Beer Style: Wheat Beer Family
Get Wit The Program
When crafting a witbier, avoid overdoing any one aspect of it. Don’t go crazy with the spices. Keep the hopping level restrained. Don’t let fermentation temperatures rise too high. Don’t sour the beer excessively. Your beer should be flavorful, but all the flavors should be balanced.
Dark Winter Saison
Saisons are traditionally a warm weather drink, but a few of us have a tradition of getting together each fall to brew a strong, dark, spiced saison. Each year’s version has a different dried fruit and dark malt. The blend of spices along with the earthiness of the Brettanomyces and buckwheat honey make for an almost savory beer. Brett C is a good complement to the Dupont strain because it helps to dry out the beer.
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.
Magic Rock Brewing’s Salty Kiss clone
2014 World Beer Cup – Gold (Fruit Wheat Beer). Magic Rock Brewing is located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK
Roadhouse Brewing Co.’s Saison en Regalia clone
2014 Great American Beer Festival – Silver (Belgian-Style Fruit Beer)
Funkwerks, Inc.’s Raspberry Provincial clone
2014 Great American Beer Festival – Gold (Belgian-Style Fruit Beer)
Weizen Trippelbock
Inspired by The Livery’s Trippel Weizenbock. Steve Berthel told us that, “Most lagers do not use black patent, chocolate, or roast barley in the recipes. I favor a two-hour boil with dark crystal malts to achieve the raisiny, toffee flavors.” He combines extra dark 155–165 °L English crystal malt with bready German base malts (malted wheat, Pilsner, Vienna, and dark Munich). Moderate hopping with Perle and Tettnang provide the balance. Mike’s second attempt to dial in this recipe is currently resting in a 5-gallon (19-L) malt whisky barrel from Balcones Distillery in Texas.
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.
pFriem Family Brewers’ Hefeweizen clone
Two different Pilsner malts, two wheat malts, two noble hops, and one yeast strain make this a simple but compelling recipe.