IDEA
Saison is my favorite Belgian style of beers and it’s one of my most often brewed type of beer. One of the key characteristics of the style is the spiciness and fruitiness given by the yeast. I was interested how would a saison taste like with black peppercorns added during the boil. I have a recipe which I used a couple of times and found very pleasing, so I used it as the base for this experiment.
Recipe
Stats:
Est. OG: 1.043
Est. FG: 1.003
ABV 5.2%
Color: 6.5 SRM
IBU: 29.8
Est. Brewhouse Efficiency: 70%
Boil-Time: 30 minutes
Water Profile: Meanbrews Saison
| Name | Temperature (Metric) | Temperature (US) | Time (minute) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mash In | 67℃ | 152.6℉ | 60 | |||||||
| Mash Out | 75.6℃ | 168.08℉ | 10 | |||||||
| Boil | 100℃ | 212℉ | 30 | |||||||
| Whirlpool | 74℃ | 165.2℉ | 15 |
| Name | Weight (Metric) | Weight (US) | Percentage | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dingenmans - Pale Ale | 1.5 kg | 3.31 lb | 36.6% | |||||||
| Dingenmans - Pilsen MD | 1.5 kg | 3.31 lb | 36.6% | |||||||
| Simpsons - Malted Oats | 0.3 kg | 0.66 lb | 7.3% | |||||||
| Weyermann - Rye Malt | 0.3 kg | 0.66 lb | 7.3% | |||||||
| Weyermann - Pale Wheat Malt | 0.3 kg | 0.66 lb | 7.3% | |||||||
| Weyermann - Caramunich I | 0.2 kg | 0.44 lb | 4.9% |
| Name | Weight (Metric) | Weight (US) | IBU | Alpha Acid | Time (minute) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnum | 22g | 0.78 oz | 28.3 | 12.5% | 30 | |||||
| Styrian Golding | 50g | 1.76 oz | 1.5 | 3.2 | 15m Whirlpool at 74℃ |
| Name | Producer | Type | Style | Dry Alternatives | Liquid Alternatives | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BE-134 | Fermentis | Dry | Belgian Saison |
| Strike Water (Metric) | Strike Water (US) | Sparge Water (Metric) | Sparge Water (US) | Ca | Mg | Na | SO4 | Cl | HCO3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16.4L | 4.33 gal | 10.85L | 2.87 gal | 36 ppm | 7 ppm | 27 ppm | 64 ppm | 69 ppm | 16 ppm |
| Name | Weight (Metric) | Weight (US) | Time (minute) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yeast Nutrient | 1g | 0.04 oz | 15 | |||||||
| L-Ascorbic Acid | 3g | 0.11 oz | Strike Water before mash | |||||||
| Supermoss | 4g | 0.14 oz | 15 | |||||||
| Black peppercorn | 2g | 0.07 oz | 10 |
Brewday
In the morning I crushed the malts, as I already collected the RO water the day before.
While stirring the water, I added the crushed malts.
Ten minutes into the mash I checked the pH of the wort. The value was in the optimal range so, there was no need for adjustments.
As usual, I made an iodine test before proceeding to the mash out. The test showed that no starches were left in the wort, so I continued. After sparging I measured the pre-boil gravity, to see how well the mashing worked. The measured value was 1.039, which is the same as the predicted gravity.
Before the wort reached 100℃, I prepared the hops additions. I also measured the black peppercorns and ground them in my mortar.
The picture was taken before the grinding.
I boiled for 30 minutes, then used a 15 minutes whirlpool for the aroma hops. I was interested how much hop character would be kept in a whirlpool instead of adding the aroma hops during the boil.
After the wort was chilled down to 29.3℃ (84.74℉), I measured the original gravity. The OG was on point.
The fermentation was done within 10 days. The temperature was between 22.2℃ (71.96℉) - 29.3℃ (84.74℉), with an average of 23.9℃ (75.02℉).
Please note that the gravity readings by my iSpindel are used for the tracking of the fermentation and should not be taken as specific gravity.
The final gravity came out at 1.003. This will no doubt give a nice dryness to the beer.
Tasting
First week: Every aspect of this beer was complex as it’s expected from a Saison. In its smell bubble gum, fruity, biscuity, toasty characters, with moderate spiciness were present. As for the flavor of the beer, the complexity was even more apparent. It was grainy, toasty, bready with light caramel and rye notes from the malts. Citrusy, spicy and floral from the hops and had a strong bubblegum and light cherry taste from the yeast. The mouthfeel is malt sweet at first, with a dry and bitter aftertaste. The color was a brownish orange, which is always my goal when I brew a saison.
Later on: As time passed, the beer become very clear and the taste more mature. Even though it lost a bit of complexity with the smoother taste, it was even more pleasant than before.
Conclusion
The beer came out really nice, which was not a big surprise as I brewed this recipe in the past. The two main points of this experiment were the black peppercorns and adding the hops at whirlpool. As for the hops, the whirlpool kicked up the hop character of the beer, however I did not found this to be worth an extra 15 minutes of brew time. As for the black pepper, nobody (including me) could even notice the slightest hints of the spice. Overall, if you want a good saison I can recommend this recipe, just don’t add the black peppercorns and use a classic hop schedule.