RECIPE: Summer Saison

Saison is a beer brewed to be refreshing. The Saison beer style was originally brewed in the cooler months in the southern, French-speaking region of Belgium, known as Wallonia. It was then stored to be served to the farm workers during the warmer months. Historically, the beer was lower in alcohol, light in body, and brewed specifically to be refreshing rather than intoxicating.

This particular Saison recipe is perfect for those hot summer days and uses a readily available dry yeast (Fermentis T-58) in order to make it a bit more accessible. Some Belgian Saison yeasts can be finicky. If you’re up to the challenge, however, this beer is excellent when brewed with Belgian Saison yeasts, such as Wyeast 3724 or White Labs WLP565.

How to Brew Summer Saison

Last week, we brought you “Hopped-Up” Wheat, another popular recipe to brew during the summer. This week, I’d like to showcase another one of my favorites, the Summer Saison. Below is a list of all ingredients you’ll need, and step-by-step instructions on how to brew it.

Ingredients:

Here’s all the ingredients you will need to brew this summer saison recipe.

Grain Bill:

• 7 lbs. Pilsner Malt
• 1 lb. German Wheat Malt
• ¼ lb. Medium Crystal Malt (60L)

Hops:

• ½ oz. East Kent Golding hops @ 8% AA for 90 minutes
• ¼ oz. East Kent Golding hops for 15 minutes
• ¼ East Kent Golding hops at flame-out

Other Ingredients:

• ¾ lb. Belgian Candi Sugar (or cane sugar)
• 1 tsp. Irish Moss

Yeast:

• Fermentis T-58 Dry Yeast (Alternately, you can use Wyeast 3724 Belgian Saison Yeast or WLP 565 Yeast from White Labs)

Procedure

1. Mash in at 150°F for one hour or until starch conversion is complete.
2. Sparge with 180°F water.
3. Bring to a boil and add first hop addition.
4. After 75 minutes, add sugar, Irish Moss, and the ¼ ounce of East Kent Goldings.
5. Boil another 15 minutes, then turn off heat and add ¼ ounce East Kent Goldings.
6. Stir very well or whirlpool, then cool to 70°F.
7. Rack to fermenter and pitch yeast.
8. Ferment at 68°F until primary fermentation is completed, then bottle or keg condition and allow several weeks for conditioning.

Extract Version

If you prefer to brew an extract version, the step-by-step instructions above will remain the same. However, you will need to substitute 5 lbs. extra light or light Dry Malt Extract for the 7 lbs. Pilsner Malt listed in the grain bill above. Steep grains at 150°F for 30 minutes, then stir in extract thoroughly and heat to a boil. Follow instructions from there.

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