Beer Style: Belgian and French Farmhouse Ales
Includes both saison and bière de garde recipes.
Allagash Brewing Co.’s Saison clone
Digital and Plus Members OnlyAllagash Brewing Co.’s Saison clone (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.046 FG = 1.000IBU = 30 SRM = 8 ABV = 6.1% Allagash’s interpretation of a classic Belgian farmhouse-style ale. Saison is spicy, light, and super drinkable, featuring yeast-derived light peppery notes. Ingredients7 lbs. (3.2 kg) 2-row pale malt1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) rye malt0.75 lb.
To Better Times (Farmhouse Table Beer)
Digital and Plus Members OnlyTo Better Times (Farmhouse Table Beer) (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.035 FG = 1.007IBU = 10 SRM = 3 ABV = 3.7% This recipe was created with one purpose in mind — to make a refreshing, tasty beer out of very little. The hops used are an illustration, but really any will do —
Boulevard Brewing Co.’s Tank 7 clone
FREEBoulevard Brewing Co.’s Tank 7 clone (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.071 FG = 1.007IBU = 38 SRM = 4 ABV = 8.5% Tank 7 has become one of Boulevard’s most recognized brands
Kent Falls Brewing Co.’s When Life Gives You Grape Must clone
FREEKent Falls Brewing Co.’s When Life Gives You Grape Must clone (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG* = 1.048 FG = 1.000IBU = 10 SRM* = 3 ABV = 6% *Both the original gravity and SRM
The Lost Abbey Brewing Company’s Ten Commandments clone
Digital and Plus Members Only(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain) OG = 1.089 FG = 1.006 IBU = 34 SRM = 33 ABV = 11% Ingredients10 lbs. (4.54 kg) 2-row pale malt 1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) crystal wheat malt (55 °L) 0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) Special B malt0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) melanoidin malt0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) flaked barley0.4 lb. (0.18 kg)
Hippie Farm
Digital and Plus Members OnlyHippie Farm is a light and refreshing saison that marries the flavors of a simple, traditional farmhouse-style saison with hints of lemon and lavender.
Session Saison
Digital and Plus Members OnlyAlready a dry, thirst-quenching style, this saison is brewed to a more sessionable ABV so you can drink a couple on a hot summer day without wiping yourself out.
A Beer to Guard
Digital and Plus Members OnlyRecipe author Horst Dornbusch states of the style, “The brew is not refined, but it is not coarse either. Instead, it is full-bodied and hearty, slightly fruity, unabashedly strong in alcohol and has a medium hoppiness — but with a powerfully malty, almost Port-like, finish. Bière de garde is clearly a sipping, not a quaffing, beer. I simply love bière de garde . . . but when it comes to beer, I’m a hopeless romantic!”
Petit Saison
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThe inspiration for this beer was a play on De Baets’ remarks that traditional saisons were low gravity and heavily hopped. When it was still brewed with the Rodenbach strain, De Ranke’s XX Bitter was a rough approximation of a traditional saison, but with its cleaner character today you’ll have to brew your own for a taste of history. This recipe makes for a refreshing summer beer with the gravity dialed down and aromatics pushed to the fore.
Summer Cellar BdG
Digital and Plus Members OnlyBiére de Garde’s are a remarkably flexible beer that can be brewed as a pale, amber, or brown, depending on your preferences, pairings, or the season of service. This recipe aims right down the middle in terms of the style and its color/flavor options, and is a gold-medal-winning amber Bière de Garde (at the 2012 BUZZ Off, hosted by the BUZZ Homebrew Club in West Chester, Pennsylvania).
Rustic French Ale
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThis recipe will create a French-style ale that is similar to Brasserie Thiriez’s Blonde d’Esquelbecq. Brewer Daniel Thiriez recommends using French Pilsner malt if you can source it.
Bière de Garde
Digital and Plus Members OnlyJamil Zainasheff provides readers with a recipe to brew a classic Biére de Garde farmhouse-style ale.