Big Brew with Mark Wade: Basic French Saison, Double Barrel refill with Brett repitch, Weizen Part Deux

Wow, writing for the sickest stick....miss it! And what a great time to get going again as there are many projects in the works as of this last brew day with my main shit stain, Marcus Wadeus; aspiring brewmeister and all around goodfella!

So, what the heck have we been doing...let’s begin.

Mark is on his third brew and in an double play effort to fill some fermenters and test his resolve, we did a quadruple batch...all different beers, yeasts, barrels and grists.


To accomplish this we went with a two tun parti-gyle.  What!

Brew day: 8/4/19

Tun #1
90% Dingman Belgian Pils: 20#
10% White Wheat: 2#
Mashed 148
Run and mixed

Resulting Beers:
Weizen II using second gen Weisenstephener Yeast
Crooked Stave Barrel w/Brett slurry gen II from Omega.

Tun #2
20# pils
1# Vienna
1# white wheat
This was run out and boiled to become the basic French Saison, then we side potted (and mildly charred) 2# flaked wheat, 1# flaked oats and added this to the tun for with the second and third runnings (which were all mixed up with first runnings) to head to the Fathers Day Barrel with the same second gen Brett slurry used in the crooked stave Barrel. Follow me so far?  Nice.  Moving on

Resulting Beers
Fathers Day Barrel
Basic French Saison


Stats

Weizen
OG 1043
Boiled 30 minutes
1.25oz low alpha Styrian at 30 targeting BUGU .35
Aerated via hard pour through funnnel
Pitched 1 highly active smack pack of weizenstephener yeast at 62. Left in fridge overnight and got down to 48.  Left to free rise in water bath with rag and fan setup and landed at 64 for a week.  Huge thick krausen after 4 days.  Then left at basement temp of 67 for remainder.

CS Barrel
Preboil OG 1048
10 minute boil, estimate OG 1050.
No hops
Pitched 500ml 2nd gen Brett Slurry @75. (Could’ve gotten away with 250ml I’d bet)
Took off, strong ferment.

French Saison
OG 1058
Boiled 30 with 2oz EKG for balance
Pitched at an active smack pack at 60 and allowed to free rise to 75 for duration. Strong ferment

Fathers Day Barrel
OG 1043
No boil no hops
Pitched Brett slurry, 500ml at 75 degrees. Strong ferment.

2019 Cape Cod Beer Comp - Beer #1

Ok,
So this is years comp is based in a fifty fifty split of pro judges weighted score and the public.  So, in order to take down both I need a solid mix of technique, creativity, and current trends.

On the technique and creativity side I’m going to goo with a Saison-Wine hybrid,  Blending a 5.5% saison with a local white wine (More to come) should give meh a great story to tell and a beer that stands out on the name card...but the execution will win over the pro judges.  Finding a local wine that truly captures a robust flavor and aroma will be integral to being able to pull a blend t hat does not require more than 25% wine...the reason, the heat and high alcohol of the wine.  I want the body to be from the beer, but accents from the wine, not alcohol and heat to capture the nuance of the blend.

The other thing t consider is the blend will benefit from the glycerol mouthfeel of the wine, to balance the dry character of the saison.  At the end of the day the blending will be the. Lowest common denominator in determining the resulting beer.  I think a solid grist of wheat will ensure the saisonis not too dry and can hold up against the adit8onal dryness of the wine....then, the glycerol brings in the final blow to any mouthfeel issues.

I will acquire multiple wines for the blend and am open to using more than one wine in the final product.

85% Pilsner
15% wheat

152 mash, 45 min boil, noble hops to balance only. I will consider a DH in the keg prior to bottling if I feel the wine and brew do not stand alone.  Thinki Nelson to parallel up wine character.
25% total volume’ish wine to the keg directly and carb it up.

Dark sour - Ethan Barrel 3

Initial email

Ok.  So we are taking 30G of brown/amber ale to the status of porter/stout.

A few thoughts to lay the foundation. 

Current beer

A - brown/amber

S - beautiful aromatics, this is a highlight of the beer.  Cherries came forward in last iteration.  

T - showed restrained acid compared to version 2, but assertive nonetheless. Well attenuated. Malt-to-acid is in the range of "balance." Hops restrained.

M - medium to medium/light

O - balanced. Cherry-malt flavor prevails. Acid is balanced. Hops restrained.

Bugs

- the barrel has strong bugs which bring a lot of acid quickly.

- saison character is waning

- attenuation is strong and thorough

- the barrel is in a relatively cool climate 

Barrel 

- requires 30G

- barrel character emerges with time

Next beer

Dark Sour

Getting there

Concern: overdoing the roast character easily done considering acidity already in beer and additional acidity gained over time.  Blending out astringency, Fail.  Adding astringency via coffee or other approach at brewers discretion,  Win.

Approach: 

1. Brew with a roasted malt not to exceed 5%. Use a malt that employs color and depth but is low end of the "roasted malts."

I'm thinking pale chocolate.  

2. Build in depth, boost maltiness, to bounce the roast character and promote that cherry that's already there.  

Munich, aromatic.

3. Enhance the cherry character. 

Special B or C120

4. Balance acidity with hops.  No less than last time.  In fact, I'd enjoy seeing no additional acidity after 3 months.  Let us age to acidity if we want.

IBU target: 30.   Brings average IBU to 22.5 assuming we hit out 15IBU target on last batch.

5. Mouthfeel - boost from med-low to medium.  A velvety finish.  Add lots of oats.

 Brew Day: 2/24/19

Great brew day.  Wort tasted beautiful.  Pitched to a very cold barrel.  Lag was a month:))))  time will tell, fate is all!

- 

Blending beer session

1:1:2 plus some unpopped saison.
P1, P2, P3.  Straight to keg.

Sour Mango Milkshake IPA
Bucket - Light beer blend , add lactose and mangos
3G P2 + 1.5G SAISON...haven't added the lactose yet
Could have gone heavier on lactose and mango, but very tasty.  May add mango juice to fermenter.

Session Sour IPA
Keg - Light beer blend, saison
1G P2 + 2G SAISON
DH with 4oz Hull 3/28.  Tasting good.
Turned out great!

4G Imperial Porter (red wine barrel), 1G P1 aged 3 months then pulled a gallon.  Next, added 4.5# sweet black cherry puree with 1c unsweetened cacao.
3/28: cherry low.  Not getting cocoa. Funk coming in.  Needs time.

Thanksgiving IPA 2018

Brew day 11/18/18

Assistance by Wade

6.5G hot liquor
Sparged with a gallon in bucket and added back.

8# 2row
1# oats (high attenuator yeast)
3oz molasses (color and residual sweetness to back up grapefruit)

Og 1042
Fg sub 10

Abv 5ish
Srm 4

Using Chris Gillis Kvek yeast. 
500ml starter on stir for 12 hours.  Ripped
No pitch temp
OG - 1045
FG - 1006-1008

Added one whole, fresh grapefruit zest to keg.

This turned out great...and all.of it got drunked before.i gave any to wade.   He will be getting a hopped sour.

Apple saison + Tropical All Brett Pale (Citra/Montauka)

Tart apple saison.

Brew
50/50 juice-wort

3# pils
2# rolled oats
1# wheat
+
2.5G pressed juice to fermenter

First wort hop 1oz Noble hop.

Ferment cool with saison mix slurry (565/french)

Blend a barrel beer for tartness

Add extract of pumpkin spice to keg to taste.

Never happened - it all went into the floor of the upstairs guest bedroom 

Brew Day: 10/25/17

BIAB 3

6.5 strike - 1absorb - .25 trub - .25 (15 min boil)= 5 to fermenter with no boil
*2.5 to apple cider from Rays Farm = 1042OG
add DME to remaining to get to at least 1080 and rack, then top up 2.5G
152@0700
6 2-row
4 rolled oats
2 white wheat
1 C40
3z Saaz @ 2.8AA, FWH

Added .75G "sparge" with strong bag squeeze.  landed at 5.5G so absorption was 1.75 = 1.6

Apple Saison
2.5G all Red Delicious plus wort = 1043.  Pitched 100ml 565/French second gen plus a vial of 568 at 72.
Ripping after 4 hours in mid 70s.

All Brett Pale
Added Pils DME and diluted to 1047.  Pitched 1st gen package of where da funk in the mid-90s...oops...half hour later chilled with ice to 80.

I think it was 1 citra and 2 oz montaka for 14 days"ish"

This beer is awesome!  No changes.  Great across the board.

RIS 2015 - Bungalorian Boogie Woogie

As a part of my new annual RIS/E.Barleywine tradition I have decided to up the ante - 120 gravity points.  Really it's the 12% ABV I am after and all the glorious aging characteristics that number entails.  This beer is another meant for the 1-10 year boxes.

The main targets are big malt complexity, a roast character that will start off assertive but lend to a wonderful age-ability, rounding from chocolate which will come more into view with time and a few nuances from a very subtle smoke and molasses addition.  The flaked wheat lends to head retention ad the sugar is a boost in ABV I need to gap up to 12% without using a second mash tun or losing volume.

A little research lent an interesting tip, that is, if you're going to use a barrel avoid the caramel malts in an attempt to not bring sweetness out of balance.  I like it here, and my barrel definitely has that sweet character from the bourbon.  A very smart play indeed.

A British Ale yeast will lead fermentation and employ some beautiful esters which will evolve over time; a key to success in the long term.  As primary fermentation begin to slow I'll pitch 001 with the sugar, molasses and some nutrient to finish the job.  British Ale yeast only show me getting to 1035, but I fear too much residual sweetness even though this will oxidize through time, but truth be told, that number is just too high.  So 001 it is which should take us to about 1028-1030.  The basement is only holding the low 60's, therefore the 001 wont run away with the FG, just get it those few extra points.

Lets Begin

Stats
OG - 1.124
FG - 1028-1030
SRM - 55
IBU - 61 (could go even higher here...)
ABV - 12.4%

Maris Otter - 13lbs
Dark Munich - 3lbs
Roasted Barley - 2lbs
Pale Chocolate - 1lbs
Flaked Wheat - .5lbs
Smoked Malt and Melanoidin Malt - .33lbs each
(Late Primary) Turbinado or Demerara Sugar - 2lbs

Hops - EKG - 6oz - Noble hops have a very low ratio of beta to alpha acids which will help in the aging process as Betas will degarde slower than Alphas while Alphas degrade to trans-2-nonenal otherwise known as "wet cardboard).  Also, Beta acids are respoinsible for the transformation of higher alcohols to lovely dark fruit and winelike characters.  All good things!  And, a reason to not fear the warmer initial pitch temp, yet I couldnt pitch above 65 in a beer this big even if I tried.  Habit.

Yeasts
1. London Ale -1L London ale.  Pitch 500ml and step to 2L with cooled wort. 
2. 001 to finish.

Brew Day - March 2015
Well, not sure how my notes arent making it from the phone to the blog, but here goes a month later from memory.  

I brewed my plan and had a very normal brew day except I had the time to go GONZO on the boil and boiled until I ran out of gas.  3.5 hours.  This put my bagged 6oz EKG hop addition at about 90 minutes. Got the OG up to 1.128ish then topped up to 5G dropping it to 1.115.  Pitched and in 60s and let her run, and run she did. The step up with the wort worked great and had a strong krausen after 24 hours which I pitched in its entirety. Added a vial of 001 after 10 days. Spent 2 weeks adding the demerara sugar slowly in 1c doses and the beer never stopped moving.  Got all the way down to 1.028 by the 4th week and sent the beer to a brand new bourbon barrel I received from my beautiful bride for my birthday.  And there she sits.

4/20/15 - added 1qt sterile water to top up barrel.

2/17 - it's well on its way to awesome.  Been legged awhile and have bought a house since it was brewed.  It's slightly too fussely...but the hops are dropping and the whole beer is mellowing.  Deep deep flavors...keep waiting

7/17 - wait till deep with ter to try again.  Still a touch too much bitterness.  The beer is rounding out and getting two thumbs up, but I want to see it in it's third year as planned.

Cottage Hoppy pilsner and Heart Sticker Saison

Idea: IPL with a Maine Co Peeper hop profile.

10# pils (8 US, 2 Belgian)
1oz tettnager FWH
1oz Amarillo @ 0 (180 degrees for 20)
1oz cascade homegrown @0 (180 for 20)
1oz cascade @ 0 (180 for 20)
DH 2oz Amarillo and 2oz centennial (adjusted)

Mash 148

Boil 30

Aerate and let chill in cottage as long as possible.

2 packets lager yeast chilled in cottage.

Move from cottage to upstairs in house at 50% attenuation.

Brew Day 1/4/17 w/Macy.  Indoor session

Added 2tsp calcium chloride to strike.

Mash 148

Preboil OG - 1045, added 1oz tettnager FWH

45 minute boil - nutrient and finings at 10.

OG - 1054

1oz amarillo and 1oz homegrown cascade to whirlpool for 20 @ 180.

Rehydrated 2 packets of 2 separate lager yeasts. 34/70 and 23.  Mr. Malty asks for 2.  

Racked to carboy and 5min aeration.  Reading 54 degrees and pitched slurry.  54 is temp of cottage.  Also had the rehydrated yeast sitting alongside it for several hours so they were the same temp at pitching.  Also, mixed in a few ounces of wort to rehydrated yeast fro an hour prior to pitch.

Next - bring to room temp after 50% 

1/12/16 - 1028.  Just over half.  Moved to basement, elevated from floor.~60.

Tomorrow night move upstairs to room temp.

DH when I get back with hops in fridge (2oz ahatnum and 1oz amarillo) dry hop for 3 days.

Keg - crash - fine - carb. 

GOT DRUNK.  HOP PROFILE A THUMBS UP.

1/17 - added 2oz Ahatnum, 1oz Amarillo

CO Funk Barrel Ferment #1 - Caison3

After a lot to trip to Crooked Stave to drop a bottle of CO Funk 1, I was inspired by a label I was given and whiskey barrels I saw.  Going for a dark brew, with a big balance of malt, light roast character, cherry notes, alcohol, yeast, and fruit.   The model - The Dark Origins series.

But before I go there let us take one more baby step and crank a nice dose of C120 in there.  Just got done reading a nice article by the godfather of Brett and he speaks to Brett bringing out the aging properties of C120's cherry character and Id like to see that in this beer....or should I say beers!  Going to do a 10G split batch and send one to the barrel for primary fermentation with CO Funk, the other with my house Brett-Saison yeast.  I like the grist for both and love the idea of making to epically different beers from the same wort.  It'll be fun I think!

Pils - 16
Dark Munich - 2
Flaked Wheat - 2
C120 - 1.5

Rice Hulls

Stats

OG - 1051
FG - 1010
ABV - 5 AND change
Srm - 20

The highly attenuation Brett will chew all the backdrop of the malt leaving roasted character highly accentuated.  The dehusked carafa will give color, and a smooth roastiness without astringent character.   The key here, as long  as we use it wisely.  

Mash for mouthfeel at 152
Boil 0.
Pitch 5G at 80 and ferment in the Pico1 barrel.  It is time.
Split batch after 2 months and bottle some.  Add I can blackberry puree to one and I can raspberry puree to the other.  That is all. 

Brew Day - Mid February.

4/17/16: Sooooo...I guess I didn't record any Brew Day info.  I've been having some trouble with what goes into the phone migrating to the main blog...user error IM sure, so I'll pull from beer stone infested memory.

The grist went as planned, but the OG was 1045.  I built up the CO Funk in the starter and it was rippin when it went int the barrel...I believe I did pitch this at 80.  Fermentation kicked off very quickly and was solid based on past performance.

The Saison III slurry was warmed up and active when pitched.  I also pitched several sources of lacto including Kerrys probiotic, L. Acidophilus and Marcelle's baby probiotic.  I also added a full vial of Gen 1 French Saison slurry that was off the starter for my Chocolate Saison last summer.  Not sure of the temp.  It also fermented nicely and was kept in the "warm room" in the mid 70s for its 3 week fermentation before being sent to the basement.

The CO Funk was tasted and found to be surprisingly thin and lacking in that beautiful lactic character.  I'm going to let this go for a few more months but will add a couple pounds of wheat DME to get the ABV up a touch and add somebody.

4/25 - added 1lb Bavarian wheat DME boiled.  Pulled a sample and lactic is starting to take.  Hopefully, this bumps up the mouthfeel.

9/28/2016 - Racked out.  Added .5G 1075 riesling must at cellar temp (60sih) - kicked off after a week and rolled steadily for over 2 weeks after.

11/5/2016 - airlock activity still on-going (1/5) - plenty of activity on the fermenter. 

12/12/16 - I kept a bottle of no hopped C3.  It's epic.  Pours a beautiful straw, quickly dissipating head.  Light citrus on nose from lactic and mellow funk character.  Not much Saison, pretty restained.  

Light sour.  Light funk.  Light Saison. Ultra dry and refreshing.  Not complex - linear for sure.  But delicious.

Caison 4

Standard grist of pils,  flaked oats, wheat and munich. 

152 mash'ish'
No boil for sure.

The brett-Saison III slurry was warmed up and active when pitched.  I also pitched several sources of lacto including Kerrys probiotic, L. Acidophilus and Marcelle's baby probiotic.  I also added a full vial of Gen 1 French Saison slurry that was off the starter for my Chocolate Saison last summer. It also fermented nicely and was kept in the "warm room" in the mid 70s for its 3 week fermentation before being sent to the basement.

Added 2oz Nelson and 2oz summer hops to 4 gallons.  The other gallon went to blend.  10 days for the summer and 1oz nelson.  Added an extra ounce of Nelson day 5-10.  

All these beers turned out epic and awesome all at once.  

The 1G was blended with some brett-Saison gen 3 plus 12oz dried apricot and some additional CO Funk slurry. The apricot worked beautifully and complimented the blend in a huge way.  Its time to start making or buying legit purees though.

The CO Funk blended its acidity with the rustic saison character of the Caison IV and was one of the better beers Ive ever made.  It actually pucnhed up on the funk significantly versus the Caison IV as it aged.  

Bourbon Barrel Dubbel

Going simple but pushing the Munich within the style.

9# 2-Row (60)
3# Munich (30)
1# C120/Dark Crystal (10)
2oz - roast malt
1# Light Candi Syrup (late boil add)

Mash 148 for 60

Boil 60

Hops - Warrior - .5oz

Yeast - Ommengang Second Gen

Bourbon Barrel Ferment - Solid and fresh 2L pitch (decant some for future use)

0505 - flame on
***hot tapwater to bucket in AM and bring out***

Brew Day - 10/7/16

Good day - 148-152 for 60 min.  60 minute boil with appropriate hopping.  1.5L starter @ 68 and 1065 got it going quick.  Super active fermentation - blew two blowoff tubes off the barrel. Smells beautiful.

11/1/16 - first tasting with Ken.  It was solid and well on its way. Needs another month or two.  Bourbon character is subtle.  Wood character needs development. This barrel will be ready to go wild on next batch.

No tasting notes - all I know is...it went fast!

All Brett session ipa and COFunk-Ommengang

May have an impromptu brew day on the horizon.  If that's the case lets rebuild our BrettC stash and learn something.  What does Brett C look like with an extrememly high fermentation temp profile throughout.  90 all the way.  Gotta guess it'll push the esters and of course, the attenuation.  For this reason lets up the ante on the mouhtfeel and go for it with the wheat add, 50/50.  The Munich is to pay homage to Chad Yakobsons belief in Brett's love of Munich.  And the Oats for just a final push for mouthfeel/slickness which will be lost at this low ABV.

Target 5% ABV
10G split batch

Pils - 10lbs
White Wheat - 8lbs
Munich - 1lbs
Flaked Oats - 1lbs
Rice Hulls - 2lbs.

Mash 152 for 45 minutes
Boil 30.

Pitch lacto at 130 and place in 90 degree warm water bath.  Split 500ml of starter to sterile jar to store. Pitch Brett at 90 and let her rip to the finish in a pre-warmed water bath of 90.  Hop based on what the beer tells you.  Thinking Equinox or the experimental HBC hop.

Night before.
Collect 5G (main mash) - 2qts/lb
Collect 2.25G (sparge)
Prep water bath and place aquarium heater to max.

Brew Day Plan-of-Action
Strike 167 (no preheat of mash tun...165 with preheat)
Mash 45
Add sparge and run off
Boil 30 (no hops)
Knock out and chill to 130.  Rack to fermenter and have thermometer in fermenter. Place in water bath and add lacto.  Come back and pitch Brett when at 90.

Brew day - 5/6/16

Mash 152

All brett-lacto session ipa: 1038
Into warm water bath (90) at 125.  Pitch multiple lacto sources.  Pitched Brett after 10 hours.  Reduced bath temp to 80.

This beer was beautiful on its own, so much so I kegged it with no hopping just to see how it rolled!  After two weeks in the keg and enjoying a few I decided to hop it.  The beer was nice and had gorgeous fruity esters, a medium body and a bright acididty, but it was lacking in complexity and just wasnt as sessionable as it could be.

Hopped with 3 oz of HBC (experimental with tropical and mint notes - 16% Alpha!!!) and left in the keg overnight...and only one night was needed.  The hops exploded on the scene and I took two of the three hop sacks out immediately.  The combination of acidity and bitterness was on the very top of my flavor threshold for that character, but it worked, and over a few weeks either my pallet adjusted or the beer mellowed, but eitger way its an aromatic hop bomb of gloriousness!  Kerry says she can smell the hops from two feet away when I drink it.  Wat I learned here was to be cognizant of the alpha and not rely on cold temps to keep them in check during a dry hop.  Just ease into any unknown dry hopping especially when a big alpha is being employed.  Also, acidity and bitterness play on the same part of the pallet; they sum one another.  So plan accordingly.  

This beer and the profile used worked beautifully.  10 hours from 125 down to 90 with the lacto gave a BRIGHT acidity.  No need to go higher unless im working with a very deep and dark malt bill, or plan to add lots of acidity reducing fruit.

Ommengang Brett - 1035 - pitches ommengang and co funk at 75.  Into 80 degree room.  Ripping after 12 hours and right at 80. - This was a dump....huge band-aid initially and after 3 months. A poor fermentation - Im guessing the CO Funk did no tlike the initial warm tempos.  Keep CO Funk in the 60s.

Tasting Notes from Cascade Brewing, Portland Oregon

So a recent overnight in PDX with a fantastic long layover provided me a unique opportunity to try a few select beers from The House of Sour.  I was obviously impressed by the lineup and the ideas were nothing short of prolific.  The one thing I took away from them was the technique of layering flavor with multiple barrels.  Interestingly enough, I never got a mature Brett funk from any of the beers. This was surprising.  Instead they focused on the malts, the fruit and spice additions and the barrel characters, whether it be just the wood, wine, or spirits.  I loved the beers and will keep this menu and post handy for future brainstorms.

The fruit of note was the Elderberry.  This fruit gave the beer a beautiful fruity character, but without the perceived sweetness.  I really love this approach.  It is ideal for accentuating or contrasting an Earthy approach to a sour.  Also of note on the Elderberry was the roast character they imparted.  I am going out on a limb but Ill guess CarafaIII.  There was a very subtle note of roast, which was balanced and beautiful here.  With the elderberry giving off that kiss of dryness it just worked the pallet!  To me, this particular addition, paired with the Elderberry took the show of the entire series.  It was a stroke of pure flavor genius!

Contrasting the Elderberry was the Naval Orange.  In this example you got HUGE perceived sweetness in the aroma, but not in the flavor.  I think this fruit add has a lot of room to run in beers that have great bones, but lack in the aromatic department, much like my recent straight BrettC-Lacto.  A big Naval orange zest add would have been beautiful there as the acidity was medium plus so upping the nval addition would have balanced it.

Another fun example was their Kriek.  They did not go sweet with the fruit and in the vintage I tasted the Bing Cherry really popped out at you.  It was well attenuated and left a nice cherry character, but without the sweetness of some Krieks.  This beer put Kreik back on the map for me.

Vine was delicious.  Right now I have my double barrel tripel which got 1c per G of unfermented Grenache Grape must and copious bugs 10 months ago...it's conditioning.  I feel this example most closely exemplifies the Cascade Brewhouse character and Vine.  The grapes really come through nicely as an accent piece but not the main show.  This restraint is important in my beers' execution - because - its how I like them.

Sang Royal with its grapes worked well too.  In this example they went with two red wine barrels and the red wine grapes.  RED all the way through.  A very fun and successful process.  I liked how there were layers of oak in this beer to accent the grapes where as in Vine you had more of a simple, linear barrel character.  Makes me think of using a Heavy and Light toast of one wood type, mixing woods, etc.  The possibilities are endless, but I now have a reason to buy a Heavy-toast Oak Spiral.

Sang Rouge was tasty, layered, complex, fun.  I like how they had an example without fruit or spice.  They just let the bugs and barrels run.  It has layers of restrained Brett character and a medium - acidity.  It was a great place to layer in multiple barrels.

I am not a fan of the Ginger, but that's a personal aversion to Ginger in beer.  While the Honey-Ginger, Lime was nice with my Smoked Albacore Tuna Sandwich, I could not drink more than one (unless I was being forced too:-).  The Ginger is just too much for me, although it would be a fun novelty beer idea for the holidays.

Of course the Apricot was amazing and is a great example of how to go Bright (medium plus acidity) with a Sour.  Just using the fruit to play up that big acidity works beautifully here.

OK, that is all for now.

Belgian Guiness - winning!

8 roast
4 m.wheat
4 p.chocolate
2 chocolate

Ommengang yeast

Mash 152

Boil 90

This worked out beautiful.   Two weeks in fermenter and sent it to the keg.  A little force carb and it's on!  She is still a little green and the carb needs to settle in but give her a month and she'll be money.

A perfect balance of roast and simplicity.   The Belgian character is complimentary, a great yeast with so much potential! 

No need to change this recipe and a great model to build from.  It's a Belgian Guinness.  Done.

Shoulder Season Brown Ale

It's that time of year again, time to brew a Brown Ale. Truth be told, I wish I had started this two months ago, but time has not been on my side so this beer will be enjoyed in 2016.  And that's ok!  As per usual, a Brown Ale with a malt-forward  character is on the brain.

I recently  read about a brew using more than one sugar, lets run with that.  I also have some Vermont maple syrup from Uncle Leo in hand, he wanted a beer from that and I'm feeling a little crazy.  Plus, my boy butch loves his honey malt and I've never used it, I'll pay homage to him in this beer, then we will drink it.

Malt forward, caramel  and dark fruits, rum flavors to accent, light fruity esters...I'm so thirsty.  Been in a car getting limo'd from JFK to Newark for 2 hours after 8 hours in the cockpit.   I'm calling this beer,  my butt hurts Brown Ale.

The plan is a 10 gallon split batch.  Half gets a 30 minute boil and is off to the FauxMouth Solera project.  Plus, Solera beer gets 1# flaked oats steeped up to boil.

Leaving .5G of that big infested Faux Lambic juice behind and rack right on the beer and fourth gen yeast cake, and add a new pitch of lacto to help that process along. No worries on autolysis, its Brett food!

The other half will get a 90 minute boil and all the sugar, a pitch on British ale yeast of some sort, fermented appropriately and landing in the high teens.  Even a low 20 brew for Fall/Winter will be delectable.  If it's too sweet, 3711 to finish.

Let's begin

12 lbs Marris Otter
2 lbs Victory
2 lbs Brown Malt
1 lbs Honey Malt (your welcome Butch)
.5 lbs C60
.5 lbs Special B (or 120)
.25 lbs Pale Chocolate

Then the clean beer gets
.25 lbs of Dark Brown Sugar, Demarera sugar and Molasses  in the boil.  Then .25 Vermont Maple Syrup near the end of primary to keep more of the aromatics in play.

I could bottle the clean brew with some of the Maple Syrup as well if I don't get as much Maple as I'd like.  Food for thought.

Stats
Clean OG/FG - 1058/1018
IBU - target 20 with Warrior
SRM - 24
ABV - 5.5

Solera OG/FG - 1050/100?
Just a few hop pellets for good measure.

Mash at 158.

No starters required - but if I have time I'll do a 500ml day of, also for good measure.

Let's begin.

Brew Day!  11/17/15

Gorgeous autumn Cape Cod day.  Mom is visiting.  Macy is assisting.
Mashed 156 for 90.

Split sparge
Sparging 7 for clean Brown
Sparging 4.5 for dirty as it is getting pitched to ~.75G yeast faux-lambic I racked.

Preboil clean - 1052: boil started at 1130. 1oz northern brewer at 75. Parental duties took boil to 120 (Macy is a genius) OG - 1068 Rehydrated safale 04 and pitched at 65.

Dirty - no hop. 30 min soft boil. OG - 1048, 10B L.Acidophilus at 90.  Pitched to solera at 80. Added 200ml second gen BrettC slurry....should have steeped a pound of flaked oats....food for thought if its too thin.

D1 clean - ripping. 

D1 dirty - dead. Added dregs lambic cherry, Belgian Sour 2015, yogurtweisse, more 100% brettC, and krausen of clean Brown.

D3 - dirty - rippin.  Fruity aroma from airlock.  No krausen forming, just a rigorous fermentation. 68.

11/21/15 - just had my first Cigar City Beer.  Maduro.  Amazing!   2.5% roasted malt in the next iteration.
12/1/15 - tastes solid.  Brix 11???  Obviously a ways to go.  Def a significant residual sugar on the lips.  Will check back in 2 weeks.  The flavor is very full, with a lovey malty bouquet and depth.  Cold and carbed this will work.  Gave a love swirl.  Still sold on the roasted barley in this recipe.  If we are stalled, I'll call Uncle Brett to finish the job.  Fun to split the batch if I go that route and bottle half then pitch the Brett.

12/12/15 - added 200ml French Saison Slurry to clean Brown

12/13-20: St. Maarten

12/22/15 - airlock active in clean brown

12/23/15 - first tasting of dirty brown - now this is most interesting!  Big Pablano or chipotle pepper aroma and flavor!  Plenty of malt in this, but this phenolic character is a trip!  Light tart characteristics as well, no perceivable off flavors.

1/8/16 - clean Brown off to barrel - the french saison took it down to 1014!  Its a bit edgey and lacking in depth - the barrel will compliment perfectly.  Rum and oak would have worked as well.

Feb - added 2 lbs Vermont Maple Syrup and transferred to keg.  Delish.

April - took keg out of fridge in March and have been purging.

Late April - back on gas - the beer is good, but lacking the depth of flavor Id hoped for.  The sugar adds and the french saison took this beer in a direction I did not intend to go and left me fixing instead of enjoying.  It is a nice brown ale and perhaps with some age the edgy quality if possess will fade, but it didnt have to be along term project.

Moving forward Id just add molasses to get molasses character/complexity if thats the goal as thats the underlying flavor component of all those different sugars anyway then use sugar or fermentation to attenuate appropriately.

No tatsting notes at this stage, not worth it for a mediocre attempt.  Maybe in 6 months during the next shoulder season.  C+ on this one.

Brettville January 2016

The Goodies

A mixed culture of Brett, lacto, pedio and Saison yeast from The Bruery, Crooked Stave and Firestone Walker

A mixed culture of 565 Saison, Brett C and Lacto

A big slurry of Brett C

A big slurry of French Saison

A mill, a mash tun and boil kettle.

So, what to do?

Projects

#1. 5G batch of just the CO funky bunch.  Let the beer roll and decide on dry hopping, fruiting, oak, etc after the fact.  There is no way to know where that slurry will take me, but as I plan a quick turn I will keg this beer to avoid overcarbing from the pedio.

90% Pils and 10% flaked wheat.

Mash 148

Simple simple 

#2. Add a 100ml of French Saison and 200ml Brett slurry to my 565/brett/lacto slurry as the last iteration lost the majority of its Saison character. The added Brett is to make sure the aggressive French yeast doesnt overpower. Balance.

Same grist and mash sked as above.  Hops in DH only.  Galaxy, Nelson, etc...juicy, fruity.

#3. Brett Stout - After tasting Butch's All-Brett Stout I must make a go of it. Man was that tasty! As I am just finishing up a very nice, complex Brown Ale I am going to use that grist as a template for this beer. As we know, Brett will mow through much of the complex sugars leaving our beer dry..very dry...so, as is stated in many a reference, including American Sour Beers, we must keep our roasted and bitter malts to a minimum, all the while targeting a deep malt complexity and a medium mouthfeel...SO.

Maris Otter - 9lbs (60%
Aromatic - 1lbs (5%)
Flaked Wheat - 1 lbs (5%)
Special B - .25lbs (2%)
Pale Chocolate - .25lbs (2%)
Roasted Malt - .25lbs (2%)
Acidulated Malt - .25 (ethyl lactate) (at end of mash)
Carafa 3, midnight wheat ) - 2oz

OG - 1056
FG - 1012-1008 (tough to call with the short boil and high mash temp)
ABV - 6.3%
SRM - 31 - dark
IBU - 20 (all warrior at 10 to reduce bitter hop characteristics)

Plan
Starter day prior - 2L with all of slurry from Butch. Harvest 500ml to jar.
Day of
Strike 5G @ 150 for 60
Sparge 2.5G.
Pre-boil target - 5.5G and 1054
Boil 15 adding .75 Warrior/nutrient/chiller
Knockout and Chill to 85. Standard aeration.
Rack to fermenter and pithc
*Consider food processed cocoa nibs in a secondary split (bagged one week) and raspberry (also bagged) in a tertiary then blend*

-----------------------------------

Brewday of Caison III and CO Funky Bunch Batch #1 - 1/10/15 - Split batch

Packed the mash tun with 20# pils from DP, 3# munich, 2# flaked wheat and 2# rice hulls, to avoid the beta rest Mike recommended with the pils.

Mashed at 154ish then recirced and pulled two gallons. Then capped the mash with another 3# of pils and added sparge water to the top (156 rest here).  Rested 30 more minutes and ran out quick to target 6.25G.  

Brought wort to a boil with the chiller in it and once boiling added nutrient.  Boiled 10 minutes and chilled.  Then split to two ferementers with 2.25G cold water in each landing me at a cool 60 degrees after just 10 minutes of chilling.  5.25 volume.  1054 OG.

The "no hop, no boil boil!"  Stamp it!

Co Funky Bunch Batch #1
Pitched a two step (250ml to 2L) starter of built up dregs (over 14 days) from 5 different crooked stave beers, Opal (Saison by firestone), and Terrieux (Saison by The Bruery).  Chilled, decanted then warmed up in 200ml wort for 18 hours.

Caison III

The other batch got a third gen mixed culture including of 565/brettC/lacto.  Details and history of each below.

LACTO: cultured from yogurt and wild plus 4 L.acidophilus pills and 2 of Kerry's daily probiotic right into the fermenter.

Brett: a third gen of Brett C plus 100ml fresh slurry from a 100% Brett batch.

WLP 565 (saison) - also third gen, plus 100ml slurry of 2nd gen French Saison slurry.

They both started at 60 and I let then free rise to 75.

Both are chugging away at a steady pace, not rigorous, just steady and happily.   The smell from the airlock on the aged mixed culture is super estery and gorgeous.  The dreg beer is pleasant, but nothing crazy. 

Pitched at 80. 1052. 
Down to 66 D1 with activity. Moved upstairs to 68 degree space.

1/17/15 - temp maxed at 74 on D3-5. Activity slowing. 72

1/22/16 

Caison III - soft Saison character, light tropical fruit esters.  Very mild.  Thinking a strong add of big tropical fruit hop - galaxy.  Enough to gain some bitterness as well.   Thinking 3oz. 

1/29/16 - 1oz Ahatnum, flaconers flight and amarillo.  Citrus , tropical fruit, fruity and solid alpha in FF hop to get the bitterness I'm looking for.

2/6/15 - added 1oz Nelson to keg

2/9/15 - into kegerator.

2/16/15 - we have a winner 

CO Funky Bunch - gorgeous tart flavor,  mouth feel medium, very mellow flavors otherwise. Aroma is funky and slightly off putting.   Not off, just not pleasant.  So, to compliment tart, MoBigs suggest we go with a big, mellow fruit hop.  Hull Melon, etc.   just need a nice aromatic here, no bitterness as tart character balances. 

1/29/16 - 1oz Nelson in bagged to start.   Ill give it 3-5 then add another if needed then additional in keg. 

2/3/15 - 2ox nelson.  Then kegged 2 days later with one more oz.

--------------------

Brew Day Brett "B.O.R.O" Stout - 
Total fubar - maris, flaked wheat, roast, some aromatic and a fist full of midnight wheat. Pitched big brettBslurry from Butch.  1052.

72 hour lag.  Attenuated to 1011. 

 2/16/15 First tasting about 3 weeks in.  Balance towards roast. Not as estery as I'd expect.   Thinking of Oak and splitting off a gallon for a black cherry add.

3/4/15 - Brett stout still moving.   Pond skater effect going on.  Beautiful.

3/4/15 - two weeks ago I blended 80/20 CO Funk and Caison III.  Racked and Bottled a few (major funk now) and added 12oz pureed dried apricot plus slurry from the two week vessel plus adduinal thick slurry from C3 and CoFunk in about another 80/20ish ratio.  Placed in 75 degree room.

3/21/16 - The apricot hadnt kicked off after a week so i took it to the basement for reconsideration, realizing I had added apricots with preservatives on them...I added a 200mlm slurry of CO Funk and took it back up to the warm room...still nothing, so I took it back downstairs and tasted it...apricot juice........then, miraculously, I was looking at it a week later and it burped...I stared with great curiosity and found it had kicked off and was moving right along...I could have sworn it jumped to life right then.  Back up to the warm room and it is moving right along. Yahtzee!

4/15/16 - after kegging the BORO and finding it to be overloy bitter and roasty for my taste I added half a pound of lactose, and oz of EKG and began degassing.  Also, an oak spiral was added several weeks ago to the keg.  

Kerry's Stake It 2Kolsch

OK, its time to get back into the game of making brew Kerry loves.  As an avid Kolsch lover, and temps getting down into the 40s, there is no better time than now to dive in.  I have a big sack-O Pils coming my way and I plan to go simple, but add a nice long lager step to the process.  I have never lagered before and after quite a bit of thought, I am going hybrid-historical.  What Saisons were to farmhouses in Summer this Kolsch will be to my shed in winter.  It's the Falmouth Farmhouse Process - mark it dude!

Stats
OG - 1052 (poor efficiency)
FG - 1011 (assuming a little over 75% attenuation from the sugar)
BUGU - .4ish (1oz Saaz, .2oz Warrior)
ABV - 6%
SRM - 2

Grist
10 lbs Pilsner Malt

1 lbs Clear Belgian Candi Sugar

Mash 152 for 60
Boil 90
Pitch as close to 58 as possible and only allow to free rise to 62.

I havent seen it done this way, but what I know is my lady likes her beers dry and fairly clean.  I feel like we can add just a little something to the Kolsch by utilizing an Clear Belgian Candi Sugar with the munich/Vienna afd per the style.  Furthermore I am going to be fermenting this cool, so the add of sugar will help to achieve a full fermentation.

On that point, I am going to overpitch this beer with a 2L (lager sized) starter sub-60 to assure a very clean start, then allow a free rise into the low 60s.  I'll let the beer finish over a 28 day period, then its off to a purged keg and the Falmouth Farmhouse. (Our shed).  O2 free transfer will be paramount.

Ill fill a clean barrel with water for some buffering and place the keg in said barrel in said shed for 2 months of Winter to finish.  That's it.  Not overly complicated, so far....Water.

I came across this excellent and highly detailed resource on water profiles - a big ole thank you to the person responsible for this!
http://www.brewerslair.com/index.php?p=brewhouse&d=water&id=&v=&term=11

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Location:	Germany
What it does :	The Cologne water profile has a high temporary hardness. It is also known for containing moderately low levels of sulfates. The ratio of sulfates to chloride is 2 which, if not adjusted for brewing, will contribute to a beer that may be slightly bitter for a given hopping rate. The estimated range of beer color that you can brew with this water profile is from deep gold to medium amber. Representative ion levels for the Cologne water profile are shown below.
What it is:	The city of Cologne is located in the European country of Germany. The city of Cologne can trace its origins to a Roman city founded in 50 A.D. The Rhine River runs through the city south to north. In pre- and post-Roman times, the city obtained its water from the Vorgebirge aqueduct supplied by springs and streams to the west of the city. Let's take a closer look at the characteristics of water from the Cologne area to understand its suitability for brewing beer.
Vital Statistics	Calcium (ppm): 104 Sulfates (ppm): 86 Magnesium (ppm): 15 Sodium (ppm): 52 Chloride (ppm): 109 Carbonates (ppm): 152
How it works:	For brewing purposes, knowing the ion profile of your water is important for four main reasons: Mash pH - The six main ions affect the mash pH, which in turn contributes to enzyme effectiveness in converting the malt's starches into maltose. The higher alkalinity of this water profile makes it more suitable for successful conversion of Vienna and Munich malts as well as darker, more acidic, malts. Beer Flavor - These six ions are generally not present in sufficient amounts to affect flavor, unless there is contamination. Hop Utilization - Very high water alkalinity, such as found in this water profile, can contribute to a highly alkaline wort (pH above 5.7), which can exaggerate hop bitterness. Hop dosage may need to be reduced compared to that used with softer water. Yeast Nutrients - There is usually sufficient magnesium present in most water profiles to feed the yeast. In this Cologne water profile, the amount of magnesium is high, and should support vigourous yeast activity. Treating your source water supply is largely needed only for all-grain brewing, since malt extract manufacturers account for the necessary water chemistry in making the extract for you. However, if you use a large percentage of specialty grains in an extract brew, that may make water treatment necessary.

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Using http://www.brewersfriend.com/water-chemistry/ 

From RO I need 6g of Calcium Chloride and 5g of Baking Soda and Gypsum.

It is stated that this profile (harder water) promotes hop bitterness, so I will use Noble hops and hop to .4 vs .5, just to skirt this potential issue.  Delicate is the goal here.  Subtle, and delicate.
----

And that is the brew plan...Let's begin.

Brew Day: 12/2/15 - Brewing with Devon and Macy.  He is doing a Holiday Stout

Mash 148 for 90
Boil 90 - hopped at 60 for .4BUGU.  (1oz Saaz, .2oz Warrior)
Sugar add at 2 minutes.
Landed at 1052.
Pitched .75L starter (all day shake shake) at 58.
D3 - 68 - chugging.

12/22/15 - 1010.  Tastes great,  off to Falmouth farmhouse

2/20/15 - overcarbed initially and thoughtwe had an off flavor.  Accidental degassing brought out a beautiful Kolsch.  Lesson learned, beer winning!

Smokey Chipotle Porter

The Brew Farm Group has a new member that cooks professionally.  She, Dana, has offered her services to create an end of year brewers' gala, and the level of excitement about the project is all-time.  Ethan, Butch, IPA Dan, Ken and myself will each be brewing a batch to pair with a given course.

I have been selected for the slightly smokey day boat scallops with onion relish, and celery saute'!  I couldnt be more pumped to have pulled this course:

"Seared Day-Boat Sea Scallop w Apple Wood Smoked Bacon Powder – served on a bed of caramelized onion relish, with red bell pepper and celery sauté.

Description: strong smoky flavor followed by sweet scallop, and deeper flavored relish – hint of apple cider vinegar in relish"

For my pairing I have decided to go "complimentary," and will be doing a Chipotle Porter with adobo sauce. The trick, as per usual, is balance.  Furthermore, as a pairing, the balance of the beer itself must not overpower the food, but compliment it, as stated above.  Taming the smoke and heat, while balancing to the roast character will be the trick.  Moving on...

I want the beer to be highly approachable, not overbearing, and dry as to not "fill up," my guests; my pairing comes as the second course.  To start off,  I am going with Pilsner Malt, because I want a more crisp canvas to paint this picture on, so I think the Pils will work well here.  It is a bit out of the box for the style and for this reason I am, of course, intrigued.

Deciding that simpler is better, I skipped the Crystal and moved to my dark malts. Referring to my recent Stout, where the roasted malt landed at 3.5%,  I am very happy with the roasted character that imparted.  With that in mind, I am going to roll with it.  Black patent malt has never found its way into my beers, so it's time for a debut.  I want a little bit of that additional bitterness, and coffee character (found at low percentages), again, just lending to my dark malt complexity, so I am going with just a reserved add of .3 lbs... the only problem is the color of the beer still ends quite light...so I saw three options, black patent malt after the main mash to get the color, but not the characters of the malt (which when overdone can go to ashy and unpleasantly acidic). Add some MIdnight Wheat Malt deepening the dark grain complexity of the brew and at just 4 ounces I will get lots of color.  4 ozs black patent in the mash along with .25lbs chocolate wheat malt, and then .25 black patent malt during vorlof and sparge for color.

Other considerations...

Brewing Water - higher relative alkalinity to help the mash pH buffer the dark malts' acidity (that's science). But the overall target will be London water.

Schedule
Early September - brew
Primary finishes  late September
Early October - add jalepenos
By the 15th of October - final blend of smoke and non-heated base beer if needed
Keg no later than October 21 (leaves 2 weeks to condition)


Mash - 152 - Looking for a dryer beer, but not going Saison crazy.  We need some body as the alcohol content is on the "lower side," for me anyway and with the simple sugars in there I'll just target a middle of the road mash.

Boil - 90 - to allow for the creation of a bit more complexity within the brew. With that said, how fun would it be to roll a 120 minute boil on a Porter made with Pilsen malt!  Just for kicks....Time permitting, I may go for it.

Yeast - 001, or safale 005.  No esters required, this is not a yeast show.

Keg, condition 2 weeks, bottle.

As a result
Stats (on a 90 minute boil)
OG - 1042
FG - 1007
IBU - .5 BUGU (about 1 oz noble hops)
Color - 31 SRM

Grist
6 lbs - USA Pilsen (70%)
6 oz - Roasted Malt (4.6%)
.5lbs - Wheat Malt
.25 lbs - Black Patent Malt (full mash) (3%)
.25 lbs - Black Patent Malt (post mash)
.25 lbs - Midnight Wheat Malt

.25 - smoke malt
.5 lbs - Piloncillo Sugar (a nice medium dark and flavorful sugar)

Brew Day Setup

Salts - London profile.  1.5tsp cacl and gypsum.  2tsp Baking Soda

Strike - 3G @ 165, target 152 for 60.

Sparge Volume - 6G and sparge to 7.5G.

Boil - 90, 1oz EKG at 60

World Inside the Wort

Actual Brew

Mash 152 for 60

Capped with uncrushed black patent - oops.

Boil - 120. FW dark brown sugar Ekg, 1oz at 60, nutrient,  whirlfloc, chiller at 10, rinsed and split chipotle at 5.  

OG - 1043.  

Rehydrated 1 pack safale 005 at 95 degrees in 250 ml sterile water for over an hour with nutrient.

Pitched at 72ish

9/15 - added .3oz smoked and dehydrated chipotles in hop bag

9/16 - removed chipotles.   A bit too much already.  Into fridge for a week, then secondary to get beer off the peppers.  Tastes awesome, just a couple notches over what I was aiming for.

11/21/15 - in the homestretch the berr came through.   Kerry calls it, Spicy Guiness.  It had a nice depth for a smaller brew.  Dark brew with an off white head and excellent retention through the experience and beyond.   The roast is light to medium and compliments the chipotles beautifully.   The heat is dissipating with time and the taste of the peppers themselves continues to emerge.  Mouthfeel is medium-light.  Overall the berr is a win.  It's imperative to always give these beers plenty of leeway to allow the character you're going for to emerge, and not expect it to hit spot on from first  being kegged.  

A week ago I blended 

50% - porter

25% - funky lambic

12% - Yogurtweisse (acidity)

12% - raspberry funk brew

Degassed and stabilized with Camden tab.  Will add CLEAN yeast and tabs to carb.

12/2/15 - added french saison slurry and sugar tabs to bottles then racked beer on top.

Ciderfest 2015

Ok, it's time to diversify.  There is an entire universe of simple ciders to make and I have had a few experiences with people showing up that just didnt want beer...and I am getting more funky all the time, so my beer offerings may not suit many pallets in years to come. With that said, let's play.

Imagining a tart, highly spritzy cider with a nice depth from the pomegranate and fresh apples, plus a beautiful crisp finish and brilliant pink in the glass.

Let's Begin

5G pasteurized apple juice
1 pint pure pomegranate juice
1 lbs white sugar
Thin sliced fresh apples and pomegranate in the keg

Brew Day 8/5/2015
Organic Juice (without preservatives) to fermenter with sugar boiled in water. Add rehydrated yeast in the low 60s.
Fermenting between 72-76 all of August/september.

9/1/15 - Far from ready.  Sulphury, green.  Purged with CO2.

11/21/15 - yahtzee!  added a second pint of pom juice to keg.  Carbed to 4!  This is delicious.   Dry and crisp.  The Apple character is there but not too forward.  The pomegranate adds a depth and light complimentary tartness.  The base recipe is excellent and there are many variations to explore!  A winner!

11/25/15 - popped first brett carbed cider.  Carb is in place, no Brett.  Will wait till next summer for next tasting on these.

Could try adding 2L of Cider on week 6.  Could add a nice spice and leave additional apple character in the nose.

Other cider ideas
DH with orange zest
DH with Nelson hops
Blueberry
Oak and Sherry
Straight oak
Oak and Sav Blanc
Black Currant
Christmas: Cranberry (maybe touch of all spice)

Rye-Chocolate Saison

No story to tell, just a brew to get a brew in and to build up the French Saison yeast for future buggy fun.

Rye Extract - 6.6 lbs 

Steeped: 1lbs wheat, 1lbs Pale chocolate

10/6/15: Brewed with Casey and Macy

60 minute boil
1 NewFarm Cascade hop shot at 20.
1 oz home grown cascade hops at 5. Pitched Wyeast French Saison at 65. 1058 OG.

Fermented at 73ish.

A great resource on Dark and Funky Saisons

10/19/15 - 6.4 brix.  1016. It all comes through.   Some wood may be in order. 

11/4/15 - pretty dam fine beer.  Sample needs a solid week to let the quick force carb settle in, but we are on the right track.  Aroma tends towards a balance of raisin and chocolate.  Saison phenolic push through and compliment.  No idea about the rye per usual.  Maybe pick up some rye bread and do a side by side sniff test....official verbiage.

Medium body - dry finish.  More to come.  Will pull a gallon and add Brett (cuz that's what I do), let her roll for a couple months then bottle.

Too much chocolate.   Would have been nice to add as a nuance, not a bold statement.