Review: BANGARANG The Twins - Saison

As the heat starts to really set in for the summer, it is always good to have a Saison ready to drink.  As I like to do with my Saisons, this one is bottled with Brett.  I have become a big fan of the Dupont strain and Brett at bottling.  The last time I used this combo I took 2nd place in a BJCP comp 7 months after bottling.  We'll see what happens with this one after another 8 months in the same comp (at 1 year old).  It's twin brother fared well in its category in a recent comp, so this one shouldn't do too bad.  The Twins have the same flaw, not enough bitterness, and a low hop profile, but overall, both drink nicely in the heat, very refreshing.  If you blend the two together, it makes for a lovely beer, akin to a Biere de Garde, earhty, musty, malty, light fruitiness, crisp.

Look: Pours a hazy orange-gold with big white head that fades a little fast to a whisky cap that lasts.  Bubbles flutter up throughout, bits of pellicle float on top.

Smell: smells like tons of over ripe fruits, can't pinpoint, tropical, and bright stone fruits.  Basement funk follows, hints of tea, spices, noble hops are light, hint of compost.

Taste:  Taste follows the smell, big fruits tropical and stone, lemon, tart, spicy, pepper, a lot of other spices I can't pinpoint.  Light toasty malt and Pils sweetness.

Mouthfeel:  Spritzy and light on the tongue, medium body with a bone dry finish.  Bubbly.  Balanced, but needs more bitterness.

Overall:  Nice Saison.  Needs a little more bitterness, just like the Pils that makes up the other half of the Twins.  The depth of fruitiness makes it hard to tell where the Saison yeast ends and the Brett begins.  The spiciness is evident but I can't define it.  Great balance between bright fruits and spices, with a subtle funk starting to take shape.  Enjoyable, light, refreshing, as a Saison should be.

Recipe: BANGARANG - The Twins (3rd Place - German Pilsner & Saison)

Last year I started a category of beers for my brewing called the BANGARANG series.  Of course BANGARANG is from the movie Hook and this term expresses delight and enjoyment.  As the second and third beers in this installment, I went with the twins.  It seemed fitting since I was brewing up a 10 gallon batch and splitting it into 2 fermenters with two separate yeasts.  Same wort, different fermentations.  After brewing my Dopplebock I wanted to continue using the lager yeast while the weather was still fitting for it.  I have tried a few Pilsners lately and have really enjoyed them so I decided to brew one up (but failed).  I can't see why I would just brew 5 gallons of beer when I can easily brew 2, so I decided to do a 10 gallon batch and ferment the other 5 on a different yeast.  I don't have any Saisons right now, and I love them, and warmer weather will be here in a few months, so I thought this would be the best way to split it.  Both beers work well with a Pilsner Malt base, a firm bitterness, and a medium Noble hopping.  So that's exactly what I did.  

Review: Le Ferme du Funke

Every so often you come across a beer that you brew and you know that you got it right.  This is one of those moments.  It was one of my first Saisons.  Honestly I gave more thought to the other Saison I brewed on the same day, a Rye Saison with Apricots named ApRYEcot.  This beer was supposed to be a basic Saison while the other was to be a nice fruity, spicy Summer drinker.  This beer evolved when I decided to pitch Brett at bottling and let a case age.  That was extremely difficult with how good it turned out.  And it's a good thing I was able to hold back on that case.  When one our local, yet national, BJCP sanctioned homebrew comps hit this past February, I decided to enter it.  I'm sure glad I did.  I took 2nd place in the KLCC Homebrew Competition, Category 16: Belgian and French Ales.  1st place went to a very talented homebrewer, who consequently I tied for 2nd place and then beat out in a mini-best of show for the win, splitting him to 1st and 3rd.

Look:

Pours a clear gold with 1+ finger of brilliantly white head that fades slow to a thin cap and nice ring leaving good lace.  Lots of tiny bubbles continue to flutter to the top.

Aroma:

Smells of spicy Brett, light funk, hay, lemon, pepper, barnyard comes in as it warms.

Taste:

Tastes the same as the nose, spicy, floral, lightly funky, hay, lemon, peach, lingering fruit in the finish.

Mouthfeel:

Crisp dry finish, tart, but not sour, bubbly, light, smooth, bitterness lingers and makes for a perfect finish begging for another sip.

Overall:

Very nice Saison.  Refreshing, crisp, dry, spicy, light flowers and fruits, lots of Brett phenols, light Brett esters.  Barnyard is restrained but the Brett is not.  Could use more malt and hop flavors and aroma, but Brett tends to eat everything in sight and transform it.  The Brett did it's job.  Great carbonation and head, looks beautiful.

Recipe: Le Ferme du Funke (Brett Saison)

If you haven't caught on yet, I love me some Saison!  It wasn't always this way.  I went to a Fresh Hop festival 2 1/2 years ago and grabbed a beer that had Saison/Farmhouse Ale as the style.  Only beer I've spit out before pouring out the rest of the taste glass.  I immediately ran for a refill of something hoppy to get that swill off my tastebuds.  Some time later I had Upright Four and really enjoyed it.  I had Jolly Pumpkin Bam and Bam Noire and really loved the Noire.  I got a 6 pack of Collette from Great Divide.  Now I try every Saison I see on tap, and drink quite a few of them.  I have a sports bar next to my house that has Upright 5 on tap regularly.  The more I drank them the more I love them (unless they are brewed with 3711).  I really enjoy Dupont.  And I have brewed 4 Saisons now.  There wasn't a question when I brewed my first Saisons I was going to use the Dupont strain.  Didn't care about the stalling, I wanted that yeast.  Did my first Saisons when I didn't have temp control, so I did them in the garage in the high 70s.  One turned out to be a great idea, but not much more - a Rye Saison with Apricots.  The Apricot puree took over much of my beer which meant either 3 gallons of "clear beer" of 5 gallons of soupy beer.  I opted for soupy and bottled most of the Apricot.   This lead to lots of sulfur in the nose and bottle bombs as the yeast destroyed the remaining sugars in the fruit.  The other batch I did that day is an amazing beer, it took 2nd place in a National BJCP sanctioned comp in the category 16, splitting 1st and 3rd to an amazing brewer.  Finished with Brett in the bottles, I'm glad I found, I'm not sure how, a way to keep nearly a case for almost a year.

Stats:
5 gallons
1.044 OG
1.004 FG
5.3% ABV
20 IBUs
4 SRM
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Fermentables:
7.5# German Pils
1.0# German Vienna
0.75# Faked Oats
0.25# Belgian Aromatic
0.25# Acidulated Malt
60 minutes @ 149*F
68% Efficiency
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90 Minute Boil:
90 0.5 oz Styrian Bobek 3.8AA%
20 0.7 oz Styrian Bobek 3.8AA%
10 0.3 oz Citra 13.4 AA%
5   0.8 oz Styrian Bobek 3.8AA%
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Fermentation:
1L starter WYeast 3724 Belgian Saison
Shook to Aerate
4 weeks @ 75+ (ambient in garage in July)
Bottled w/ 1/2 cup starter made from Orval dregs
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Additional:
Whirfloc Tablet