Citrus Hibiscus Saison

Having just brewed a hoppy wheat beer with citrus flavors, I thought it would be fitting to brew a sessionable wheat saison with big citrus flavors as well.  This showcases how similar flavor themes can be executed to produce different results in various styles of beer.  In my summer wheat, the hops impart the majority of the citrus flavors, where in this beer, the yeast and citrus zest added directly to the beer will do the majority of the flavoring.  Therefore, the yeast and the citrus chosen to be zested, the amount added, and when it is added in the process are very import.

Yeast selection was fairly easy for this beer.  Near the end of 2012, Danstar released Belle Saison; a dry yeast that seems to be getting rave reviews on the internet forums. I know everybody has different flavor descriptors for different yeasts, but from the information I gathered, Belle Saison seems to be very similar to Wyeast 3711 French Saison.  Both in flavor, more on the fruity citrus side with restrained spice, and in its crazy ability to attenuated fast and to a high degree (90%+).  Therefore, I figured this beer would be a good one to try it out.  Unlike most dry yeast, Danstar recommends using two packets in a beer with an original gravity over 1.050.  While I only planned on this beer to be around 1.040, to play it safe I made a starter from the dry yeast two days before the brewday.  The plan is to save half of the starter and pitch the other half.

Citrus zest was the next ingredient to choose.  I wanted depth of citrus flavor so I knew I wanted multiple types of zest to be added. Orange is an obvious choice, and for the depth I wanted to add some tangerine as well, thinking it would provide a little more of candied type flavor.  However, I was unable to find tangerine at my local Whole Foods, so I went with clementines.  When selecting fruits, I wanted the find the ones with the deepest colored zest, thinking they would provide the most flavor without any added bitterness or astringency.  I narrowed down when to add the zest to two times.  At the end of the boil and post fermentation, in the fermenter, like a dry hop.  When added at flame out, the citrus flavor will be subtle but become more integrated into the overall flavor profile of the beer.  Whereas, when added in the fermenter the citrus flavor will "pop" but fade over time.  In the end I decided to add the zest at the end of the boil, and then based on taste post fermentation, add more if needed.  The idea is you can always add more, but you can't remove any.  I'm hoping to achieve a nice balance between bright citrus flavor and saison yeast character. 

The last "atypical" brewing ingredient I added was somewhat unexpected.  When I tasted the final beer, it was not as complex as I anticipated.  I thought it needed something.  Having just had the beautifully awesome Sunbather at Tired Hands Brewing in Ardmore, PA; an IPA brewed with Hibiscus.  I thought it would be interesting to see how the tart and fruity flavor of Hibiscus would work in this beer.  In order to determine the amount of Hibiscus to add to the beer, I made a tea with 3/4 cup near boiling water and 1 oz. of dried Hibiscus flowers.  I let it steep for 5 minutes and then compressed the flowers with a spoon.  Using an empty hop shot syringe, I drew out .5 ml samples and added it to 8 oz. of beer until the color and flavor was right.  At the end of the day, 5 oz. of Hibiscus steeped in 2.75 cups of water seemed to work well.  

On a side note, my efficiency went through the roof, close to 90% when I normally average in the 70-75% range...so much for "sessionable".

Hibiscus Citrus Saison 

Brewed 7 June 2013, by myself

Batch size: 5.5 gallons

OG: 1.049

FG: 1.003

IBU: 15

SRM: 3.7 (except this beer is red)

Boil time: 100 min

Grain

4 lbs. Belgian Pils

4 lbs. Rahr White Wheat Malt

8 oz. Whole Foods Quick Oats

Hops

0.30 oz. Warrior @ 60 min. (Pellet, 16% AA)

1.00 oz. Ahtanum @ 0 min. (Pellet, 4.6% AA)

1.00 oz. Citra @ 0 min. (Pellet, 14.1% AA)

Yeast

Belle Saison, 1L starter made 6/5/2013 saved 500ml, pitched 500ml

Mash

Sacch. rest 60 min @ 152 F

Water

Carbon Filtered DC water with 1.5g gypsum added to both the mash and sparge

Misc.

1 tablet Whirlfloc @ 15 min.

1/2 tsp. yeast nutrient @15 min.

Zest of 2 Naval Oranges @ flame out

Zest of 3 Clementines @ flame out

Zest of 2 Navel Orange dry hop 5 days

4 oz. Hibiscus steeped in 2 2/3 cup water added to keg

Notes

Brewed 7 June 2013, by myself

Collected 6.5 gallons of 1.045 wort (86% efficiency!!)

Extended boil time by 10 min to concentrate (why, I don't know).

Tap water was at 80F so chilled to 85F then put in fridge for 6 hours

Once down to 70F, took a gravity reading. 1.051 so I added 1/2 gal of spring water to bring the gravity to 1.049.  Efficiency + prolonged boil made this is a little more than a table saison.

~12 hours later solid fermentation, no blow off

6/16/2013 - Down to 1.004, nice flavor, not as much citrus as anticipated.

6/17/2013 - Added zest from 2 Naval Oranges

6/23/2013 - 1.003, bright citrus, would have liked more yeast character, crashed to 34F

6/28/2013 - Kegged with 4.5 oz. table sugar

7/13/2013 - Added the hibiscus tea to the tea and put it on tap.

8/12/2013 - Tasting notes:

Appearance: Nice light red color, translucent with a subtle pink head that forms quickly but dissipates quicker than expected, probably from the added hibiscus tea

Smell: Generic fruity with a subtle bread and tart aroma.  Maybe slightly phenolic

Taste: Very dry. Hibiscus fruitiness is first detected which leads into a slight tart and yeast spice/phenolic maybe some citrus in the background. The phenolics are not necessarily what I would associate with a standard saison, but they're not unpleasent. Pretty much not residual sweetness, and the hibiscus fruit/tart stays in the mouth.

Mouthfeel:  Dry, crisp, tart, and refreshing.  Maybe a little more body would be nice, nonetheless it's a great summer beer.

Notes: Overall, I would have liked a little more yeast character.  Perhaps some earthiness.  Definitely a beer I think brett would go well with.  If I were to brew this again I would cut back on the hibiscus by an ounce, it seems to dominate the majority of the flavors.  The citrus zest is only faintly detectable.  A solid saison, however, much like WY3711, I feel Belle Saison does not pack the yeasty punch I'm looking for.