Vital Statistics:
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Recipe: 11 lb European Pilsner malt 12 oz Vienna malt 4 oz acidulated malt 6 AAU (33g @ 5.1% AA) Fuggles @ 60 3 AAU (16g @ 5.1% AA) Fuggles @ 20 3 AAU (26g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 20 5 AAU (44g @ 3.2% AA) Tettnanger @ 5 1.5 oz (42g) grated fresh ginger root @ 5 Wyeast 3711 - French Saison | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General Notes: First beer fermented in the dark. Starting with this beer, all brews are fermented in the closet to protect them from the sun. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Tasting Notes: Tasting notes taken 24 August 2011, 57 days after kegging. Poured from tap into a tulip. Appearance: medium golden-yellow color with practically no haze at all. Not much apparent effervescence and the head poured a finger of creamy white foam which had a moderate retention. Not too bad. (3.5) Smell: light malt aroma with a little wet-blanket funk to it. The ginger comes out but in a pretty moderate, accentual way. Not bad, but I feel like there could be a stronger aroma overall. (3.5) Taste: dry malt flavor with a hint of tartness up front and a light but dank funk toward the end. Bitterness is somewhat high, which is compounded by the overall dryness. Hops are of an earthy character. The ginger's flavor comes through well, and while it is definitely identifiable, it is not in any way overpowering. I'm pretty pleased with this beer. (4) Mouthfeel: medium body with a decent level of carbonation and a good creaminess. There is way more body than I would have anticipated based on how much this beer dried out. I think maybe a little more carbonation would help, as well. (4) Drinkability: a very drinkable and refreshing beer despite its ABV. It's got a lot of flavor, so I tend to drink it slowly, but it also keeps my interest long enough to be quite quaffable. (4) Overall score 3.8 (B+). This was a very interesting experience. I think, if I do another saison, I will try the Belgian saison yeast (3724) and maybe finish it with this yeast, the 3711. The dryness on this thing is just amazing, but its character is not as rich as it might be. Perhaps next time I will eschew the ginger and go with something like maybe a small addition of black pepper -- could be interesting. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hops Table
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