dried Sweet Orange Peel
• 1 ounce Coriander Seeds – crack just before use
• Saison yeast — Qty 2 of Wyeast #3711 Fr. Sasion yeast 4.25 oz

Directions

1. Follow directions to activate the yeast if need be
2. Take Malted Barley (milled at store) and place in a grain bag.
3. Steep in about 2 gallons of hot water (155° F) for about 30 minutes.
4. Remove the grain and slowly dissolve the powdered malt extract.
5. Bring to a boil
6. Add the 1.5 oz Styrian Golding Hops
7. Wait 35 minutes
8. Add the Irish Moss and Candi Sugar.
9. Wait 15 minutes
10. Add 1 oz Saaz hops (flavoring).
11. Wait 10 minutes
12. Add 1 oz Saaz hops (finishing), the cracked coriander seeds and orange peels.
13. Wait 2 minutes
14. Remove the wort from heat and cool to 70-80° F so as not to kill the yeast (use wort chiller or ice bath to cool the wort)
15. Add the cooled wort wort into fermenter and top up to 5 gallons with water.
16. Stir wort to add oxygen (for yeast growth).
17. Pitch yeast.
18. Cover fermenter and add pressure release valve
19. Store in a cool, dark place (65-70° F).
20. Wait at least 2 weeks
21. Siphon beer off of the yeast sediment and into clean bucket (this is the for 2nd fermentation)
22. Wait 2 weeks
23. Siphon beer to bottling bucket, dissolve 3/4 cup of corn sugar, rack into bottles and cap.
24. Wait for 3-4 weeks for carbonation.

OG: 1.063 (Estimated) — 1.062 (Actual on 7/25/2010)
2nd Ferm: 1.002 (Actual on 8/17/2010)
FG: 1.014 (Estimated)
Alcohol: 6.4% (Estimated)  — (Likely 7.9% as of 8/17/2010)

Yield: about 2 cases of beer (50 12-ounce bottles).