Hibiscus Saison Brewday

This is an experiment that I’ve been meaning to do for a while, but am only finally getting to it now. Nothing like adult obligations to put your life into perspective. Anyway, I am declaring this my Spring saisonal, the second saisonal of the year and the fourth beer in the ever-growing Great Saison Chain of Being. That beer does look a bit creepy in the carboy, doesn’t it?

173. Hibiscus Saison
Mash:
3 lbs. Dingemanns Pilsner
3 lbs. Best Malz Spelt
2 ¼ lbs MFB Pilsner
1 lb. Weyermann Acidulated
½ lb. flaked barley

Mash @ 151° F for 80 minutes w/ 3 gallons RO water & 5 g. gypsum; collected 1 ½ gallons @ 1.072
Batch sparge @ 168° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water & 5 g. gypsum; collected 4 gallons @ 1.024

Collected 5 ½ gallons; topped off to 6 ¾ gallons, brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:
w/60 to go: 1 ½ oz. Willamette leaf 7.8% AA

w/15 to go: 1 oz. Styrian Golding pellet 2.0% AA

w/10 to go: 3 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

½ lb. table sugar

w/0 to go: Styrian Golding pellet 2.0% AA
2.5 oz. hibiscus leaves

Let sit for 20 minutes; chilled and racked onto Yeast Bay Wallonian Farmhouse from 172. Saison

Primary: 3/17/2014 @ 72° F

Secondary: 4/12/2014 @ 1.004

Bottled: 6/2/2014 w/ 4 oz. table sugar

OG: 1.044

FG: 1.004

Tasting Notes: The idea behind this beer—using hibiscus in a saison—is good, but this particular version is not that good. I don’t like the Wallonian Farmhouse yeast (I didn’t like it much in 172 either), which probably colors my perception, although the hibiscus does cover over some of the burnt phenolics I get from the yeast in the other beer with this yeast. The beer pours a dirty pink, with a voluminous, long-lasting head that carries a slight pink hint. The nose is floral with a slight fruit tartness—I’d call it hibiscus, but that is a bit obvious—and some slight creaminess backed with pepper. The beer is bright and tart on the tongue—from both the hibiscus and the acidulated malt—with just a hint of body after the crisp bite from the carbonation. Flavors open with a floral fruitiness that is slightly cherry, and transition into pepper and dry cracker. The finish is rustic and a bit uneven—it is slightly scratchy via the carbonation, and not as clean as it needs to be, although there is a bit of lingering hibiscus sourness that makes up for it. There are some flavor components in the final third that I can’t quite put my finger on—a slight burnt flavor mixed with what I’ll labeling the intangible yeast elements—that make me label this beer pedestrian. The hibiscus components are solid; I’ll certainly revisit that part of this beer, as well as the grain bill. I’m just going to find another yeast to try, and maybe add something small like a couple grams of grains of paradise at flameout with the last hop addition. So close to wonderful, but missing that element that brings it all together. Stupid Wallonian Farmhouse.