Fair Isle Brewing
Dear Replicator,
I was recently in the Pacific Northwest and I discovered a unique brewery called Fair Isle. Located in Seattle, Washington this brewery approaches its beers much differently than most craft brewers of today. I found most of the lineup interesting, but the beer that most caught my palate was called Madame R. Galle. I’d love to replicate this beer at home.
Paul Niebrzydowski
Columbus, Ohio
When the rest of the world chooses to zig, Andrew Pogue and Geoffrey Barker choose to zag. The two friends created Fair Isle Brewing in March 2020, with a shared love of beer.
The brewery is located in a Seattle neighborhood along with about 12 other breweries, so carving out a niche was vital. With IPAs being all the rage Fair Isle decided to go in a completely opposite direction. Stylistically, many of the brewery’s beers are brewed using farmhouse, saison-style techniques and variations thereof.
Both Pogue and Barker were homebrewers who originally met at their local homebrew club. Pogue started the house mixed culture that the brewery employs today, a culture made up of a blend of yeast and bacteria. Barker built a 1-BBL pilot system, which they utilized extensively working and brewing together, developing many of the recipes that would form the basis for their future business.
The name Fair Isle represents a few different things. An island chain in Scotland of the same name has a similar coastline to that off Washington State. This area in Scotland spawned a traditional knitting technique that was used to create patterns with multiple colors, many of which are very recognizable. The two friends drew parallels in the way that the brewery’s self-created mixed culture ferments for its beers created their own unique pattern. Fair Isle is also a play on the word “feral,” meaning something not totally wild but not domesticated either, again an ode to the house yeast.
Besides the founders, the third key cog in the Fair Isle brewing machine was Head Brewer Nick Pauley. Originally a native Clevelander, Nick got his professional start during a brief stint living in Arizona. The three collaborated on recipe formulation and all brewing decisions were made as a team. Just prior to publication, we learned that Nick moved on to a new brewing adventure, but his impacts with the brewery will be lasting.
Fair Isle does not produce standard “house beers,” for the most part, preferring to craft beers as creativity dictates. The lineup has featured varying styles such as: Berliner weiss, bière de garde, farmhouse imperial stout, grissette, saisons of all colors, farmhouse mild, and even Grodziskie. While every beer is approached from a traditional style perspective relating to grist and mashing techniques, the house mixed culture and elevated carbonation levels provides the unique Fair Isle character.
Named the 2021 Small Brewery of the Year at the Washington Beer Awards, Fair Isle claimed a whopping five medals at this competition, including a silver in the Belgian and French Farmhouse category for Madame R. Galle.
Madame R. Galle
A very pale, almost straw-colored farmhouse saison, Madame R. Galle is identified by its dense, fluffy white head. A slight haze may be present.
“We are big believers that natural carbonation leads to a thicker, longer lasting head,” said Pauley.
Aromas of lemon and apricot lead while other citrus, stone fruit, and a minerally “creosote” character follows. (Imagine the smell of the desert after a rain.) A hint of white peppercorn rounds out the aromatics.
Because of the house yeast, the beer finishes bone dry, checking in at a final gravity of 1.000. Dry, but not watery, the 30% malted wheat addition kicks in and lends velvety smoothness and contributes to the rocky head.
Flavor characteristics include: Meyer lemons, fresh grass/straw/hay, apricot, and honeydew melon. Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops provide an herbal and spicy character and a moderate bitterness around 33 IBUs. 3.5 volumes of carbonation provides effervescence and exacerbates the dryness.
“Pouring draft this highly carbonated can be a challenge but it’s well worth it,” said Pauley.
Madame R. Galle features only Pacific Northwest grown grain from Skagit Valley Malting. The grist consists of about 70% of the house Pilsner malt (called Fritz) and about 30% malted white wheat. A small addition (3–4%) of acidulated malt keeps the mash pH in range. A two-step mash is employed to ensure the dry finish. Homebrewers can accomplish a similar outcome with a beta amylase-forward single mash temperature of 148 °F (64 °C).
The house mixed culture yeast consists of about 80–90% Saccharomyces. Brettanomyces is secondary, producing esters, slight phenolics, and its signature “funk” once the Saccharomyces is complete. Just a touch of Lacto and Pedio round out the culture, producing tart, but not sour, beers which check in around pH 3.7.
The fermentation, conditioning, and aging process takes about four months. The house mixed culture yeast is added at the beginning and works stage by stage. Primary fermentation takes about six weeks, on average. Additional aging, either in kegs or bottles, can accentuate the overall character of the beer.
Incidental UV contact is embraced at Fair Isle, packaging the majority of its beers in green bottles. “The light skunkiness adds a nuance to the beer, as it does for Saison DuPont,” said Pauley.
Fair Isle Brewing’s Madame R. Galle clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.044 FG = 1.000
IBU = 32 SRM = 2.5 ABV = 6%
Ingredients
6 lbs. (2.7 kg) Pilsner malt
2.75 lbs. (1.25 kg) white wheat malt
0.25 lb. (113 g) acidulated malt
4 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (90 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 4% alpha acids)
12 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (10 min.) (3 oz./85 g at 4% alpha acids)
8 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (5 min.) (2 oz./57 g at 4% alpha acids)
1 Whirlfloc tablet
White Labs WLP568 (Belgian Style Saison Ale Yeast Blend) or equivalent
White Labs WLP645 (Brettanomyces Claussenii) or equivalent
White Labs WLP665 (Flemish Ale Blend) or equivalent (optional)
1 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Seattle water is very soft, so the best advice is to start with reverse osmosis water and build in salts to match Fair Isle’s. Shoot for roughly 90–100 ppm calcium, 100 ppm sulfate, 65–70 ppm chloride. This can be accomplished by adding 1.25 g CaCl2, 1.75 g gypsum dissolved into mash water then adding 0.75 g CaCl2 and 1.05 g gypsum in the boil kettle at start of boil (if using very soft or reverse osmosis water).
Employ either a single infusion mash at 148 °F (64 °C) for 60 minutes total at 1.25 qts./lb. (2.6 L/kg) or, to closer replicate the brewery’s methods, a two-step mash at 145 °F (63 °C) for 30 minutes at 1 qt./lb. (2.1 L/kg) followed by an infusion to bring mash up to 155 °F (68 °C) for 30 minutes at 1.3 qts./lb. (2.7 L/kg). Once converted, recirculate for about ten minutes then raise the temperature to 168 °F (76 °C) for mashout. Sparge with 170 °F (77 °C) water near a pH of 5.2 and collect about 7 gallons (26.5 L) of wort.
Boil for 90 minutes, adding first hop addition (and those remaining kettle salts) once boil is achieved. Add other hop additions and fining agents as indicated. When the boil is complete, whirlpool for 20 minutes, then chill as quickly as possible to 75 °F (24 °C).
Ferment with your own mixed culture blend. A co-pitch mainly consisting of Belgian Style Saison Ale Yeast Blend (containing the Saison Dupont strain, among others), your favorite fruitier Brettanomyces strain is ideal, and very minor addition of Lactobacillus and Pediococcus strains are optional, but will likely add complexity, allowing the beer to slowly pick up acidity over time. Note: Funky and phenolic Brett strains are not advised. Also, we do recommend you oxygenate the wort, but a bit less than you normally would.
Let fermentation free rise as high as, but no higher than 95 °F (35 °C). Mid to upper 80s °F (30–32 °C) is ideal. Primary ferment for 6–8 weeks, longer if desired. The goal is to get this beer as dry as possible with a stable gravity of 1.002 or lower. Bottle condition with your preferred sugar source to 3–3.5 volumes. Thicker, Champagne-style green bottles are ideal. Naturally condition and wait a minimum of 6–8 weeks for best results. Embrace the skunk!
Fair Isle Brewing’s Madame R. Galle clone
(5 gallons/19 L, extract only)
OG = 1.044 FG = 1.000
IBU = 32 SRM = 2.5 ABV = 6.2%
Ingredients
3.4 lbs. (1.5 kg) Pilsen dried malt extract
1.5 lbs. (.68 kg) wheat dried malt extract
½ tsp. 88% lactic acid
4 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (90 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 4% alpha acids)
12 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (10 min.) (3 oz./85 g at 4% alpha acids)
8 AAU Hallertau Mittelfrüh hops (5 min.) (2 oz./57 g at 4% alpha acids)
1 Whirlfloc tablet
White Labs WLP568 (Belgian Style Saison Ale Yeast Blend) or equivalent
White Labs WLP645 (Brettanomyces Claussenii) or equivalent
White Labs WLP665 (Flemish Ale Blend) or equivalent (optional)
1 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Raise 3 gallons (11 L) of water to near boiling temperature and slowly stir in half of each of the dry malt extracts and lactic acid. Return to the heat source and raise to boil. Boil for 60 minutes adding the hops at their scheduled intervals, Whirlfloc at 10 minutes remaining, and the rest of the extract with 5 minutes remaining. Meanwhile, boil and chill about 2.5 gallons (9.5 L) of water so you can top up your wort in the fermenter.
When the boil is complete, whirlpool for 20 minutes, then chill as quickly as possible to 75 °F (24 °C), and top up to 5 gallons (19 L). Follow the all-grain recipe for fermentation and packaging instructions.
Tips For Success:
According to former Head Brewer Nick Pauley, “When starting with very soft water, think of the mash salts as pH balance and enzyme protection, and the kettle salts as a flavor addition and yeast health insurance. You typically lose a good chunk of your calcium after mashing so best to add more calcium to the boil to hit your target ppm and balance salts to your desired chloride:sulfate ratio.”
“Crafting a beer like this takes a lot of patience,” said Pauley. “Sit back and wait for it to go through its paces. Up until 5–6 weeks into primary fermentation, it is very clovey and bubble gummy; checking on it prematurely can be misleading. Give the microbes the time they need to do their thing during secondary and tertiary fermentation.
