Session Saison

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I’ve been spending lots of time in LagerTown (a few miles over from Flavertown) and overall feel like I have a good handle on many of these styles, especially pale lagers. So, I’m looking for some new challenges. The saison style has been of variable success for me, with the last saison session producing a good beer despite a ton of mishaps in the process. I’ve only made six batches of this style previously, most centered around the “Thumbspike Saison” incarnation.

For 2024, I decided to try a saison yet again, to have a drinkable and interesting brew on tap. I generally prefer lower alcohol beers, so used the Session Saison recipe at Great Fermentations as a starting point. It was a chance to use up some grains I had sitting around, while also experimenting with yeasts and techniques. Previously, I’ve never really been able to hit the attenuation I want in a saison consistently, so I focused on the areas of mash technique, ingredients, and yeast choice to move a few levers towards a drier beer.

The grain bill is pretty close to the original recipe, although I swapped in flaked oats instead of flaked barley based on what was accessible at home. I used honey instead of corn sugar, because I had a container of Costco honey and figured it would create the same result. This element of the recipe is important for getting towards a dry beer. Finally, I used up some of my hop stash–Ariana, a newer and high alpha German variety seemed like a good fit.

I haven’t used Lallemand’s Belle Saison strain before and wanted to give that a try here. It’s a diastaticus yeast, so I needed to keep this in mind in terms of separating out equipment later on, but I also hoped it would give me a better result than the diastaticus-negative yeasts I’ve used in most previous batches. I coupled this with creating a highly attenuative wort–I elected for a long mash of 120 minutes at only 149 degrees, in addition to the honey mentioned above.

Oddly enough, despite the low starting gravity (1.046 or so), the high attenuation takes it out of session territory — 5.3% calculated, and 5.9% actual when all was said and done! It’s not the monster 9.5% abv upper bound for the BJCP style, but it’s also not one anyone should chug by the pint.

I had an interesting experience on consumption of this one — the temperature probe on my keezer got knocked to the bottom of the chamber by accident, with a net result of the overall keezer temperature being around 50° instead of 40°. I was fairly disappointed in the carbonation and flavor of the saison–it wasn’t anywhere near highly carbonated, and the beer was a bit flabby. Once I figured out the temperature issue, things fell right into place with a more proper level of carbonation and a crisper beer. Beer held at 40° and 23 PSI will hit 3.5 volumes of CO2–but the the same PSI at 50° will be only 3 volumes. It was an amazing example of how critical temperature and carbonation are for beer enjoyment!

Session Saison

  • 3 lb. 9 oz. pilsner malt (Rahr)
  • 2 lb. 2-row malt (Briess)
  • 2 lb. Munich I malt (Weyermann)
  • 8 oz. Aromatic Munich malt 20L (Briess)
  • 8 oz. flaked oats
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, in mash
  • 1.25 oz. Ariana hop pellets (8.9% alpha), 15 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 lb. wildflower honey, 10 minute boil
  • 0.75 oz. Ariana hop pellets (8.9% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 tsp. yeast nutrient (WLN1000, White Labs), 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Belle Saison dry yeast (Lallemand)

Target Parameters

  • 1.046 s.g., 1.005 f.g., 5.3% abv, 26 IBU, 6 SRM
  • Full volume infusion mash to hit target of 149°, 120 minutes, no sparge
  • Claremont tap water, neutralized with lactic acid to reduce carbonates, target parameter of 60 ppm CA, 22 ppm Mg, 136 ppm Na, 175 ppm SO4, 150 ppm Cl, 10 ppm HCO3, RA=-48 ppm

Procedure

  • I added 6.5 mL of 88% lactic acid to 7.25 gallons of tap water, to remove the carbonates. As a result, no pH adjustment was needed (per calculations) for the mash.
  • I heated the water to 153°, added the grains, and held at 149° with recirculation for 120 minutes.
  • At the end of the mash, I raised the temperature to 168° for a 10 minute mash-out, before removing the grains.
  • In total, I collected 6.75 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.035, for 74% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil and added hops and finings per the recipe. After 60 minutes, I turned off the heat and chilled to 75° before transferring the wort to the fermenter and chilling to 65° in the fermentation chamber before pitching the yeast.
  • I brewed this beer on 9 May 2024; it had a starting gravity of 1.048.
  • I held the fermentation at 68° until 14 May 2024, when I pulled the probe from the side of the fermenter and let the chamber free-rise to 85°.
  • I removed the beer to ambient temperature on 19 May 2024. At this point, final gravity was 1.003, presumably terminal.
  • I kegged the beer on 26 May 2024, adding 4 oz. of corn sugar to do some natural carbonation.
  • The abv on the final product was 5.9 percent — the combination of mash and yeast strain seemed to really do the trick for a dry beer!

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Golden beer, slightly hazy, pours with a creamy white head that settles to a persistent blanket.
  • Aroma
    • Pear aroma, with a bit of spice/pepper alongside that, somewhat reminiscent of a pear cobbler. A light bit of maltiness as the beer warms.
  • Flavor
    • A fairly bitter beer with a spicy, peppery flavor from the yeast. Low level of grainy flavor from the malt. The fruitiness doesn’t come through as intensely as in the aroma, until the beer warms up a bit.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Very dry, highly carbonated, light body.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • Once I got temperature and carbonation dialed in, this was a fairly excellent saison. It could use a touch more malt character; perhaps a bit of Vienna in for some of the 2-row or pilsner malt? The aroma and mouthfeel are about perfect! I’m very pleased that I finally achieved “dry beer” status.
  • Overall
    • 7/10

Summer Session IPA 2024

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I’ve been making a session IPA at least annually for awhile now, because it’s a good way to balance the needs of my palate with the needs of my liver. These recipes usually go with a lighter grain bill that leans on flavorful base malts, alongside a high mash temperature to boost body and reduce attenuation. Kveik strains are part of my usual recipe in these, also, because I am often brewing these last-minute and so want a quick fermenting, temperature tolerant variety of yeast.

The 2024 iteration of my session IPA is in the same mold as previous years–I used a 2-row base malt, but beefed things up with a generous helping of Vienna and some Crystal 40. The hops aren’t too dramatic, but are old favorites for this style of beer.

Summer Session IPA 2024

  • 8 lb. 2-row malt (Briess)
  • 1.25 lb. Vienna malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 lb. Crystal 40 malt (Great Western)
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, in mash
  • 2 oz. Citra hop pellets (12.8% alpha), 15 minute boil
  • 1 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Lutra kveik (Omega #OYL-071, dry)
  • 2 oz. Ella hop pellets (17.6% alpha), dry hop in keg
  • 2 oz. Galaxy hop pellets (15.3% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • 1.044 s.g., 1.011 f.g., 4.4% abv, 48 IBU, 6 SRM
  • Full volume infusion mash to hit target of 156°, 60 minutes, no sparge
  • Claremont tap water, neutralized with lactic acid to reduce carbonates, target parameter of 60 ppm CA, 22 ppm Mg, 136 ppm Na, 175 ppm SO4, 150 ppm Cl, 10 ppm HCO3, RA=-48 ppm

Procedure

  • Prior to the mash, I added 6.5 mL of 88% lactic acid to the 7.25 gallons of tap water (along with a Campden tablet), to drop out the carbonates. Then, I heated the water to 161°, before adding the grains and 1 mL of 88% lactic acid to adjust the mash pH. I held the mash at 156° for 60 minutes, with recirculation, before raising to 168° for 10 minutes.
  • After the mash was done, I pulled the grains and brought the runnings to a boil. In total, I collected 6.5 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.039, for 70% mash efficiency.
  • Once the runnings were at a boil, I added hops and finings per the recipe. Following the 60 minute boil, I turned off the heat and chilled to 78° before transferring to the fermenter and pitching the yeast.
  • Starting gravity was 1.045. I brewed this beer on 28 April 2024 and fermented it at ambient.
  • I kegged the beer on 20 May 2024, adding the dry hops in a baggie at this time. FInal gravity was 1.012, for 4.3% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Clear, light gold beer, pouring with a persistent white head. Very pretty!
  • Aroma
    • Mandarin orange aroma, with a hint of tropical fruit. Hop aroma moderately high. The malt is in the background, and I don’t get much for yeast.
  • Flavor
    • Hop-forward, with a strong bitterness against a fairly light malt backbone. Very quaffable! Hop flavor has elements of orange and citrus pith. There might be a little peach, but that is more by suggestion (due to the characters of the variety) than something that is easily perceived.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium-light body, moderate level of carbonation, crisp and dry finish.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • This is a delightful session IPA, which has matured nicely. It doesn’t taste watery at all, and the hop elements are just what I would want in a modern West Coast IPA, I am quite happy with this one! I might go for a little more hop complexity – but it’s an easy fix with different varieties of hops.
  • Overall
    • 9/10

Totality Blonde Ale

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It has been nearly six years since I’ve done a proper blonde ale, because pilsners are now my go-to for a light, drinkable brew. In the interest of returning to my roots, I made some light modifications to Gordon Strong’s New World Blonde Ale in Modern Homebrew Recipes. I have made a version of this previously, and the main edit here was to the hops. I wanted a beer that would be relatively simple to brew and ferment, but also with some interesting hop character. The name is a nod to the recent total eclipse–enhanced by the astronomically-themed hop varieties.

For a little extra fun, I drafted a bottle label for the beer — the stylized sun matches the pattern of prominences and the visible corona shape visible on April 8, 2024.

beer label with blue background and stylized sun in total eclipse surrounded by stars, with text that says Totality Blonde Ale, Farke Brewing, 5.2% abv, April 8, 2024

Totality Blonde Ale

  • 4.75 lb. 2-row malt (Briess)
  • 4.75 pilsner malt (Rahr)
  • 8 oz. Munich I malt (Weyermann)
  • 4 oz. Caravienne malt (Dingemanns)
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB (added to mash)
  • 0.5 oz. Galaxy hop pellets (15.3% alpha), 10 minute boil
  • 0.25 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 0.5 oz. Galaxy hop pellets (15.3% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. California Ale dry yeast (White Labs, WLP001)
  • 2 oz. Eclipse hop pellets (17.6% alpha), dry hop in keg
  • 1 oz. Galaxy hop pellets (15.3% alpha), dry hop in keg

Target Parameters

  • Full volume infusion mash to hit target of 152°, 60 minutes, no sparge
  • 1.047 o.g., 1.010 f.g., 4.8% abv, 16 IBU, 5 SRM
  • Water built from RO to hit 49 ppm Ca and 87 ppm Cl

Procedure

  • I formulated the strike water with 7.25 gallons of RO water and 5 g of CaCl, to match the desired water profile. I heated the water to 157°, before adding my grains and 0.9 mL of 88% lactic acid. I held the temperature at 152° for 60 minutes, with recirculation, before raising the mash to 168° for 10 minutes and then pulling the grains.
  • In total, I collected 6.5 gallons of runnings at 1.041, for 71% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the kettle to a boil and added hops and finings per the recipe. After a 60 minute boil, I turned off the heat and chilled to 68°. Once transferred to the fermenter, I pitched the yeast.
  • I brewed this beer on 12 April 2024. Starting gravity was 1.049.
  • I fermented the beer at 68°, and evidence of vigorous fermentation was visible by 14 April 2024.
  • Final gravity was 1.009, for 5.2% abv. I kegged the beer using a closed transfer on 11 May 2024, and added the hops in a baggie (very quickly opening the lid to the keg). I attempted to remove them a few days later after carbonation, but they had sunk to the bottom already.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Gold beer with very slight haze. Pours with a persistent and fluffy white head that leaves slight lacing on the glass.
  • Aroma
    • Medium-light hop aroma; some peach, maybe a bit of orange. This is alongside a light malty aroma, with slight caramel/candy aspects.
  • Flavor
    • Medium bitterness and medium maltiness. There is maybe a slight fruity nature in the beer, but it’s quite subtle; probably from the hops? As it warms, it becomes “peachier” in nature!
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium body, moderate carbonation, smooth and slightly dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a pretty decent blonde ale! It comes in perhaps a touch more bitter and dry than I would like, and the slight haze (probably from the dry hops) is a minor style ding, but overall it’s quite drinkable. I enjoy revisiting this classic style! The peach character–presumably from the Galaxy hops–is really nice
  • Overall
    • 8/10

Humboldt’s Hefeweizen 2024

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I have made weissbiers (hefeweizens) a few times previously, with decent but not consistent results. This is a style that can be quite enjoyable or quite awful, so I invested some time into learning more of the underlying ingredients and techniques for a tasty, traditional recipe. An article at brau!magazine was incredibly useful, with lots of detailed suggestions. I reformulated my previous Humboldt’s Hefeweizen (because I like the name) for this batch.

My first big decision–perhaps the most important–was yeast choice and fermentation control. Without a good yeast character, you don’t have a good hefeweizen (in my opinion). I am fairly committed to using dry yeast whenever possible because the convenience can’t be beat, and I wanted to give Lallemand’s Munich Classic another chance. My previous attempt was okay, but had little of the yeast character I wanted. That batch was fermented cool (~65°), and I knew I should up the temperature a bit to get more “oomph” to the yeast. So, I aimed for 67°. Working backwards, I decided a ferrulic acid rest would be critical–my previous batch didn’t use that, and I think that factor also set back beer quality.

My second decision concerned the grist. Past beers were ~45 to 55 percent wheat, and I wanted to increase that. This time around, I aimed for over 60 percent wheat, in hopes that it would 1) be more true to style; and 2) tilt the head quality in a positive direction.

I had fun formulating the batch and figuring out what would give the best results. The end product was definitely worth it!

Humboldt’s Hefeweizen 2024

  • 6.75 lb. red wheat malt (Briess)
  • 4 lb. pilsner malt (Rahr)
  • 0.5 lb. rice hulls
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB (mash)
  • 1 oz. Sterling whole hops (4.5% alpha estimated), 45 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 1 tsp. yeast nutrient (White Labs WLN1000)
  • 1 pkg. Munich Classic Wheat Beer yeast (Lallemand)

Target Parameters

  • 1.049 o.g., 1.010 f.g., 5.2% abv, 14 IBU, 5 SRM
  • Full volume mash, no sparge, 113° mash for 20 minutes, 145° mash for 45 minutes, 162° mash for 30 minutes
  • RO and Claremont tap water, mixed to hit 10 ppm Ca, 4 ppm Mg, 18 ppm Na, 16 ppm SO4, 19 ppm Cl, 3 ppm CaCO3, RA=-7, effective hardness=10 ppm.

Procedure

  • I collected 2.5 gallons of Claremont tap water and neutralized it with 1.76 mL of 88% lactic acid and a small bit of Campden tablet. Then, I added 5 gallons of RO water, to hit my mash water profile.
  • I started the mash at 113° for 20 minutes, to enable a ferulic acid rest. Then, I raised the mash to 145° for 45 minutes, and finally ended at 162° for 30 minutes. Once the mash was done, I pulled the grains and heated the runnings to a boil.
  • The kettle had 6.6 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.040, for 65% mash efficiency. This was a touch lower than I anticipated, but that may be due to the high amount of wheat.
  • Once the kettle was boiling, I added finings per the schedule and then turned off the heat after 60 minutes. A slightly greater boil vigor was used to increase gravity. I chilled the wort to 66° and then transferred to the fermenter.
  • I brewed this beer on 14 April 2024. Starting gravity was 1.048, nearly exactly to target.
  • After pitching the yeast, I started fermentation at ambient for a few hours, and then transferred the fermenter into my fermentation chamber set for 67°. Fermentation seemed to take off pretty quickly!
  • I kegged the beer on 24 April 2024. The beer had an amazing aroma–a decent amount of spicy phenol and a hint of banana; exactly what I was looking for! I carbonted to a higher level, around 3.5 volumes of CO2.
  • Final gravity was 1.014, for 4.4% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Pours with a merangue-like, tall, gorgeous white head that sticks around for ages and leaves gorgeous lacing on the glass. The beer itself is straw yellow and hazy beer. It’s exactly as a fresh hefeweizen should be!
  • Aroma
    • Yeast at the forefront, with a medium-high level of yeast character–primarily clove plus a touch of banana.
  • Flavor
    • Even balance of clove and banana, and a light dough malt character behind that. Low level of bitterness.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Light body. medium-high carbonation, smooth, lightly dry finish (from the hops?).
  • Would I brew this again?
    • This is the best hefeweizen I have made. Everything ran perfectly, and I wouldn’t change a thing. The yeast quality is perfect, head is perfect, all is amazing. It had a sulphur aroma and flavor early on; this faded in a few days.
    • Overall
      • 10/10

Rated “PG” for Pineapple Guava

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Even though I have lived here for nearly 16 years, I didn’t grow up in southern California, and so I’m always learning something new about the the kinds of fruits and vegetables that grow in this climate. Last fall, I noted a bunch of fruit on a tree adjacent to our home, and upon examination found that it was rather tasty in aroma. A little internet research revealed the source–feijoa, or pineapple guava!

green fruit with white bloom on the surface -- the fruit are somewhat egg-shaped, and laying on the ground

Pineapple guava (I’ll use that name throughout) are native to parts of South America, including Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, and have been cultivated in many areas with appropriate climate (apparently they are particularly popular in New Zealand). A member of the myrtle group, rather than a true guava, pineapple guavas produce a small (one to two inch across), green-skinned fruit that tastes and smells almost exactly how the name sounds. Somewhat counter-intuitively, they are not ready to eat until they drop from the tree and onto the ground!

Once I found this fruit, I knew that it would be perfect for enhancing a sour beer–something low abv, refreshing, and spritzy. I chose a Berliner Weisse-style grain bill (50% pilsner, 50% wheat malt), aiming for ~1.030 s.g. I didn’t want a highly hopped beer, so I used ~1 oz. of South Dakota Saaz hops. I didn’t know the alpha acid, but if I added them late enough it didn’t really matter. For this beer, I wanted an easy sour, with a clean character that would let the fruit shine through. Wildbrew Philly Sour was an obvious choice, enhanced by the fact that I wouldn’t have to worry as much about contamination of other batches. The fruit is a fair bit of effort to pick and process, so I stuck with a 2.5 gallon batch, aiming for one pound of fruit per gallon of beer.

The results were totally worth it! This is one of the best experimental brews I made in a long time, and it was really fun to highlight something that I picked from our yard.

Rated “PG” for Pineapple Guava

  • 2 lb. pilsner malt (Rahr)
  • 2 lb. red wheat malt (Briess)
  • 2 oz. rice hulls
  • 1 oz. Saaz whole hops (est. 3.5% alpha), 10 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
  • 0.5 tsp. yeast nutrient (WLN1000), 5 minute boil
  • 0.5 pkg. Wildbrew Philly Sour yeast (Lallemand)
  • 2.5 lb. pineapple guava puree

Target Parameters

  • 1.031 o.g., 1.006 f.g., 3.2% abv, 8 IBU, 3 SRM
  • Full volume mash, no sparge, 152° mash for 60 minutes, 10 minute mash-out at 168°
  • Claremont tap water, neutralized with 88% lactic acid and treated with Campden tablet

Procedure

  • Starting with 4.75 gallons of tap water, I added 1/4 Campden tablet and 3.2 mL of 88% lactic acid to remove the carbonates. I heated the strike water to 156°, before adding the grains along with 0.7 mL of 88% lactic acid. I held the mash at 152° with recirculation for 60 minutes.
  • After the 60 minute mash, I raised the temperature to 168° for 10 minutes, before pulling the grains.
  • Overall, I collected ~4.5 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.025, for 76% mash efficiency.
  • I boiled for 60 minutes, adding finings and hops per the recipe.
  • After turning off the heat, I chilled the wort to 85° and transferred to the fermenter. I pitched a half packet of Philly Sour and sealed up the fermenter.
  • I brewed this beer on 2 April 2024. Starting gravity was 1.033, and I fermented the beer at 80°.
  • I picked the fruit way back in December, peeled it, and put everything into the deep freezer until beer time. I thawed the fruit or a day or two, pureed it, and then pasteurized at 161° for 30 seconds. I let it cool a bit, and then added to the fermenter. All of this happened on 3 April 2024, very early in fermentation.
  • I kegged the beer on 18 April 2024. Final gravity was 1.009, for 3.1% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Hazy straw color, like the appearance of grapefruit juice. Pours with a thick white head that persists well.
  • Aroma
    • Quite prominent guava fruit aroma at the forefront, with a little doughy character behind that.
  • Flavor
    • The beer is fairly tart, but not puckeringly sour, at first impression. The tropical fruit character is definitely there, but it’s subtle–notes of guava (unsurprisingly) dominate. Some doughy wheat character hides behind it all, at a low level. Barely perceptible bitterness.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Light body, spritzy carbonation, slightly dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • Yes! This is a perfectly refreshing beer, well suited for the warming afternoons of spring. It is crisp, but not watery. The fruit is gorgeous on the aroma and perfectly restrained on the flavor. It’s that rare fruited beer where you can pick up the fruit character, but it takes a few seconds to process the flavor. This batch was a good bit of extra work in the fruit process, but absolutely worth it. I have sometimes seen some dismissive comments about Philly Sour being too one-note in character, but that is perfect for this beer as a way to let the subtle fruit notes take center stage. I know that I’ll never find a beer like this commercially, and that’s so much of the fun of homebrewing!
  • Overall
    • 10/10
dark green tree
The feijoa tree in all of its glory — the tallest branch is perhaps 8 or 10 feet off the ground