Table Saison w/ ADHA 529 Brewday

Another small, light, and eminently drinkable saison. Again, the perfect excuse to experiment with new hop varieties. Again, this beer will be excellent and so so drinkable. Again, I find myself talking to myself. Well, at least I have beer to drink while doing so.

219. Table Saison w/ ADHA 529

Mash:

4 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen

2 lbs. Best Malz Wheat

1 lb. MFB Vienna
½ lb. Acidulated 

Mash @ 150° F for 80 minutes w/ 3 gallons RO water, 4 g. gypsum, and 4 g. CaCl; collected 2 gallons @ 1.062

Batch sparge @ 168° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 ¼ @ 1.012

Collected 6 ¼ gallons; topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:
w/60 to go: ½ oz. ADHA 529 10.6% AA

w/20 to go: ½ oz. ADHA 529 10.6% AA

w/10 to go: ½ oz. ADHA 529 10.6% AA
5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

w/5 to go: ½ oz. ADHA 529 10.6% AA

w/0 to go: ½ oz. ADHA 529 10.6% AA

Let stand for 20 minutes, chilled, & racked onto 3276 yeast cake from 216. Table Saison w/ ADHA 484

Brewed: 10/4//2015

Secondary: 12/26/2015 @ 1.000; 219a. bottled 3 gallons w/ 3.0 oz. table sugar; 219b. dry-hopped 3 gallons w/ ½ oz. each of Pekko, Jarrylo, and Comet

Bottle: 12/31/2015 w/ 2.55 oz. table sugar (219b.)

OG: 1.036

FG: 1.000

Tasting Notes: When you don’t carefully label your carboys, this is what happens: you confuse a table saison and a cider and swap the plans for the secondary for each. Which is why this got split and dry-hopped with something besides ADHA 529, while 218. Iron Brewer Cider got dry-hopped with ADHA 529. Classy, yo. Yes, the taste should have given it away, but that assumes that I tasted them, doesn’t it? 

Iron Brewer Cider Brewday

Time for the yearly cider. Especially since I need to bottle the second half of the Barrel Cider from last year (the one sitting on a half pound of maltodextrin). As with my last one, I scored my cider at Peifer Orchards in Yellow Springs. Somebody got a new website.

218. Iron Brewer Cider

6 gallons Peifer Orchards cider

Dumped on top of yeast cake from 217. Iron Brewer Saison

Carboy: 10/3/2015

Barrel: 12/26/2015 @ .98; dry hopped w/ 1 ¼ oz. ADHA 529

Bottled: 12/31/15 w/ 3 ¼ oz. table sugar

OG: 1.060

FG: 0.98

Tasting Notes: When you don’t carefully label your carboys, this is what happens: you confuse a table saison and a cider and swap the plans for the secondary for each. Which is why this got dry-hopped with ADHA 529, and 219. Table Saison w/ ADHA 529 got split and dry-hopped with something besides ADHA 529. Yes, the taste should have given it away, but that assumes that I tasted them, doesn’t it? 

Iron Brewer Saison Brewday

More table saison brewing, this time with the ADHA hops that have already acquired themselves names, namely Pekko (ADHA 871) and Jarrylo (ADHA 881). You know, the cool kids on the block. Azacca already got some play recently around these parts, so it will have to wait its turn to get an ADHA shout out. Not sure what is going on with the Jarrylo logo (the hop is named after Jarilo, the Slavic god of fertility and springtime), but I do know that is less offensive than the Pekko logo, so I went with this one. And no, I won’t provide you a link to the Pekko logo. Go find it your damn self.

217. Iron Brewer Saison

Mash:

4 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen

2 lbs. Best Malz Wheat

1 lb. MFB Vienna
½ lb. Acidulated 

Mash @ 152° F for 80 minutes w/ 3 gallons RO water, 4 g. gypsum, and 4 g. CaCl; collected 2 gallons @ 1.058

Batch sparge @ 163° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 @ 1.020

Collected 6 gallons; topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:
w/60 to go: .4 oz. each of Pekko (15.4% AA) and Jarrylo (13.9% AA) pellet

w/20 to go: ½ oz. each of Pekko (15.4% AA) and Jarrylo (13.9% AA) pellet

w/10 to go: ½ oz. each of Pekko (15.4% AA) and Jarrylo (13.9% AA) pellet
5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

w/5 to go: ½ oz. each of Pekko (15.4% AA) and Jarrylo (13.9% AA) pellet

w/0 to go: ½ oz. each of Pekko (15.4% AA) and Jarrylo (13.9% AA) pellet

Let stand for 20 minutes, chilled, & pitched Iron Brewer yeast cake from 215b. Fresh Hop Iron Brewer

Brewed: 9/19/2015

Secondary: 10/4/2015 @ 1.004; dry-hopped w/ 1 oz. each of Pekko and Jarrylo pellet

Bottle: 10/9/2015 w/ 3 ¼ oz. table sugar

OG: 1.036

FG: 1.000

Tasting Notes: 

Table Saison w/ ADHA 484 Brewday

Now that the fresh hop beers have grown the yeast up, time to churn out some small, easy-drinking saisons. And nothing serves as a more perfect excuse to experiment with new hop varieties than a table saison. Learning never tasted so good. Plus, the dwarf hops are so gosh-darned cute!

216. Table Saison w/ ADHA 529

Mash:

4 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen

2 lbs. Best Malz Wheat

1 lb. MFB Vienna
½ lb. Acidulated 

Mash @ 150° F for 80 minutes w/ 3 gallons RO water, 4 g. gypsum, and 4 g. CaCl; collected 2 gallons @ 1.058

Batch sparge @ 163° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 ¼ @ 1.016

Collected 6 ¼ gallons; topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:
w/60 to go: ½ oz. ADHA 484 10.6% AA

w/20 to go: ½ oz. ADHA 484 10.6% AA

w/10 to go: ½ oz. ADHA 484 10.6% AA
5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

w/5 to go: ½ oz. ADHA 484 10.6% AA

w/0 to go: ½ oz. ADHA 484 10.6% AA

Let stand for 20 minutes, chilled, & racked to carboy and pitched Wyeast 3276 yeast cake from 215a. Fresh Hop Saison

Brewed: 8/30/2015

Secondary: 10/4/2015 @ 1.002; dry-hopped w/ 1 ¼ oz. ADHA 484 10.6% AA

Bottle: 10/9/2015 w/ 3 ¼ oz. table sugar

OG: 1.036

FG: 1.002

Tasting Notes: 

Smith Hop Fresh Hop Saison/Iron Brewer Brewday

While I will most likely not get around to brewing as many fresh hop beers as usual this year, I cannot stand by the wayside and watch the free Smith hops from next door go to waste, especially since I have such a long and storied history with them, and they are so so delicious. To complicate my brewing matters, I am also using this opportunity to make a split batch of beer and grow up some yeast to suitable pitch sizes. One is Wyeast 3276, their American Farmhouse, which is a pleasant, spicy, and slightly fruity saison yeast. The other is the Iron Brewer yeast created/blended by Brett Smith for the DRAFT club Iron Brewer brewing challenge that so ignominiously replaced the Rockit Cup. Whatever, haters. The Rockit Cup ain’t afraid of your Iron Brewer malarkey.

215. Saison/Iron Brewer Fresh Hop

Mash:

2 ¼ lbs. MFB Vienna
2 lbs. MFB Pale
2 lbs. Best Malz Wheat

1 ¼ lbs. Best Malz Pilsen

Mash @ 151° F for 80 minutes w/ 3 gallons RO water, 4 g. gypsum, and 4 g. CaCl; collected 1 ¾ gallons @ 1.062

Batch sparge @ 163° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 ¼ @ 1.022

Collected 6 gallons; topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:
FWH: 4 oz. fresh hops

w/20 to go: 4 oz. fresh hops

w/10 to go: 4 oz. fresh hops

w/0 to go: 4 oz. fresh hops

Let stand for 20 minutes, chilled, split into two three gallon carboys, and pitched Wyeast 3276 in one (215a.) and Iron Brewer yeast in the other (215b.)

215a. Fresh Hop Saison
Brewed: 8/16/2015

Secondary: 8/30/2015 @ 1.002

Bottle: 9/19/2015 w/ 1.2 oz. table sugar

OG: 1.036

FG: 1.002

215b. Fresh Hop Iron Brewer
Brewed: 8/16/2015

Secondary: 9/19/2015 @ 1.000

Bottle: 9/20/2015 w/ 1.2 oz. table sugar

OG: 1.036

FG: 1.000

Tasting Notes: 

Hibiscus Saison Brewday

Another in the long litany of summer saisons. I made a Hibiscus Saison last year, which was something of a dud—the yeast ended up being a huge disappointment, leaving me with a rather pedestrian beer—although the brightness and slight acidic sourness from the hibiscus and acidulated malt were delightful. Hence my interest in revisiting the beer. You can follow the link to read all about last year’s stupendous failure, but in this case, I’d let the past be the past. Like, move on, man. So here’s to moving on.

211. Hibiscus Saison

Mash:

4 lbs. Best Malz Pilsen

2 lbs. Best Malz Wheat

1 lb. MFB Vienna
½ lb. Acidulated 

Mash @ 152° F for 80 minutes w/ 3 gallons RO water and 6 g. gypsum; collected 2 ¼ gallons @ 1.060

Batch sparge @ 168° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 ½ gallons RO water; collected 4 ¼ gallons @ 1.012

Collected 6 ½ gallons; topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (70 minutes), & added:
w/60 to go: 1 ½ oz. Styrian Golding leaf 3.7% AA

w/10 to go: 5 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

w/0 to go: 1 oz. Styrian Golding leaf 3.7% AA

3 ½ oz. hibiscus 

Let stand for 20 minutes, chilled, & racked onto saison yeast cake from 210. Barrel American Saison w/ Dandelion Root

Brewed: 6/14/2015

Secondary: skipped

Bottle: 7/10/2015 w/ 3.0 oz. table sugar

OG: 1.036

FG: 1.002

Tasting Notes: This beer is straight drinking pleasure. 

Brewvet 2015: My Submission

So here it is, in all its masterful glory: my Brewvet summary for 2015. I covered 233.8 miles in eight rides, which is not too shabby, if I do say so myself. I hit a little bit of everything: a couple of breweries, a brewpub, a homebrew club meetings, a grocery store, and even managed to fit in a couple of your old fashioned hanging out on the lawn drinking beers after a bike ride. Well, really only one of those, as one was actually inside, and the other one got rained out. But the real winner—besides me for all the beer I got to drink along the way—is craft beer. And John Roche. Plus bicycling as well. Or even everyone’s fitness. So a lot of winners. And for those of you that may have missed any of the various rides along the way, here are quick, easy links to my eight different rides:

Brewvet 1: Yellow Springs Goat’s Eye IPA
Brewvet 2: Founders All Day IPA
Brewvet 3: Hoppy Brett Beer
Brewvet 4: Fifth Street Herbivore No. 2
Brewvet 5: DRAFT Homebrew Meeting
Brewvet 6: Warped Wing Tres Carnales
Brewvet 7: Blank Slate Movin’ On
Brewvet 8: Boulevard Radler

Probably my favorite part of this year’s Brewvet were the longer rides—I used the Brewvet as a chance to get out on some of the local bike trails I haven’t recently ridden. While the first couple of longer rides certainly hurt, the last one in particular was much easier. And those primed me for the 100+ mile I managed to complete a couple days ago, the first one that long in over twenty years. So thanks again to John Roche for combining beer and bicycling. It does make for good outdoor fun. Oh, and in the off chance that it is not self-evident, I “borrowed” the Brewvet graphic above from portajohn. Hope to see all of you out there next May for Brewvet 2016. 

(6/9/2015)