Having tried multi-step mashes on past batches of saison for the purpose of drying out the beer, I really haven't found that it improves fermentability over what I get by using a cool single infusion and 10% simple sugar in the grist bill. So I kept this one simple an employed a single infusion at 148°F. After a 90 minute boil, the wort was chilled and aerated with 30 seconds of pure O2 in each of the three fermenters.
6 gallons was kept straight 565 only and went away with a friend who shared the batch costs and helped out with the brewday. I kept the other 5 gallons and split it with two kinds of brett in two 3 gallon carboys.
In my first 2.5 gallons I pitched a vial of WLP 645 Brett C.
In the second 2.5 gallons I pitched a portion of a starter I had built up from the dregs of a funky beer I brought back from Belgium. The beer was L'Enfant Terrible a beer from Dochter Van De Korenaar. It had a big tropical fruit and malt nose and a firm bitter Brett finish. I really enjoyed the beer and immediately decided to build up the dregs. I had no problem getting a starter going, the dregs seemed very hardy.
None of the three portions of the batch had any of the stuck fermentation problems commonly associated with WLP 565. My first batch of saison with 565 saison stuck at 1.020 and I had to pitch another yeast to finish it. I even fermented this one on the cool end of spectrum for where you can push this yeast and still hit 1.005. The only thing I can figure on this one is that I made a huge starter resulting in a really large pitching rate. After two weeks the Brett C. portion has no sign of funk so its safe to say that it wasn't the Brett that drove the FG down (the non-Brett portion finished at 1.005 too).
I plan to bottle condition both Brett batches at a high carbonation level in thick bottles. I may also bottle a blend of the two Brett batches. Perhaps I will get a few bottles of the un-bretted version from the guy who split the batch with me.
Cascade Brett Saison
Batch Size: 11.5 gallons
OG 1.050
FG 1.006 or less
Boil: 90 minutes
SRM: 3.3
IBUs: 27
FERMENTABLES
Qty Ingredient %
15.75 lbs Pilsner Malt 75%
2 lbs Wheat Malt 10%
1 lb Flaked Oats 5%
1 lb Clear Candi Sugar (boil) 5%
1 lb Table Sugar (boil) 5%
HOPS
60 mins .8 oz Magnum 14% AA 19.2 IBUs
15 mins 1.25 oz Cascade 5.5% AA 5.7 IBUs
5 mins 1 oz Cascade 5.5% AA 2 IBUs
YEAST
WLP 565 Saison (Dupont) 3000ml starter from 1 vial
WLP 645 Brett Claussenii
Starter of dregs built up from a bottle of Dochter Van de Korenaar L'Enfant Terrible
WATER
Mash: 2g each CaCl and Gypsum
Boil: 1g each Gypsum, Epsom
MASH
Single infusion rest at 148°F with 1.5 qt/lb for 75 minutes
FERMENTATION
Fermented inside at room temperature (70°F)
NOTES
@2 weeks
L'Enfant- 1.006
Aroma: mild funk and moderate citrus and acidity
Flavor: bright cirtus and acidity
Mouthfeel: very light
WLP Brett C. - 1.005
Aroma: mild sulfur. White wine. 565 character is there with no Brett.
Flavor: a touch of sulfur and hop bitterness.
Mouthfeel: very thin.
Overall much less characterful than the L'Enfant version. Needs more time.
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This sounds like a great experiment.
ReplyDeleteDo you know what brett and bacteria is in the Dochter Van de Korenaar L'Enfant Terrible dregs?
And how big of a starter did you make for each?
Unfortunately there is no way to know what yeasts/bacteria were in the L'Enfant Terrible. I actually spoke to the brewer when we visited the brewery and he said that the beer was a mistake. It became inadvertently contaminated & wild but he liked the character so much he decided to release the beer and propagate the yeast cake for subsequent batches. When I tasted it I got Brett, but thats not to say there wasn't other stuff in there as well.
ReplyDeleteTo build up the dregs, I pitched them into 200ml of 1.020 wort, I say activity in 24 hours. Then, after a week or so I stepped that up to 1000ml of 1.040 wort. I only pitched about 300ml of that starter into the 3 gallon batch of saison. The only other time I pitched a dreg starter it was a really big one and ended up way over souring/funking the beer, so I took it easier on this one.
I did not make a starter fore the Brett C. , just pitched the vial straight.
All three batches got a healhty dose of the 3000ml WLP565 starter.
Interesting malt bill, some of the things seem to be fighting each other IMHO.
ReplyDeleteI think you might like to try something along these lines
Pils - to whatever grav you choose (1045 my preference)
spelt/oats 0.5lb
Sugar 1lb
Mash low 148-149F
Sherry flor yeast fermented warmish (mid 70's)
or
Lalvin BM45 (if you go this route up the sugar to 1.5# and drop the oats)
I think you could really like that flavor combo, the sherry flor provides a nice cellar-like quality and notes of apple/licorish
BM45 will ferment it low (1000) but will leave a nice thick mouthfeel (produces copious amts of polysaccharides)
if your interested I have quite a bit of the sherry flor laying around
I don't have any experience with Sherry Flor yeast. Your description of the flavors it produces and your idea for the recipe are interesting. I'll definitely let you know if I decide to give that Sherry Flor a shot. Thanks!
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