I want my Saison Skunky, Help!

Are you sure you mean "skunky," as in light struck isohumulones producing the "skunk" thiol? I'd say that rarely, if ever, happens in commercial lambics or saisons. At least, I've never noticed it. The thing that the Jester King beer and Lambics do have in common is Brettanomyces yeast strains, and thus brett character.

But if you really do want skunky, use lots of bittering hops, bottle in clear bottles, and give them lots of light in the ultraviolet/blue/green spectra.

 

Are you sure that the character that you are getting in lambics is a result of being lightstruck?

I imagine you'd want to brew your saison with high alpha acid hops. Buy a workplace/garage light that uses fluorescent tubes and install it where you put your bottles down on their side. Keep that light on for a month. Before you open a bottle, place it by a window that gets sunlight for a few hours (if you can do this w/o causing a significant temperature increase with the beer).

But if you do this, you should also set aside a couple of bottles and put them in a closed box when you put them down on their side after bottling. Conduct a blind taste comparison between a bottle that was exposed to the light and one that wasn't. Make sure you do this with a significant pour size because the first impression you get doesn't tell the whole story with lightstruck beer. Do this to determine if the added process is actually worth it... keeping in mind that you might be altering your hop recipe just for the sake of the (possibly minor) lightstruck character.

EDIT: If all else fails, try drinking your homebrew outside.
Seeing @VikeMan 's post now, we're on the same page.

 

I suggest you pour yourself a beer you are trying to emulate into a two clear glasses. Place one beer in a sunny place for a few minutes. Just minutes are needed. Actually less than a minute if you get strong sunlight. Keep the other indoors away from sunlight and fluorescents.

Compare.

I think the flavors/aroma you are seeking is not "skunk", which is the same compound found in the anal glands of a skunk. Maybe that's what you are seeking. Perhaps not.

In addition to the Brett, Lambics will use aged hops, aka stale hops and that can provide an authentic character. You can purchase aged hops.
Cheers

 

The topic of lightstruck Saisons was discussed in a past thread in the US-Southwest forum (see link below) with the context of Jester King deciding to bottle in green bottles). An extract of the OP is below (with emphasis in bold by me):

“So why are we doing this?

Here’s our Head Brewer Garrett Crowell’s explanation:

“My pursuit of the use of green bottles stems mostly from the character of all of my favorite beers. Cuvee de Jonquilles, Blaugies, Thiriez, Fantôme, Cantillon, Dupont, all use green bottles. I’ve had brown bottle versions of some of these beers, and have had them on draft as well and there is an element missing from those versions that the green bottles have. While green bottles permit the risk of light struck/skunky character, I feel they add character, even beyond skunkiness. So many breweries have attempted to mimic the classic Saison Dupont yeast profile, and I feel what is most often missing is the light struck character that is integral to the profile of that beer.”

https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...g-towards-green-bottles-for-packaging.304036/

I would think the trick is to ensure that the lightstruck quality is “light” in intensity since having too much lightstuck could result in the beer being too skunky.

@JackRWatkins I wish you luck in threading this needle.

Cheers!

 

I really do think that is the way to go here. Just too many variables:

• The intensity of the sunlight (read more below)
• The amount of light (and wavelengths) that pass through the green glass of the green bottles you use to bottle with.
• The amount of skunky that you find to me desireable
• etc.

I have read folks post that beers do not skunk in Great Britain while drinking outside in the summertime. The theory being that since they are so far north the sunlight travels through 'more' atmosphere and is thereby mitigated. In contrast I have read where folks down south (e.g., Georgia) experience beer skunking with less than a minute of full sunlight exposure of their beers. An interesting notion that I can't validate.

Cheers!

 

That sure would seem to be an indication of lightstruck being the flavor component you are seeking.

An exBEERiment you could conduct is to pour a beer into a clear glass and put it outside and see how long before you pick up a skunky aroma.

The guys from Basic Brewing Radio did this exBEERiment as you can view below.

Cheers!

 

Those are green bottles? If so this may take some 'extra' time.

I will be interested in hearing your thoughts here.

Cheers!

 

I just bottled my annual batch of Saison a few days ago (all brown bottles). Next year I will bottle a few in 12 ounce green bottles (I have lots of Rolling Rock returnable bottles) and bottle condition as you suggest. I will be interested to see how they turn out.

Cheers!

 

Eureka? So, you "invented" a method to create a defective flavor in beer which has been known and understood for well over a century?

 

Defective is a tad harsh. Some would also describe brettanomyces and acid producing bacteria aromas and flavors as defective attributes.

I’m all for the green bottle experiment @JackRWatkins. The past few Saisons/Grisettes I’ve brewed I’ve thrown a few into green 750’s. I conditioned as usual in my basement in cardboard boxes to see what would happen and after months in the bottle, there still isn’t any noticeable light struck character. I’ll probably pull a few and leave in my living room during the day to see if I’ll pick up anything. I agree with you. I enjoy a light skunk character in my classic saisons (although I know it’s a personal preference). Keep up the experimenting!