Little Animals Beer Project’s Saisonolatry clone
Little Animals Beer Project’s Saisonolatry clone, All-Grain
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.048 FG = 1.002
IBU = 38 SRM = 3 ABV = 6%
Little Animals Beer Project was (and will be again soon) located in Johnson City, Tennessee, and specializes in saison and other Belgian styles, always leaning toward tradition. Chris Cates, Owner and Head Brewer, came along with me to Belgium in 2022 where we brewed collaborations with Brasserie de la Senne and the legendary Fantôme, absorbing everything and bringing it all back to Little Animals Beer Project. Chris is a big proponent of dry yeast and blending two or more dry yeasts to get just the profile he intends, as called for in this recipe.
Saisonolatry is a traditional saison. Chris gives pointers for modifying to your taste and preference if you so choose.
Ingredients
7 lbs. (3.2 kg) Dingemans Pilsner malt
2.3 lbs. (1 kg) spelt malt (or wheat malt if not available)
8 oz. (230 g) flaked rye
8 oz. (230 g) rice hulls
5.2 AAU Nugget hops (90 min.) (0.4 oz./11 g at 13% alpha acids)
6 AAU Willamette hops (15 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 6% alpha acids)
1 oz. (28 g) Willamette hops (whirlpool)
SafAle S-33 yeast and SafAle BE-134 yeast
1 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by step
Mill grains (minus the flaked rye and rice hulls) and mash at 145–148 °F (63–64 °C) for 60 minutes. Recirculate until runnings are clear and sparge until you collect enough in your kettle that your post-boil volume should be 6 gallons (23 L) after a 90-minute boil. Boil and add hops as indicated.
After the boil, add the whirlpool addition and stir gently, then allow to rest for 20 minutes. Chill the wort to 68 °F (20 °C), transfer to your fermenter, aerate, and pitch yeast. Allow the fermentation temperature to free rise to as high as 82 °F (28 °C). During the first day or two of fermentation limit back pressure on the yeast by running a blow-off tube to an empty vessel or loosely covering with foil, then airlock as normal once temperature stabilizes. When fermentation is complete and gravity is stable, transfer to a bottling vessel, prime with sugar targeting 3–3.4 volumes of CO2, and package in heavy pressure-rated bottles (Champagne or similar).
Alternatively, keg and prime with about 75% of the sugar you normally would. Store bottles or kegs warm and expect carbonation to be complete in about two weeks.
Partial mash option:
Reduce Pilsner malt to 3 lbs. (1.3 kg), eliminate the rice hulls, and add 2.2 lbs. (1 kg) Pilsner dried malt extract.
Add grains to a grain bag and mash in 2 gallons (7.6 L) water at 146 °F (63 °C) for an hour. Pull the grains, allowing the bag to drip into the kettle. Then add water and malt extract to bring full volume up to 6.5 gallons (24.5 L) in the kettle. Boil 90 minutes, adding hops as indicated. Follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe.
Notes From the Brewer:
This beer is heavily inspired by my heroes in Belgium, with a subtle American hopping twist that I feel plays into the “use what’s in your backyard” ethos of farmhouse brewing.
Use this recipe as a base to play with your own ideas! For hops, try going in a West Coast-inspired direction, even incorporating a light dry hop or New Zealand/Southern Hemisphere hops. Of course, American noble-ish hops like Willamette, Crystal, and U.S. Tettnanger work great, or you could go classic European.
For yeast, you can sub LalBrew Belle Saison for the SafAle BE-134 to lean the yeast character more bright citrus and less earthy (this works well when doing a more modern hop take). Also try SafAle T-58/S-33 — with this blend you can expect a higher final gravity but push IBUs much higher, taking the beer into more Belgian IPA territory. With this blend I like to get at least 4–6 gravity points from sugar and run IBUs at least 1:1 with the gravity. As always, have fun with it and drink saison!
– Chris Cates, Owner & Head Brewer
