Bottling time!
I've been too busy brewing and not busy enough bottling lately, leading to a production bottleneck (see what I did there?) in the shape of too few carboys.
As I reported recently, I brewed a medlar saison a couple of months ago, and it was about time I got it bottled bottle lest it never get druk. Drank. Consumed. Whatever.
Medlars are a fascinating fruit. Related to the hawthorn, medlar trees grow golf-ball sized fruits, which are hard, tannic, and not very pleasant unless they're bletted.
I am endlessly fascinated by weird and slightly(*) yucky foods, and the medlar is a favourite of mine pricesely because (°) it is a rare example of a fruit which effectively has to spoil in order to be edible.
*) or very. Or very very. Or will you fuckin' stop already!
°) also because it gets charmingly nicknamed things like "open arse" and "dog butt". Good thing the Internet wasn't around when the medlar got its nick, or else I'd be gargling goatse(^) beer soon.
^) Oh and for the love of god don't google goatse if your don't know what it is already. The internet should come with a warning sticker that says "Don't google goatse". The medlar's nick should be ample warning, but apparently it isn't.
Using about two dozen properly bletted medlars (courtesy of the amazing Marloes & Martijn), I made a syrup which I froze until I was ready to use it in a brew.
Early February, I brewed a basic(*) saison, and in a spontaneous act of generosity, I'm sharing the recipe with you, Constant Reader.
Made a 5 gallon batch, comprising 36% Pilsner, 36% pale and 28% wheat malt.
Mashed on the low end at 150°F, where it gradually petered down to about 140 (my mash tun needs an insulation coat).
70' boil.
0.5 ounces of Citra @ 70' (26 IBU)
1.0 ounces of Citra @ 10' (6 IBU)
1.5 ounces of Citra @ flameout (0 IBU)
5g of black pepper corns and zest of 1 lemon @10'.
Cooled to 68°F and pitched with French Saison (second generation 3711, kindly donated by Frankenbuddy).
Fermented at 71°F, ramping to 77 over the course of a week; dropped from 1.063 to 1.002.
Racked to secondary and split in three batches.
Batch 1 and 2 were bottled by yours truly yesterday, which means I'll be able to taste them properly in a couple weeks' time. So far, the prognosis looks good. Solid saison profile, with Citra really doing its utmost to bring refeshing hoppy citrus notes and the yeast tying it all together. The Cul de Chien version had a bit of extra lemony zing to it (I may have overdone things lemon-wise when I made that syrup) and a certain je-ne-sais-quoi which probably the medlars. Even if the beer tatstes nothing like medlars at all, it's still going to be a great brew.
Batch 3 will be bottled sometime soon. My understanding is that the Bretts will take a long time before they become noticeable, but will impart a bit of that rustic Old Orval vibe, which I think will add more complexity and authenticity.
More news when the brews are sampled.
Until then, I part with a fitting Chaucer quote:
We olde men, I drede, so fare we: Til we be roten, kan we nat be rype;
May our bletting be long in the waiting.
Greetz
Jo
I've been too busy brewing and not busy enough bottling lately, leading to a production bottleneck (see what I did there?) in the shape of too few carboys.
 |
| Nothing makes my day like a confusing Google Image Search. |
Medlars are a fascinating fruit. Related to the hawthorn, medlar trees grow golf-ball sized fruits, which are hard, tannic, and not very pleasant unless they're bletted.
 |
| That means rotten, only more poshly so. |
*) or very. Or very very. Or will you fuckin' stop already!
°) also because it gets charmingly nicknamed things like "open arse" and "dog butt". Good thing the Internet wasn't around when the medlar got its nick, or else I'd be gargling goatse(^) beer soon.
^) Oh and for the love of god don't google goatse if your don't know what it is already. The internet should come with a warning sticker that says "Don't google goatse". The medlar's nick should be ample warning, but apparently it isn't.
Using about two dozen properly bletted medlars (courtesy of the amazing Marloes & Martijn), I made a syrup which I froze until I was ready to use it in a brew.
Early February, I brewed a basic(*) saison, and in a spontaneous act of generosity, I'm sharing the recipe with you, Constant Reader.
 |
| Or just because. |
*) I promise to one day lay out my understanding of what a saison was, what it now is and what it should be, but for now, let's assume there actually exists such a thing as a basic saison.
Technical stuff below; skip unless you like technical stuff, numbers and beergeekery
Mashed on the low end at 150°F, where it gradually petered down to about 140 (my mash tun needs an insulation coat).
70' boil.
0.5 ounces of Citra @ 70' (26 IBU)
1.0 ounces of Citra @ 10' (6 IBU)
1.5 ounces of Citra @ flameout (0 IBU)
5g of black pepper corns and zest of 1 lemon @10'.
Cooled to 68°F and pitched with French Saison (second generation 3711, kindly donated by Frankenbuddy).
Fermented at 71°F, ramping to 77 over the course of a week; dropped from 1.063 to 1.002.
Racked to secondary and split in three batches.
Technical stuff all done now, resuming normalcy
Three batches then, from a single brew. Not only did I not have enough medlar syrup to flavour an entire 5 gallon batch, I also wanted to be able to define the specifics of the medlars' contribution.
 |
| It will end in tears one day. |
- basic version. Just the above recipe, no further shennanigans applied.
- Cul de Chien: added syrup I made from about 2 dozen bletted medlars, half a lemon, and sugar.
- basic + Orval dregs for Brett funk and rustic saison character.
Then I moved all three to the cellar and tried to forget about them for a few months.
 |
| Until yesterday. |
 |
| Yeastie Boy is buzzing with anticipation. |
 |
| Because all authentic saisons were brewed with citra and Dog's Arse. |
Until then, I part with a fitting Chaucer quote:
May our bletting be long in the waiting.
Greetz
Jo
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