Beer Style: Belgian and French Farmhouse Ales
Includes both saison and bière de garde recipes.
McKenzie’s Brew House’s Saison Vautour clone
his is the recipe for McKenzie’s Brew House’s multi-gold-medal-winning rye saison from head brewer Ryan Michaels. It’s a good example of how a very simple recipe can result in a beer of extraordinary complexity. The clean version has a wonderful rustic character from the rye and yeast, while the barrel-aged version adds some tartness and funk.
Beets by Drie Saison
Beets impart the flavor of fresh soil and a fantastic magenta color to beer. Beets were my answer to rescue a Brett saison with objectionable sulfur. I hoped the renewed fermentation from the sugar in the beets would drive off the volatile aromatics while the aromatics would complement the spicy and earthy wild yeast character. I peeled and shredded three beets on a box grater and racked five gallons (19 L) of beer onto it for an extended secondary. It worked!
Sans Glutonne Saison
Looking for a gluten-free saison recipe, this one balances hop profile with the spicy yeast character from french saison yeast strain.
Roadhouse Brewing Co.’s Saison en Regalia clone
2014 Great American Beer Festival – Silver (Belgian-Style Fruit Beer)
Rye Saison
A Rye Saison recipe by Steve Fletty,from St. Paul, Minnesota
Anchorage Brewing Company: Love Buzz clone
Saison brewed with rose hips, peppercorns, and fresh orange peels. Second fermentation with Brettanomyces in Pinot Noir barrels. Dry-hopped with Citra® hops after an extensive time in the barrel.
Grisette
BY THE NUMBERS OG: 1.028–1.032 FG: 1.002–1.004 SRM: 3–10 IBU: 20–30 ABV: 3.1–3.9% I hadn’t intended to write about this style now, but it’s come up as a question several times over
The Burnt Hickory Brewery: White Flag Third Strike Apricot Saison clone
This Belgian-style wit is brewed with apricot, and Pilsner malt to create a medium-bodied, tart beer with fresh fruit aroma.
Wicked Weed Brewing Co.’s Reticent Saison clone
Wicked Weed may be best known for its sour and hop-forward beers, but they also brew a wide variety of saisons. Reticent has a complex malt bill to build lots of character underneath the yeast-driven aroma.
The Bruery: Terreux Saison Rue clone
This beer was one of the original beers brewed at The Bruery, but is now brewed under their Bruery Terreux label. It is an unfiltered, bottle conditioned Belgian-stule farmhouse ale.
Rockford Brewing Co.’s Rockford Country Ale clone
This unfiltered French farmhouse-style Bière de Garde ale features a copper color and the yeast lends estery notes of pear and apricot.
Hopfenstark: Saison Station 16 clone
This is an extremely well balanced, easy-to-drink saison brewed with rye. The hops are not the star here, it’s all about the rye and the brewer’s skill.
