Two of Three: Saison Rue

Saison Rue is our second year-round offering. You can probably tell it’s going to be of the Saison style, which isn’t much of a style as far as guiding what a Saison should taste like.

Our saison will be made with a fair amount of rye (about 35% of the grist), and a small amount of pale chocolate malt and Special Roast to give it a beautiful orange glow and a touch of biscuit-like maltiness. The rest of the fermentables will be pilsner malt and minimally processed sugar. There will be a small amount of spices that will give Saison Rue some additional complexity, but you shouldn’t be able to tell spices were added. The Sterling and Crystal hops will add a slight spiciness and citrus aroma. I’ll be using a mixed Belgian yeast culture for primary fermentation, and brettanomyces (“brett”) as a secondary yeast for bottle fermentation. The brett will add complexity as this beer ages, and will eventually dry out the malt character. Saison Rue will weigh in at a bit over 8%.

I’m excited to brew this beer as a year-round offering. There aren’t too many breweries using brettanomyces or rye in their regular offerings. There are potential problems in using both of them– brett can ‘infect’ the brewery, as it is a hearty, strong yeast that can live off of almost anything. Rye doesn’t have a husk, so it can cause sticky mashes that can result in a very slow mash runoff. I won’t be deterred. Great beers come to those who have the guts to make them, or buy them, in your case.

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