Fusion - HA! Hoppy Saison

 This was the second saison I brewed with Dupont yeast for the summer. After doing a traditional style Saison the first time, I was keen to make something a bit left of centre. Eventually decided on something of an APA/Saison hybrid, which was basically just a hoppy pale ale-type recipe but using the saison yeast. I pinched the malt bill from somewhere, and then put together a Simcoe/Amarillo heavy hop schedule. The Williamette for bittering was just what I had on hand at the time.

Once again, fermenting this thing was a real bitch and reluctantly I moved it outside for the bulk of it's fermentation. Perth Summer can get up to 40c so the ability of this yeast to stall is just crazy. Given there was quite a bit of hops in there I was hoping not to move outside and risk the beer skunking but had just wrapped a few rugs around it. The airlock bubbles smelt fantastic.


Recipe Specs
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Batch Size (L):           23.0
Total Grain (kg):         6.100
Total Hops (g):           200.00
Original Gravity (OG):    1.058  (°P): 14.3
Final Gravity (FG):       1.015  (°P): 3.8
Alcohol by Volume (ABV):  5.70 %
Colour (SRM):             9.3   (EBC): 18.4
Bitterness (IBU):         55.4   (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes):      60

Grain Bill
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5.000 kg Pale Ale Malt (81.97%)
0.500 kg Munich I (8.2%)
0.350 kg Crystal 60 (5.74%)
0.250 kg Flaked Barley (4.1%)

Hop Bill
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40.0 g Willamette Pellet (7.1% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (1.7 g/L)
15.0 g Amarillo Pellet (8.6% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil) (0.7 g/L)
15.0 g Simcoe Pellet (12.2% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil) (0.7 g/L)
25.0 g Amarillo Pellet (8.6% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil) (1.1 g/L)
25.0 g Simcoe Pellet (12.2% Alpha) @ 5 Minutes (Boil) (1.1 g/L)
40.0 g Amarillo Pellet (8.6% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil) (1.7 g/L)
40.0 g Simcoe Pellet (12.2% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Boil) (1.7 g/L)

Misc Bill
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Single step Infusion at 66°C for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at ??? with Wyeast 3724 - Belgian Saison

Tasting Notes 7/10/13

- Appearance - Deep burnt orange colour. I would say the brewmate colour calculator was pretty accurate. A bit hazy at first but clears up after sitting for a minute or so. Nice pillowy head which clings to the glass.

- Smell - Definitely smells like a saison I don't think there is any ambiguity there. Hoppy but the saison-vibe is what takes over.

- Taste - Not gonna lie it's a pretty wierd brew. Pretty damn tangy.  There's alot going on and it is a bit of a clash of flavours. I know that the Amarillo/Simcoe combo is meant to give the classic 'Tropical Fruit' vibe. I get that to an extent but I am really thinking dried apricots. Very very dry finish which is no surprise given it's saison yeast after all. I like it - but I don't think this is something you could package and sell. The inspiration came from the new school Belgian/American IPAs but it's not really like anything I've tried commercially (for good or for bad).

Conclusion - I'm happy with it although it wouldn't warrant a rebrew. This will be a good one to crack open maybe once a month and see how it develops with time. I already have a few ideas for next Summer's saisons so looking forward to that.