Dark Saison #4Appalachian Allspice Ale
Dark saison, dosed with foraged Northern Spicebush berries.
I have a Northern Spicebush in my yard and several in the neighborhood. The berries are said to be similar to allspice, hence the nickname, Appalachian allspice. The grist is based on The Mad Fermentationist's Funky Dark Saison 6, but using dark wheat malt. I'm reducing the boil time to 30 min, based on a recent article in Zymurgy. For hopping, I've picked Tettnang, but also left-over Cluster for some additional bittering.
Brew summary
- Brewers
- Mike
- Volume
- 5 gallons
- Brew date
- 2020 May 30
- Bottling date
- 2020 July 07
- Original gravity
- 1.054
- Final gravity
- 1.007
- Alcohol by volume
- 6.2%
- Estimated bitterness
- ? IBU
- Estimated calories
- 180 Calories/12 oz
- Estimated carbohydrates
- 14 g/12 oz
Ingredients
| Quantity | Item | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| 3.00 lbs | Thomas-Fawcett Maris Otter malt | Mash |
| 3.00 lbs | Best Malz Munich malt | Mash |
| 3.00 lbs | Avangard Vienna malt | Mash |
| 1.25 lbs | Weyermann dark wheat malt | Mash |
| 0.62 lbs | Dingemans Special B | Mash |
| 1.00 lb | D-45 Belgian candi syrup | Boil for 5 minutes |
| 0.50 oz | Cluster pellet hops | Boil for 30 minutes |
| 2.00 oz | German Tettnang pellet hops | Boil for 30 minutes |
| 0.75 oz | German Tettnang pellet hops | Boil for 5 minutes |
| 1 Tbl | Northern Spicebush berries | Boil for 5 minutes |
| 1 | WLP565 Belgian Saison I Ale yeast | Primary |
| Filtered Baltimore tap | ||
| 1.5 g | Gypsum | Mash |
| 0.4 g | Calcium chloride | Mash |
| 3.8 mL | Lactic acid | Mash |
| 1.7 g | Gypsum | Sparge |
| 0.4 g | Calcium chloride | Sparge |
| 1.1 mL | Lactic acid | Sparge |
Recipe
Mash at 148°F. Boil, adding hops, sugar, and spice as indicated. Chill to 65°F, rack to primary, and pitch.
Volume: 5.5 gal, OG: 1.058 (70% eff.), FG: 1.005, 7.0 ABV, 25 IBU
Source: Mind of Mike
Mash
| Grain/Adjunct | Timing | Weight | Weight Fraction | PPG | Extract | Extract Fraction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maris Otter | Mash | 3.000 | 25.3% | 38 | 79.8 | 24.9% |
| Munich | Mash | 3.000 | 25.3% | 37 | 77.7 | 24.3% |
| Vienna | Mash | 3.000 | 25.3% | 37 | 77.7 | 24.3% |
| Dark wheat | Mash | 1.250 | 10.5% | 38 | 33.2 | 10.4% |
| Special B | Mash | 0.625 | 5.3% | 36 | 15.7 | 4.9% |
| D-45 Belgian candi syrup | Boil | 1.000 | 8.4% | 36 | 36.0 | 11.2% |
| Kettle volume: 6.2 gal | ||||||
| Efficiency: 70% | ||||||
| Pre-boil specific gravity: 1.046 | ||||||
Lauter and sparge
| T mash (F) | T water (F) | Volume (gal) |
|---|---|---|
| 148 | 160 | 3.81 |
| Total mash water: 3.8 gal (1.4 qt/lb) | ||
| Sparge with 4.2 gal of water | ||
| Collect 6.2 gal of wort | ||
Hopping
| Hop | Type | Alpha | Weight | Time | Utilization | Bitterness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cluster | Pellets | 6.8 | 0.5 | Boil for 30 minutes | 18.3 | 8 |
| German Tettnang | Pellets | 3.2 | 2.0 | Boil for 30 minutes | 18.3 | 16 |
| German Tettnang | Pellets | 3.2 | 0.8 | Boil for 5 minutes | 4.8 | 2 |
| Pre-boil: 6.2 gal at 1.046 | ||||||
| Post-boil: 5.5 gal at 1.058, 26 IBU | ||||||
Fermentation
| Date | SG | T (°F) | Cor. SG | Ap. Atten. (%) | ABV (%) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 May | 1.054 | 72 |
Brew log
30 May
Mash and lauter. Measuring in the grain bed: 149°F at 10 min, 147°F at 50 min. Collected about 6.25 gal of 1.044 wort. About 5% low. I'm also now noticing that the candi syrup is 1.032, rather than the 1.036 I have in my database. With these revisions, I'm expecting 1.055 in the end.
Boil. The spicebush berries have an intense herbal aroma, similar to a strong celery, or Italian parsely. The taste reminds me of sichuan pepper, but without the numbing. It also makes my mouth water.
Racked 5.0 gal wort to the fermentor. I used the keg screen for racking by putting the racking cane inside it. The filtering was great, but near the end the trub gunked up the screen and I couldn't finish. Otherwise, I think I could have gotten another pint to quart. Pitched at 72°F, by the instant thermometer. A couple hours later the probe measures 69°F.
7 Jul
Assumed 4.5 gal in bottling bucket, aimed for 2.5 volumes of CO2, I prepared 3.9 oz table sugar in 1 pint water. Racked 4.5 gal to bucket and filled bottles, purple-capped and labeled with DS.