Strangest thing you've put in a Saison

Haha, yeah those were all seperate batches.

 

Lol but they would be soo tasty together

 

that sounds great. I love the cranberry idea

 

I really wanna do a cilantro lime saison soon. Also, maybe a cucumber saison. I think I read recently that Evil Twin is doing a kiwi saison with brett. Sounds interesting.

 

CCB did a Cuke saison.. It was okay.

 

It was a little pickley, but I like cucumber... in fact there will probably be a BYOB with cukes involved before too long.

I still think my favorite odd one was my Saison Guacamole with Avocado Honey, Lime, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Coriander, Cumin, Black Pepper, Red Pepper and Cilantro.

 

no, didn't put a lot in, the kids thought it would be fun to throw them in the pot, so I did, mostly just for the sugar.

 

Reading this thread reminds of why homebrewers and even craft beer gets laughed at.

"White Wine barrel chip aged, French Coffee Saison with poblano peppers, mesquite smoked ancho chilies, sun dried raisins, white chocolate, and sour georgia peaches added".

 

What the hell?? Did you add all that to a beer? What is the actual process to add sun dried tomatoes? So many questions

 

CCB cuke saison was gross. The lacto bite made me think of drinking pickle brine. Trinity brewing did a cucumber saison called electirk cucumbah that is nice. I think it won gabf veggie beer category this year.

 

The idea was a "deconstructionist" play like in modernist cooking. It was kicked off by looking up at the avocado trees in my backyard and thinking about the whole "farmhouse" thing and so what could I make from my farmhouse.

Since I'm not a fan of fats in my beers, I used avocado honey, which is really interesting and intense. It's molasses like. I used oats for roundness. The spices including the tomatoes were all made into tinctures and then dosed at a low rate. The effect was several fold - make people do a double take, evoke the experience of Guacamole without being guacamole, be a really damn good beer.

 

Here's the recipe as written up in Zymurgy

For 5.5 gallons at 1.055, 19.4 SRM, 28 IBUs, 6.2% ABV, 90 minute boil

Malt / Grain / Sugar

9.0 lbs Pilsner Malt

1.5 lbs Oat Malt

0.5 lbs Pale Chocolate Malt

0.5 lbs Flaked Rye

0.25 lbs Carafa II Special Malt

1.0 lbs Dark Avocado Honey (added at flameout)

Mash

Single infusion – 148F for 90 minutes

Hops (Pellets)

0.5 oz Magnum 12.9%AA 60 minutes

1.0 oz Hallertau Sapphir 4.4%AA 10 minutes

Yeast

WLP 568 Saison Blend (for the Guacamole Saison)

WLP566 Saison II (for the Alligator Pear)

Extras

Whirlfloc

Yeast Nutrient

Spice Tincture (added at packaging)

1.5 tsp Black Pepper, coarsely crushed
1.5 tsp Cilantro
1.5 tsp Coriander, coarsely crushed
1.5 tsp Crushed Dried Chile Peppers
1.5 tsp Cumin, coarsely crushed
2 Limes Zested

1.5 tsp Sun dried Tomatoes (not the oil packed variety!)

Add to ¾ cup of vodka. Soak for 1 week, shaking as you go. Filter twice through coffee filters.

Ferment beer per article recommendations. At packaging, take a small measured sample and dose with tincture to determine appropriate rate. Add tincture to main packaging at the desired level.

 

Thanks for the details, I know I will never brew that beer, but I wish I could have tried it.

 

There was a second portion of it that I called "Alligator Pear Saison" (Alligator Pear being another name for avocados) that used a different yeast and no spices. So basically, a dark Saison. It was also fantastic.

If you read the BYOB column, you'll know my big thing with my brews is a story. I like there to be a story that gives you the line of reasoning, the expectation of the beer. In other words - even a beer that looks like it should be a pile of "what?" has a logical purpose. Like here with the Saison Guacamole the story is the Farmhouse tradition - the "well we made beer with what we had on hand" thing. I look at what a lot of people do with a big quizzical look, but there's no through line.

But even with all of that - the beer still has to work as a beer. If you make a sweet Saison and then add fruit and spices and oak and everything else on it - you've just got a gloppy mess that does no one any favors.