Saison de Rye: Tasting Notes

Appearance: Light golden color, clean with perhaps a very very slight haze -- as to be expected with the style. Nicely carbonated, with a thin white head that lasts the whole drinking experience.

Aroma: Fruity with that classic saison, farmhouse aroma.

Taste: Lightly fruity with that great saison, farmhouse flavor. A very slight, bready sweetness lingers throughout, but quickly gives way to a pleasant and refreshing hop bitterness. The spiciness of the rye also comes through nicely, but doesn't overwhelm. Each sip finishes dry. Medium bodied.

Final Thoughts: I really nailed this one! Very reminiscent of Door County Brewing's Biere de Siegle, which is exactly what I was going for. In fact, I'd go so far as to call this a clone recipe. Overall, the beer is a great balance of lightly fruity aroma and flavor that is refreshingly bitter. Right on style. I'm hard-pressed to think of a single thing I'd change, except that I wish I made more!

Lost Dog IPA - 1st Annual Brew and Smoke

Kicking off Brew and Smoke. Mashing in.

Brew date: June 6, 2015
#38 - 6.5 gal

What is best in life?

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women. - Conan the Barbarian

I'd also add beer and meat to that list. These - and crushing your enemies - were the inspiration for the 1st Annual Brew and Smoke.

My buddy Eric brought over his meat smoker and cooked up some great ribs, while I worked on brewing an IPA for mid-summer. Friends Wes and Kevin mostly hung around to eat and drink. (Not that I blame them.) Stephanie and Alyssa joined us later for dinner and to play with the baby.

We had a beautiful summer day. So beautiful, in fact, that we were joined by a pair of runaway dogs. I'm not sure what the other one was named, but I corralled "Taco." (Great name for a dog.) They had come a long way, at least a mile or two, according to the frazzled owner. The smell of delicious ribs acted as a magnet, no doubt.

Overall, the ribs turned out great, and brewing went without incident. Let's do this again next year!

Lost Dog IPA

Having lately sampled a number of IPA's with more tropical notes (we supped on Karben4's Fantasy Factory during the brew session) I wanted to emphasize the same in this recipe. The classic citrus and pine will still be there, but I hope to also draw out other notes like pineapple and mango. All of this provided a great excuse to use a few hop varieties I haven't yet worked with: Galaxy, topaz, and falconer's flight.

I decided to forgo any mid-to-late boil hop additions and strictly first wort hop (galaxy and topaz) with a very small amount at boil (simcoe). Then round out the end by adding the majority at or just before whirlpool. I'll dry-hop with another generous assortment for a week or so before bottling.

Kettle leftovers.

Ingredients:
10 lb 2-row malt (Briess)
6 lb Pale ale malt (Briess)
0.5 lb Carapils (Briess)
0.5 lb Caramel 40L (Briess)
0.5 oz Topaz (16.5%, pellet) (FWH)
0.5 oz Galaxy (15%, pellet) (FWH)
0.25 oz Simcoe (12.3%, pellet) (60)
0.5 Falconer's Flight Blend (9.9%, pellet) (5)
0.5 oz Chinook (13.1%, pellet) (5)
0.5 oz Galaxy (15%, pellet) (5)
0.25 oz Simcoe (12.3%, pellet) (5)

1 t Irish moss (15)
1.5 L Wyeast 1056 American Ale yeast starter

Dry Hop:
0.5 oz Topaz (16.5%, pellet)
0.5 Falconer's Flight Blend (9.9%, pellet)
0.5 oz Simcoe (12.3%, pellet)
0.5 oz Chinook (13.1%, pellet)
1 oz Galaxy (15%, pellet)
0.75 oz Centennial (8.7%, pellet)

Brew buddy. Thanks for helping!

Water:
Brewer's Friend calculator profile
5.5 gal filtered water
5 gal RO water
8 g Gypsum

Schedule:
Mash in 6 gal @ 162F
Sacc rest @ 151F (60)
Mash out (10)
Batch sparge 4.5 gal (10)
Boil (60)

Target:
OG 1.070
FG: 1.018
ABV: 6.95%
IBU: 69

Brew buddy. Not as helpful.

Observations:
First runnings: 3.5 gal @ 1.085
Pre-boil: 7.5 gal @ 1.063
OG: 1.074
5.5 gal collected

Fermentation:
Chill to 64F
First 24 hr: Free rise to 66F. Warm to 68F.
6/7/15: Temp risen to 70/72F at 3 pm. Begin to chill.
6/8/15: Temp at 68F at 7 am. Remove chill and maintain.

Saison de Rye [bottled]

Bottle date: May 3, 2015

Saison de Rye
Desired CO2: 2.3 vol (4 gal @ 60F)
OG: 1.009

• 81 g corn sugar
• 1.5 c filtered water

DCB Saison de Rye
(Desired CO2: 2.3 vol (2 gal @ 60F)
OG: 1.006

• 40 g corn sugar
• 0.5 c filtered water