Sour Saison

The first shot at this type of beer turned out really well, so I thought I'd give it another go.  The first time, I used Summer hops; this time around I'll use Medusa, and include a bit more at flameout of the second boil.

As with the previous sour beers, get Good Belly Straight Shots out and begin heating up the warming plate prior to the partial mashing process.

Brew Day: 28 July 2017

Partial Mash:
1lb Vienna malt
4 oz Carared
2 oz flaked wheat

Initial Boil (20 min):
1lb Pilsen DME
4 oz sugar

Prepare partial mash and boil using the usual process.  After boil, chill wort to 90 deg F, transfer to glass fermenter, add two Good Belly Straight Shots.  Wrap in towel, place on warming plate for a minimum of 36 hrs.

When I poured the wort and bugs into the kettle for the second boil, I took a whiff of it and got that distinctive apple juice aroma that I'd gotten with my previous attempts at sours.

Second Boil (20 min):
14 g Medusa hops (@ 20 min)
1 oz Medusa hops (10 min steep at flameout)

Yeast: DanStar Belle Saison

After the hop rest, cool wort to 80 deg F, transfer to a fermenter, and pitch the yeast.

Update: Pitched the yeast less than 12 hrs ago, and fermentation is progressing nicely!

Addendum, 8 Aug: Racked the beer on to 14 g of Medusa hops and 8 oz of fruit juice.  The juice was part pineapple juice with a good bit of watermelon in there, as well.  I sanitized it by freezing it for two days, then warmed it up with a water bath, without opening the container.

Addendum, 10 Aug: Bottled tonight, on 2 1/2 T of table sugar dissolved in 1/2 cup boiling water.  Got 7 regular bottles and two large bottles out of it.  Definitely looking forward to trying this one.

Addendum, 16 Oct: Had another one of these beers tonight; very tart, and very flavorful. I get a good bit of fruitiness in the nose as I start to take a sip, and I can't decide if it's from the hops or the fruit juice...but who cares, right?  Excellent carbonation, very effervescent and an excellent flavor.  I really like this one!

Addendum, 29 Jan 2018: Found one last 22 oz flip-top bottle of this beer the other day, decided to chill it.  Man, it's still good!  A lot of carbonation in this one, but it's still really good, with a good sour bite to it and very flavorful!

Ginger Saison

It's been a while since I did a ginger saison, so I thought I'd make another batch.  This is one I enjoy, but I don't think I enjoy it as much as my wife.

If you don't get the reference to the image to the right, it's from a Strongbow Hard Cider commercial where Sir Patrick says, "ginger!"

Brew Day: 12 Jan 2017

Partial Mash:
1 lb Vienna malt
4 oz CaraRed
1.5 oz flaked wheat

Boil (20 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME
3 oz turbinado sugar
7 g Saaz hops (@ 20 min)
7 g Saaz hos (@ flameout)

Steep 1/2 oz of freshly cut ginger (thin sliced) for 10 min

Yeast: DanStar Belle Saison

As I was racking the wort into the fermenter, I got a nice sharp fragrance of ginger, and I'm hoping that translates into a really good ginger flavor in the beer.

Addendum, 4 Feb: Bottled today, with 1 oz of sugar dissolved in 1/2 cup of boiling water; got 9 good bottles.  Didn't note any "ginger heat" when bottling.

Sour Saison

Source: GoodBelly.com

Not long ago, I had a really good sour saison (with guava and Thai chilies) called "Something for the pain" at Crooked Run Brewing.  I thought that idea of brewing a sour beer and fermenting with a different yeast was intriguing, and I also thought it would be a good time to try hopping with some Summer hops.  Also, I'm not entirely sure of the shelf-life for the GoodBelly Straight Shots, so I want to make sure I use them up.

Brew Day: 11 Nov 2016

*Early in the day, set out (2) GoodBelly Straight Shots, and start warming the heating pad.

Partial Mash:
1 lb white wheat malt (crushed)

*Used my usual partial mash process.

Boil #1 (20 min):
1 lb Pilsen DME

*NOTE: No hops or yeast at this point!

Chill the wort to approx. 100 deg F (it will cool further during the transfer), and transfer to a glass fermenter.  It is okay to fill above the 1 gal line on the container.  Shake the Straight Shots and add each one directly to the fermenter.  Cap the fermenter, insert a blow-off tube (the bacteria does not form a krausen, this is just to isolate it...), wrap the fermenter in a towel and place on the heating pad.  Allow to remain there for approx. 48 hrs.

Boil #2 (20 min): 13 Nov
Allow the soured wort to a boil for 20 min (to kill the bugs). At flameout, do a 10 min hop stand with 14 g of Summer  hops.

Yeast: DanStar Belle Saison

Addendum, 14 Nov: Checked on the fermenter this morning while preparing other beers for dry hopping tonight; fermentation is going very well.  I am definitely looking forward to trying this one when it's done.

Addendum, 23 Nov: Dry hop with 14 g of  Summer hops.

Addendum, 25 Nov: Bottled this evening, with 0.6 oz of table sugar dissolved in 1/2 cup of boiling water.  My beers have been over-carbonated lately, and this one seemed to still be pretty active...the airlock cap was still floating pretty high when I bottled the beer.  I know that's not supposed to be an indicator of active fermentation, but I thought I'd just be safe.  After all, these beers are not heavily carbonated.

I got 8 good 12 oz bottles and one partial fill out of this batch.

Addendum, 9 Dec: Tried the partial fill...interesting flavor.  I'll definitely try this one again.  Mild carbonation, as is expected from these beers.  Good sour flavor, but something a little different from the last one.  I'll have to do a side-by-side comparison.