Brew Day Today

Brewed up my saison/brett C batch today. Did a 10 gallon batch split into 2 6 gallon carboys. One carboy had a 2L starter pitched in it and the other had a pack of Wyeast Brettanomyces Clausseni pitched in it. OG was under shot (because I got about an extra gallon, must have calculated wrong) by 2 points. 1.055. Should have been 1.057 but 2 points isn't a huge deal. The mash started at 151 and went down about 2 degrees in 60min. This should be super tasty. A super light dry saison for the summer and a nice beer with pineapple and tropical fruit tartness in about 8 months. Cant wait.

I recommend that anyone considering jumping into all grain, start off with equipment big enough to do 10 gallon batches. You can do 2 different beers like I did today or have a bunch more beer in the same amount of time. Plus you will want to upgrade later anyway.

In the picture I ended up jerry riggin up a 3 tier system with 2 coolers I had laying around. I need to build a sparge arm so I can fly sparge. I just slowly poured the water from the top cooler to the bottom one though.

Saison/Brett C Experiment

For my next beer I plan to brew this week I am going to brew a traditional Saison for the first half of the batch and throw Wyeast 5151-PC Brettanomyces claussenii (Brett C) that just came out this month in the second half. Here is the recipe:

10 gallon batch
All grain
68% Efficiency
Anticipated OG: 1.058
Anticipated FG: 1.017

16Lbs Pilsner 72.73%
4Lbs Munich 10L 18.18%
2Lbs Corn Sugar (Dry it out)

2oz Northern Brewer @ 30min (22.4 IBU)
2 oz Willamette @ 5min (3.8 IBU)

Mash in @ 150 for 60 min
Batch Sparge

I will split the batch into 2 6 gallon primaries and pitch a 2L starter of White Labs Saison 1 yeast into one and then the Wyeast 5151-PC Brettanomyces claussenii into the other and leave that one alone for at least 6 months.

Here is the yeast profile on the Brett C:
Beer Styles: Lambics, Geuze, Fruit Lambic, Flanders Red Ale
Profile: Isolated from English stock ale, this wild yeast produces a mild Brett character with overtones of tropical fruit and pineapple. It ferments best in worts with a reduced pH after primary fermentation has begun. May form a pellicle in bottles or casks. Typically used in conjunction with other yeast and lactic acid bacteria.

Alc. Tolerance 12% ABV
Flocculation medium
Attenuation 80%
Temperature Range 60-75°F (15-24°C)

I am only going to use the Brett C as the primary yeast and make a 100% bret beer and hopefully get some good tropical fruit/pineapple from it. I have heard it can be used in a 100% brett beer and has good results.

The Saison I plan to ferment vey high. At 80F to get a lot of good spicy characters from the yeasts. I chose such a simple recipe because I dont think farmers in France/Belgium where it originated from really dropped a bunch of crap in their beers and I am going to let the yeast shine in this one. I want it light crisp and refreshing. I will report back with pictures and how it turned out later...