Maris Otter Smash Saison

No, but that sounds very interesting. I would say, go for it!

 

Not yet. But, I can be made curious.

 

Yes, it will work fine. Pilsner is traditional. Good beer can happen when you defy the laws of tradition.

 

I will be good. You aren't taking a big risk here. The BJCP would ding you for not using Belgian Pilsner even if it tasted great. If that doesn't matter to you, then go for it.

 

I do something like this quite often, though I do stick to more traditional hops

All British ingredients except for the yeast

A Phlegm in London

8# MO
1# Lyles Golden Syrup

1.0oz EKG 60min
2.0oz EKG @KO

WY3724

bonus points to whoever gets the name reference......

 

I have used both Maris Otter and Golden Promise and hops like Amarillo or Cascade in hoppy saisons and have liked the results, in fact it is basically a summer standard for me. I have never used that yeast before.

 

I've been thinking about doing the whole single malt/single hop beers. What did you find in your quests? Would you recommend others to do it?

 

Affligem?

 

I got dinged for using Amarillo in my saison in a recent HBC. Judge said it tasted too tropical. Of course, this was due to style guidelines, for a style that historically had no guidelines.

 

I think saying that historically there were no guidelines is a bit of an overstatement? Is this really what you got out of reading Farmhouse Ales? Even if you use the term style in a very loose sense, the historically available ingredients provide boundaries. Was anything like Amarillo being used during the historical period that you feel defines this style? I guess I was not around to know for sure, but citrusy and fruity flavors are generally not part of the flavor profiles commonly ascribed to historical land-race hops. Your beer sounds like it may have been delicious, but I would not recommend modern innovation when entering a traditional style.

 

First, I'll just say that Amarillo can be darn tasty in a saison-like beer.

But my advice would be to save not-to-style beers for yourself and your friends, and only enter to-style beers in the competitions. Or enter in the specialty categories.

Or, if you don't like style guidelines, just avoid competitions. Competitions are about brewing great beers that are also to the guidelines, not about brewing to what you think the guidelines ought to be.