Epic Brewing Company: Replicator
Dear Replicator,
It’s been fun to watch the growth and maturing of a local brewery: Epic Brewing Co. One beer that they put out which really stands out to me is Utah Sage Saison and I would love to try to clone it. Their website states they use Simon and Garfunkel’s spice blend, but only 3 of 4 spices. Was hoping you could provide a recipe for this unique and amazing beer.
Tim Grayson
Salt Lake City, Utah
You know, Tim, sometimes fate just has a way of giving you just what you want at precisely the right time. When this request came in back in October, I contacted the good folks at Epic Brewing Company the next day, as I nearly always do. A few days later I heard back from Matthew Allred, Epic’s Communications Director, who had some fantastic news for me. First, that Epic would be more than happy to share their award-winning recipe for Utah Sage Saison with me, just in time to meet the deadline for this issue – and that would have been more than enough providence for me, since a fresh herb Saison makes for a fantastic spring time brew day. However, he then informed me that a batch was just coming off the fermenters, and that he’d be glad to send me some, just in time to crack open with my Thanksgiving turkey. Winner, winner, turkey dinner…what a pairing. What a life. What a brewery.
Epic Brewing Company was founded in 2010 in Salt Lake City (SLC), Utah, following liberalization of the laws surrounding beer production and sale in the state two years prior. 2008 was a very nice year in beer for the residents of Utah, since it was in that year that the state passed a law permitting breweries to produce and sell “heavy” beer (in excess of 3.2% alcohol by weight) directly to the public.
That was music to the ears of two Californians living in Utah at the time, and David Cole and Peter Erickson opened Epic’s doors two years later. Cole and Erickson teamed up with new head brewer Kevin Crompton, who brought to the table nearly two decades of brewing experience. Crompton had a wide-ranging brewing resume, including experience at multiple breweries in Utah and from as far-flung a locale as Hawaii, and he and Epic began racking up brewing awards and recognition almost immediately. Epic was named to Ratebeer.com’s “Best New Brewery” list, and within two years the brewery had earned its first Great American Beer Festival medal.
Starting with six fermentation vessels in their SLC brewhouse, the team could scarcely keep up with demand, and expansion was inevitable. Today the SLC brewery boasts eight times the fermentation capacity that it had in 2010. In 2013, just three years after opening, Epic expanded its brewery operations into Colorado, opening a second brewery in the River North district of downtown Denver. The Denver brewery created more than just additional brewing capacity: It allowed for expansion of the popular barrel-aged beer program, the introduction of a line of sour beers, and brought beer to discerning local patrons via a “proper” tap room featuring 25 taps – a luxury not available to the home brewery in SLC!
Despite the rapid evolution of their brewing operation, multistate growth in both production and distribution, and a major increase in production volume, Epic Brewing stayed committed to its founding principle of small-batch, artisanal beer. Every batch released in the Elevated and Exponential small- batch series is numbered, stamped, and release information is published online. In spring 2017, they released “Four Sours in 40 Days,” as part of their ongoing commitment to creative, small-batch brewing. Epic currently brews more than 40 different beers, including the Utah Sage Saison.
First off, let me say that not every brewery ships you a fresh bottle of the beer you’re trying to clone, and I’m exceptionally grateful to Epic for going that extra mile, especially for such a unique and creative beer! This 2012 GABF Bronze Medal winner is a wild ride on the palate, and turns a wide-ranging selection of ingredients into a harmonious flavor profile.
The initial aromas are all herb, with a low floral and fruity hops aroma underneath. I didn’t perceive much in the way of grist aromatics until I took my first sip, and then it all really came together. The rich malts lingered on the tongue and the savory herbs filled the nose, with peppery phenols accenting everything beautifully. This is a special beer, and Matthew was right: It was worth holding onto a bottle to pop open at Thanksgiving dinner. At the same time, I can easily envision drinking it on a spring afternoon, at a summer barbecue, or in the dead of winter.
Part of the reason for that versatility is that great beer is simply great beer, any time of day or year. That doesn’t go quite far enough, though: There’s something wonderfully culinary about Utah Sage Saison. It shows all the hallmarks of a brewery that is doing more than just churning out conventional beers. It also shows that their creativity is not a gimmick. This is a thoughtful and well-designed recipe that produces a terrific beer. It’s light in color but deep in flavor, exhibits traditional beer flavors but is unquestionably a specialty beer, and blends a wide range of flavors into a cohesive whole. It just works.
Enjoy brewing this one, and best of luck in matching the incredible (epic) efforts of Epic!
Epic Brewing Co.’s Utah Sage Saison clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.061 FG = 1.010
IBU = 39 SRM = 5 ABV = 6.2%
Ingredients
5.25 lbs. (2.4 kg) Pilsner malt
5.25 lbs. (2.4 kg) Maris Otter pale ale malt
0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) wheat malt
0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) rye malt
0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) flaked barley
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) rice hulls
5.5 AAU Centennial hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 11% alpha acids)
10 AAU Chinook hops (15 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 10% alpha acids)
10 AAU Chinook hops (0 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 10% alpha acids)
0.2 oz. (6 g) fresh sage (5 min.)
0.2 oz. (6 g) fresh rosemary (5 min.)
0.2 oz. (6 g) fresh thyme (5 min.)
White Labs WLP565 (Belgian Saison) or Wyeast 3724 (Belgian Saison) or Lallemand Belle Saison yeast
1 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Mill the grains, then mix (along with rice hulls) with 4 gallons (15.1 L) of 162 °F (72 °C) strike water to reach a mash temperature of 151 °F (66 °C). Hold this temperature for 60 minutes. Vorlauf until your runnings are clear, and begin sparge. Sparge the grains with 3.4 gallons (13 L) water and top up as necessary to obtain 6.25 gallons (24 L) of wort. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops and herbs according to the ingredient list. Add kettle fining if desired. After the boil and whirlpool, chill the wort to about 70 °F (21 °C), then pitch yeast.
Once fermentation commences, allow beer to free rise up to 80 °F (27 °C). You can hold this temperature for ten days or until the completion of primary fermentation, whichever is later. Then, reduce temperature to 32 °F (0 °C), and bottle or keg the beer and carbonate to approximately 2.9 volumes.
Epic Brewing Co.’s Utah Sage Saison clone
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.061 FG = 1.010
IBU = 39 SRM = 5 ABV = 6.2%
Ingredients
3.5 lbs. (1.6 kg) Pilsen liquid malt extract
3.5 lbs. (1.6 kg) pale liquid malt extract
0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) wheat malt
0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) rye malt
0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) flaked barley
5.5 AAU Centennial hops (60 min.)(0.5 oz./14 g at 11% alpha acids)
10 AAU Chinook hops (15 min.) (1 oz./28g at 10% alpha acids)
10 AAU Chinook hops (0 min.) (1 oz./28g at 10% alpha acids)
0.2 oz. (6 g) fresh sage (5 min.)
0.2 oz. (6 g) fresh rosemary (5 min.)
0.2 oz. (6 g) fresh thyme (5 min.)
White Labs WLP565 (Belgian Saison) or Wyeast 3724 (Belgian Saison) or Lallemand Belle Saison yeast
1 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Bring 5.0 gallons (18.9 L) of water to approximately 165 °F (74 °C) and hold there, steeping the specialty malts in grain bags for 15 minutes. Remove the grain bags, and let drain fully, allowing the dripping to return to the pot. Off heat, add both liquid malt extracts while stirring, and stir until completely dissolved. Bring wort to a boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops and fresh, whole herbs according to the ingredient list. After the boil and whirlpool, chill the wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, about 70 °F (21 °C). Pitch yeast.
Once fermentation commences, allow beer to free rise up to 80 °F (27 °C) for ten days or until the completion of fermentation, whichever is later. Then, reduce temperature to 32 °F (0 °C), and bottle or keg the beer and carbonate to approximately 2.9 volumes.
Tips for success:
Fresh herbs are essential in this recipe. It’s not impossible to make with dried herbs, but the resulting beer will never have the same bright, clean aromas! If you do need to use dried herbs, cut the amounts by about 1⁄2 to try to match intensity.
While there is a dry yeast substitute, it is not going to produce the same beer as the liquid strains. But if the liquid strains are not available, the dry yeast can still produce a very unique and amazing beer. It’s also worth noting that the liquid yeast strains have a tendency to stall out about halfway through fermentation, if not allowed to free rise. If that should happen to you, hold at fermentation temperature (or try to increase slightly) for an additional 10-14 days, and you should see a re-start and completion! If not, consider pitching a clean ale yeast or the recommended dry saison yeast to finish up the job.
