The Bruery: Terreux Saison Rue clone

The Bruery: Terreux Saison Rue clone

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.065   FG = 1.001
IBU = 28   SRM = 8   ABV = 8.5%

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.

Ingredients
7.5 lbs. (3.4 kg) Great Western 2-row pale malt
3.5 lbs. (1.6 kg) Weyermann rye malt
4.8 oz. (136 g) Bairds brown malt
1.9 lbs. (0.86 kg) dextrose sugar (0 min.)
9.8 AAU German Magnum hops (first wort hop) (0.64 oz./18 g at 15.2% alpha acids)
3.9 AAU Sterling hops (0 min.) (0.55 oz./16 g at 7.1% alpha acids)
0.2 oz. (6 g) dried spearmint leaves (20 min.)
1⁄2 Whirlfloc® tablet (10 min.)
1⁄2 tsp. yeast nutrients (10 min.)
White Labs WLP570 (Belgian Golden Ale) or Wyeast 1388 (Belgian Strong Ale) or The Bruery’s house yeast strain (see “Tips for Success”)
Your favorite strain of Brettanomyces bruxellensis
7⁄8 cup (175 g) dextrose (if priming)

Step by Step
Mill the grains and dough-in, targeting a mash of around 1.3 quarts of water to 1 pound of grain and a temperature of 150 °F (66 °C). Hold the mash at 150 °F (66 °C) until enzymatic conversion is complete. Sparge slowly with 170 °F (77 °C) water, collecting wort until the pre-boil kettle volume is 6 gallons (23 L). Add first wort hops towards the beginning of the lauter. Boil time is 60 minutes, adding the mint with 20 minutes left in the boil. Add Whirlfloc® and yeast nutrient with 10 minutes left in the boil. At flameout, start a whirlpool and add the whirlpool hops and dextrose. After a 20-minute whirlpool, chill the wort to 65 °F (18 °C) and aerate thoroughly. Pitch rate is 750,000 cells per mL per degree Plato, or approximately 2 packages of liquid yeast. Allow the fermentation to raise the overall fermentation temperature to 85 °F (29 °C). When time to package, pitch 2 million cells per mL of Brett Brux to the bottling bucket and prime to bottle condition. Aim to carbonate the beer to around 2.8 volumes of CO2 (the conditioning with Brett will likely make it higher over time, use sturdy bottles meant to withstand high volumes of CO2).

Extract only option:
Substitute all of the malts in the all-grain recipe with 3 lbs. (1.36 kg) extra light dried malt extract and 3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) rye liquid malt extract. Add 6 gallons (23 L) of water to your kettle and start to bring to a boil. When the temperature reaches about 180 °F (82 °C), add the first wort hops. When the water comes to a boil, remove from the heat and add the dried and liquid malt extracts, and stir thoroughly to dissolve the extract completely. Turn the heat back on boil for 60 minutes. Follow the remaining portion of the all-grain recipe.

Tips for Success:
The Bruery’s Experimental Brewer Andrew Bell states, “Saison Rue is one of the first beers we ever produced. It was batch 4 for us (3/17/2008), and it has changed some over the years. It has always had mint and Brett. The malt has always been a blend of 2-row, rye and a small percentage of some sort of highly toasted malt (we used Special Roast in 2008, but from April 2009 onwards we have been using brown malt, usually between 1–2%). Explore different malt bills in similar percentages! Rye is sticky! Saison Rue is usually not a problem beer for us, but depending on your system, rice hulls would probably be a good idea. We tend to mash on the more acidic side of things. Initially the sugar addition in the whirlpool was a house-made inverted sugar. Since July 2009 we have used dextrose.

“Knockout and fermentation temperatures have changed over time. We used to start with a very cold knockout (50–55 °F/10–13 °C) and let it free rise up to 85 °F (29 °C). The ramping up of temperature during ferment (starting cold) lets our proprietary house yeast produce a more interesting phenol and ester saison profile than if we were to maintain one temperature during fermentation (would just taste more Belgian-y). Currently we KO at 65 °F (18 °C) and allow to free rise to 85 °F (29 °C).

“Our house yeast that we use for primary fermentation is proprietary, but could be harvested from some of our other bottles (fresh Trade Winds or Jardinier or Mischief would be good places to start). White Labs WLP570 is probably the closest commercial example, but will probably behave differently. You can experiment with adding Lactobacillus (we are experimenting with this with our new Terreux Sour/Farmhouse Brand). Personal preference on yeast supplier of Brett Brux used at packaging. Experiment with other/multiple varieties of Brett. Target CO2 at release is 2.8 volumes, but as it ages it keeps picking up carbonation (well above 3 volumes). Use appropriately thick glass if bottling!

“The mint addition is inspired by several different mildly spiced traditional Belgian saisons (including beers from Brasserie Vapeur). We also use the mint as a self-check mechanism to ensure that we do not release Saison Rue too early. Patrick likes to say that if you can still taste mint over the Brett, then it is not ready to release. We usually bottle condition for 6 months prior to release. If using fresh herbs, you would need a higher dosage rate.”