Saison w/ Juniper Berries Brewday

We’re already into round two of the Great Saison Chain of Being, and it ain’t even the New Year yet. And this is the first seasonal saison—or saisonal, which is a new term I am coining—that will be part of the Great Saison Chain of Being, aka next year’s extended brewing project. I can’t say all saisons all the time, but they’ll be more saisons than you can shake a stick at. And that is quite a few, let me tell you.

164. Saison w/ Juniper Berries
Mash:
6 lbs. MFB Pilsen
3 lbs. Best Malz Spelt
1 lb. Weyermann Acidulated
1 oz. crushed juniper berries

Mash @ 152° F for 90 minutes w/ 3 gallons RO water & 4 g. gypsum; collected almost 2 gallons @ 1.078
Batch sparge @ 163° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water & 2 g. gypsum; collected 4 gallons @ 1.028

Collected 6 gallons; topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:
w/60 to go: 2 ozs. Citra leaf 13.4% AA

w/10 to go: ½ lb. table sugar
1 oz. crushed juniper berries

Chilled & racked onto yeast cake from Wyeast 3726 Farmhouse from 162. Saison w/ Spelt

Primary: 12/24/2013 @ 76° F

Secondary: 1/3/2014 @ 1.010; added 1 oz. juniper berries

Bottled: 1/31/2014 w/ 4.0 oz. table sugar

OG: 1.050

FG: 1.006

Tasting Notes (6/17/2014): So I’ve been a bit negligent in updating many recent beers. I wish I had some compelling justification to offer, but alas, I do not. Mostly life, and the likes. So on to the beer! Saison with juniper berries pours a hazy but bright golden straw; there is an abundant white head that has good retention and laces the glass nicely. The nose is peppery and spicy with an underlying floral creaminess that is almost herbal and almost evergreen. As it warms, these do coalesce into a more distinct juniper aroma, but initially, the juniper is rather hard to pick out. Flavors follow the nose; the front is dry and crackery on the tongue, quickly shifting to floral pepper and spice with evergreen and herbal hints in the middle. There is also some hop bitterness in the middle, and a dry, creamy spiciness that runs into the finish. Both the body and mouthfeel are dry, accentuated in part by the bright carbonation and the spicy evergreen. Still, the floral and creamy elements do hang around, even as the beer warmed. As a whole, this is a good beer, but not quite what I expected. The juniper is much less apparent in this beer than I anticipated; while it is there, it blends almost seamlessly with the yeast and the hops, coming across more as yeast-derived pepper and spice and/or hop-derived herbal and evergreen flavors than anything that might definitively be labeled juniper. And it was this way when I had the first beer as well—it is not like the juniper has been lost since it was bottled. In one sense, the harmonious marriage here is quite pleasant; while dry, the beer is balanced and has interesting flavors. On the other hand, the distinctiveness of the juniper is lost amongst the many other flavors present in the beer—if you didn’t know you were supposed to be looking for juniper, it would easily be lost in the shuffle. The juniper does come out a bit more as the beer warms—halfway through the bottle (which was a 750 ml), it became more distinctive in the final third of the beer, and even lingered a bit on the back of the tongue and the throat. As well, while there is  residual mouthfeel via the glycerol production of the yeast, it is certainly drier than some of the other saison yeasts I’ve experimented with, specifically 3711, which, while dry, always comes across as more juicy and rounded, even with a lower FG. Maybe the auxiliary ingredients in this beer (specifically the juniper) have influenced my perceptions of other elements of this beer as a whole. I’m not certain. What I do know is this: this yeast warrants more experimentation. While it may take me a bit to get back to it, I certainly intend to revisit it, as it is worth understanding this yeast in more detail. 

344. Rogue John John Juniper Ale

Lucky number 13: we continue to pile up massive numbers on Rogue; this beer is the second in the John John series, and our thirteenth Rogue beer for the year. The run down includes First Growth Single Malt Ale, Dead Guy, Shark Tooth Ale, John John Dead Guy, Mogul Madness, Dirtoir Black Lager, Yellow Snow IPA, Chipotle Ale, First Growth Wet Hop Ale, Juniper Pale Ale, Maierfest and Capt’n Sig’s Northwestern Ale. Is there a Rogue we won’t drink? Until they make a vomit flavored beer, we don’t think so...

Triple J pours the color of toasty bread crust, and is a bit hazy with a fine creamy white head; the carbonation is small and bright in the glass. The nose is lightly bready, but only lightly—there is not much going on in the nose, at least not when first poured. Flavors begin with a light soft toasty breadiness in the front; the middle has some dryness and bitterness and a light juniper flavor that lingers into the finish, which has a more pronounced bitterness as well as a light spruce flavor. The bitterness and the spruce linger on the palate; as they dissipate, there is a light alcohol/gin flavor that emerges at the back of the throat. John John Juniper has a medium body with a creamy, soft mouthfeel, and the carbonation is bright in the glass but soft in the mouth. Overall, Triple J is clean and very well balanced, although not much different than the regular Juniper Pale Ale. In fact, the only really perceptible difference is the presence of the spruce flavor that mutes the juniper (either that, or a bit less overall juniper flavor), and the light alcohol/gin taste that lingers after the beer leaves the palate. As well, we are very glad to see that while Rogue continues to experiment, that they are not just running full-tilt into the gi-normous big beer craze—John John Juniper is subtle, nuanced, and an easy-drinkin’, well-made beer. Keep on keepin’ on, Rogue.

Here’s the pint of John John Juniper I had in SF

From the Rogue website: “In their second collaboration effort, Rogue Master Brewer, John Maier, and Master Distiller, John Couchot are releasing John John Juniper Pale Ale. This ale consists of Rogue Juniper Pale Ale aged in Rogue’s Juniper Gin barrels. Gin lovers will recognize the oddity in this approach – gin is not typically aged in barrels.To craft this unique brew, John Couchot aged the Gin in oak barrels so the barrels can soak up the flavor of the gin. The barrels are then emptied and rolled by forklift from the Rogue Distillery to the Rogue Brewery. John Maier later fills these barrels with Juniper Pale Ale so that his creation can absorb the gin flavors from the barrel.”

IBU: 34
OG: 13° P
Malts: Harrington, Crystal, Triumph, C-15, & Rogue Micro Barley Farm Dare
Hops: Sterling, Golding, Amarillo, & Rogue Farm Willamette
Other ingredients: Juniper Berries

(6/9/10)

264. Midnight Sun CoHoHo Imperial IPA

Back in the day when I was a teenager, before I had status and before I had a pager...Oh wait, that was something else. This beer here is our second beer from Midnight Sun—the last one being Sockeye Red IPA. I’m sensing some sort of theme with the whole salmon thing they got going on.

CoHoHo has a heavy caramel malt nose with a slight sappy or piney quality; the color is a reddish copper with a creamy ivory head that sticks around and laces the glass. The beer opens with a sweet thick caramel malt that is mixed with some slight spiciness; the middle has brown sugar sweetness and bitterness from the hops, while the finish is piney—either from the juniper or the hops—as well as dry and slightly harsh, but with a good amount of residual sweetness—the finish is not very clean. The body is medium, but a bit sticky on the palate. While the head retention is good, the carbonation is medium to low; as Elli observes, any carbonation is “fighting an uphill battle against this beer.” I think she is referring to the stickiness and residual sweetness, which does give CoHoHo a heavier presence on the palate than it actually has. While CoHoHo has potential, there is not quite enough pay off in the flavor in regards to the thickness of the body. We may need to drink this in more appropriate weather—it is described as warding off winter woes on the label—but we’re not sure the temperature would improve our ability to enjoy CoHoHo, and we’re pretty certain we’re not trekking to Alaska in the middle of winter to try it there. We do (or at least I do) like the label—the crazy coho salmon with a Santa hat and psychedelic eyes is totally awesome. We’re (or at least I am) making this one a Top 10 Best Label contender.

From the label: “CoHoHo Imperial IPA is a true American Double India Pale Ale, designed & crafted to ward off those way North winter woes. While exuberant hops add punch to an abundant malt base, bonus ingredients—like brown sugar, hoeny and juniper berries—boost character, complexity and holiday spirit. Make merry all winter long!”

From the Midnight Sun website: “When the loveable ‘hopheads’ at Humpy’s Great Alaskan Alehouse requested a winter version of alehouse favorite Sockeye Red IPA, our brewers instinctively spawned CoHoHo Imperial IPA. CoHoHo begins with generous measures of pale two-row and specialty malts along with spirit-boosters like brown sugar and honey. Hefty doses of Cascade, Centennial and Simcoe hops beautifully balance that outrageous malt bill while juniper berries heighten the festive character of this exuberant beer. Make Merry all Winter Long...”

ABV: 8.0%
IBU: 85
Malt: Pale 2-row, Various Special Malts
Hops: Cascade, Centennial, & Simcoe
Other: Brown Sugar, Maple Syrup, Honey, & Juniper Berries

(3/21/2010)

133. Rogue Juniper Pale Ale

Our third beer from Rogue—we’ve had Maierfest and Capt’n Sig’s Northwestern Ale—does this make us official members of the Rogue nation? I'm certain they’ll be a good deal more Rogue before the year is done...

Rogue Juniper has a delicious bready malty nose and a hazy gold color with a creamy off-white head. Starting with a dry, biscuity front, Juniper Pale Ale moves into bitterness along with pine, resin, and spicy flavors in the middle—the mixture of hop flavor with the pine of the juniper is well done here, and really plays well with the bready malt flavors. The finish is clean, moving dry to bitter with lingering spiciness. Juniper Pale Ale has a medium to light mouthfeel that starts soft in the front but finishes with some carbonation bite in the end. A solid, well balanced beer; we’d drink this all the time if Rogue didn’t paint their bottles. On the British side of the pale ale family with the biscuit malt and lower hop aroma and flavor profile, but still some smooth smooth drinking.

From Rogue’s website: “A pale ale, saffron in color with a smooth malt balance, floral aroma with a dry spicy finish from whole juniper berries.

The Turkey was named the official bird of the Rogue Nation in August 2007. To commemorate the momentous occasion, Rogue Juniper Pale Ale was dedicated to ‘the turkey in each of us.’ An axe and the dedication have been added to the serigraphed 22oz bottle and Juniper Pale Ale tap stickers.

The Pilgrims were ale drinkers and most likely enjoyed beer at the first Thanksgiving. Juniper Pale Ale, like all Rogue products preserves water by using more ingredients, contains no chemicals, additives or preservatives and uses Free Range Coastal Water.”

OG: 13° P
IBU: 34
Malts: Northwest Harrington, Crystal, Triumph, Maier Munich, C-15
Hops: Styrian Golding & Amarillo
Other: Juniper berries

(11/10/2009)