brewlog_2012-04-06.txt

== Recipe mods ==
Mini-mash + extract, as per the recipe, but linearly scaled down 50%.

Malt: Weyermann's Pale Wheat and Pilsner Malt (both ecologic)
Yeast: 3724 Belgian Saison (Wyeast Activator)

Also adding protafloc.

Adding sliiiightly more hops than the recipe prescribes to compensate
for the hops having been in the freezer for a couple of weeks. Roughly
16g of each type.

Everything else according to the scaled recipe.


== Brew day (2012-04-06) ==

Rikard helping out today. We got started around 11:30 and immediately
activated the yeast (made sure to take it out of the fridge about an
hour earlier).

It was pretty tricky keeping the temperature at 67 C. We went way
above several times. Doing such a small mini-mash was perhaps not all
that smart.

After mash and rinse we bumped up the volume to roughly 10
liters. Boil started at 13:40.

65 minute boil. Aroma hops added about 3 minutes before flame
out. Cooled to 20 C. Gave us about 7.5l so we topped up to 9.5 - 10
liters.

Poured back and forth between two buckets a couple of times to
aerate. Added yeast. Poured back and forth one more time and then
sealed the bucket.

Will ferment this in a wardrobe in the apartment, since the previous
batch seemed to stall in the basement.

OG: 1.062

== Inspection (2012-04-21) ==

The temperature in the wardrobe has been at a very stable 19 C, but
this batch has still not fermented out.

SG: 1.030

I sprinkled a package of Safale S05 over it to help it along. It was
bubbling away the day after and I thiiiink it'll be fine. Question is
if it'll reach an acceptable FG before I go to Thailand for vacation
on the 26th.

== Bottling (2012-05-05) ==

I was on vacation in Thailand, so Rikard handled the bottling. He
didn't do a hydrometer reading, so no idea if the dry yeast addition
helped. Will check SG of the beer when I crack the first bottle open.

== Sampling (2012-05-27) ==

Big foamy head. Nice saisony amber colour, a bit on the red
side. Slightly hazy.

The smell is saisony, but not very much so. Some yeasty notes in
there.

Tastes great. The saison flavour is clearly there (thank you Wyeast
3724) but it's very modest and not at all overpowering. Discreet and
pleasant bitterness. Light bodied, very drinkable. Not as sweet as
some saisons tend to be (could be the addition of US-05 that I have to
thank for that).

All in all, this is a very nice beer. I think the low fermentation
temperature may actually have been a big win for this brew. It's not
overly spicy, not packed to the brim with estery flavours, not overly
sweet. A very polite Saison.