In the Fermentor: Little Farmhouse on the Plains

A good friend and fellow blogger asked for a Dark Saison to drink while gardening. Little Farmhouse on the Plains is what I came up with. It's loosely patterned after Widmer's Dark Saison (which my friend loves), but with my own twist. The wheat will give the beer a little crispness. The specialty grains should impart a nice toasted sweetbread flavor, plus a hint of coffee. At 36 IBUs, the hopping is fairly modest, but the beer's bitterness will be more prevalent than what's in Widmer's brew. If you read my Surly Cynic blog, you'll notice that this is the second go-around for Wyeast's French Saison. I liked what it did for that beer, so I'm hopeful I'll like it here too. Plus, repitching yeast from previous beers is a huge money saver over time. The recipe below is for a 5 gallon batch:

Grains:
8 lbs Belgian Pilsner
1 lb Vienna
1 lb Torrified Wheat
8 oz Special B
8 oz Pale Chocolate

Hops:
1 oz Northern Brewer: 60 min
0.5 oz Saaz: 7 min

Yeast:
Wyeast 3711 - French Saison

Mash Schedule:
Saccharification Rest: 150F for 60min
Mashout: 168F for 10 minutes

Original Gravity:
1.049
Estimated Final Gravity:
1.010

IBU: 36
SRM Color: 16

Fermentation Schedule:
3 Weeks Primary
2 Weeks Bottle Conditioning

Cost: $14 per case
Commercial Equivalent: Widmer W' 12 Dark Saison: $29
Savings: $15

Right now, Little Farmhouse is bubbling away in the fermentor. It's been a warm few days, so the beer has been fermenting at around 75 degrees. I'll report back in five weeks with the outcome.

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