The Gasket-style bottle is a donation from my brother to bottle the Saison. I was worried about the high attenuation of the yeast causing excess pressure in the standard American 12 oz. bottle, so I bottled all 5 gallons in the gasket-top bottles.
The head on the Saison was very white, and was kind of rocky due to the malted wheat used as a specialty grain. The aroma was very appealing, with a lot of spicy notes and a very slight banana aroma.
I was also worried that it wouldn't be fully carbonated by this point, since the fermentation took extra time, but I was dead wrong, as the beer was very carbonated, with a nice, sharp mouthfeel.
The flavor was very up-front, and was spicy, with notes of all the yeast qualities you'd expct in a farmhouse ale. This is definitely a Saison. My brother will be pleased.
The hardest part of having a beer like this in your cellar is keeping a beer like this in your cellar. I will be tempted to drink it whenever I can, but I kind of want to save it for special occasions.
I know I plan on having some of this left for Christmas, just in case Joe makes it into the country for the Holidays. I'll be sending him as much as I can as soon as I can. Keep watching the Thirsty Pilgrim for him to taste this beer and write his review. He's a bit more practiced at describing what he tastes in a beer.
Tomorrow, I'll be brewing a beer for my friends' wedding, which is at the end of the month. I've decided on a Belgian Wit. I contacted the boys at The Homebrewery in Ozark, Missouri, for a couple of tips, since their Wit Kit is absolutely delicious. Even before I contacted them, though, I had decided on an all-wheat extract beer with coriander, bitter orange, and some flaked oats. I also decided to add a little bit of malted wheat as a specialty grain to make the head retain a little better and make the head a little rockier.
All in all, my Belgian Wit will be about 5.5% ABV, about 16 IBU, and will be a bit darker than the standard Wit, but I anticipate a delicious beer. I will take a few pictures of the brewing tomorrow for you. Look for a post about it on Sunday.
Oh, yeah. I'm calling it the Lairdalee White Wedding Ale. I'm so clever.
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Awww, it's our baby!
ReplyDeleteShe's beautiful! And it sounds like she's nothing like her fraternal pale ale twin.
She isn't. I'm having a hard time not drinking her all up. I've saved you plenty, though, and am not drinking any more of her until you come and see her.
ReplyDelete