Saison Rustique

When I first heard the Bruery was making a beer called 7 Grain Saison I got excited. I figured it would be an amber hued beer with a nice malt background, and some spice from the addition of rye. When I tried it, it was hay colored, and very light, crisp and extremely refreshing. To me it seemed much more like a lager than a 7 Grain Saison. Either way this beer got me thinking. Saison's are a old style and were possibly brewed in a very rustic manner, with a malt bill of what the farmhouse brewery had on hand from the harvest, what ever hops they could get and a yeast strain with a rustic and wild profile, most likely including brettanomyces. I started to create my own multi-grain saison, but instead of going the Bruery's direction with a clean and crisp beer, I wanted something that spoke more to the rustic farmhouse style many people associate with classic saisons.

I wanted to include multiple grains, but not make a hot mess of a beer. I started with 2 row, honey malt and then start adding the "other grains".  I then added red wheat, rye malt, flaked rye, Simpsons golden naked oats, flake corn, and brown sugar. I thought about adding some flaked rice, but decided against it based on the flavor of the other grains and how they would probably overshadow the rice. This was also the first beer I have ever used rice hulls on, Because I had so many flaked grains, I wanted to ensure a stuck- less mash.  I did not go very hop forward in this beer which is not my usual approach to saisons, a beer I think really go well with big late American hop additions. I used a more traditional hop, but it will still have a hop presence. I also wanted to use a fun, wild, rustic yeast that had some funk as well as traditional saison flavor profile. I had good luck last year with my Spring Saison and with my Citrus Saison so I decided to use the American Farmhouse Strain again.

The beer came out much darker than Beer Alchemy and I expected. I am not sure why it came out so much darker that expected. Maybe the rye malt gave it some extra color??

Recipe: US-2 Row, Honey malt, Rye malt, Falked Rye, Red Wheat, Flaked Corn, Simpsons Golden Naked Oats, Brown Sugar, Fuggle Hops @60, @20 and @ flameout and WLP American Farmhouse Ale Yeast.