Recipe

Mikes Best Saison

Mike’s Best Saison

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.070 FG = 1.010
IBU = 40 SRM = 4–5 ABV = 7.7%

Ingredients
12.0 lb (5.5 kg) Belgian Pilsner malt (1.4–1.8 °L)
0.9 lb (0.4 kg) CaraPils malt (6–9 °L)
1.5 lb (0.7 kg) Vienna malt (3–4 °L)
9.1 AAU German Perle hops (60 min) (1.3 oz./37 g of 7% alpha acids)
3.8 AAU English Kent Goldings hops (10 min)(0.75 oz./21 g of 5% alpha acids)
1.3 AAU English Kent Goldings hops (0 min) (0.25 oz./7 g of 5% alpha acids)
1.8 AAU Czech Saaz hops (0 min) (0.5 oz./14 g of 3.5% alpha acids)
1 tsp coriander (coarsely crushed)
1 tsp sweet orange peel (coarsely crushed)
White Labs WLP565 (Belgian Saison) or Wyeast 3724 (Belgian Saison) yeast

Step by Step
Mash grains at 152 °F (67 °C) for 90 minutes. Boil wort for 75 minutes adding hops per scheduled times and spices with 5 minutes left in boil. Cool wort to room temperature and drain or rack the wort off of the trub. Aerate the cool wort with as much air or pure oxygen as possible. Ferment at 75 °F (24 °C) for 3 weeks in the primary and 3 weeks in the secondary.

Issue: July-August 2005

Part wit bier, part saison…we’ll call it a spiced saison. No matter how you want to classify it, it’s a recipe inspired by the Belgians.