Bridgette's Love Potion Saison

Finally getting around to posting my favorite recipe for summer. A Ommegang Hennipen-like Saison.

Brewer:	Christo		Email:	-
Beer:	Bridgette's Love Potion Saison		Style:	Saison
Type:	All grain		Size:	5 gallons
Color:	7 HCU (~6 SRM)		Bitterness:	32 IBU
OG:	1.067		FG:	1.012
Alcohol:	7.1% v/v (5.6% w/w)
Water:	moderate hard water
Grain:	9 lb. 8 oz. American 2-row 4 oz. Belgian aromatic 8 oz. Belgian CaraVienne 1 lb. Flaked wheat
Mash:	70% efficiency
	150F for 60 min. Recipe works great for Extract w/ grain just replacing pale malt with 6 lbs DME. Vienna in lieu of the wheat gives more of a bready quality, but I've preferred the wheat for creamy head.
Boil:	60 minutes	SG 1.056	6 gallons
	1 lb. Belgian candi sugar
	IM at 15 min. 3/4 oz. bitter orange zest at 5 min. 1/2 oz. crushed corriander at 5 min. Have added 1/4 oz. black pepper corns which is good too.
Hops:	1 oz. Styrian Goldings (5.5% AA, 60 min.) 1 oz. Styrian Goldings (5.5% AA, 30 min.)
Yeast:	WLP565 1.5L starter
Log:	Ferment warm. At 70F or less it will be cleaner tasting and fruitiness will be more apparent. At 80F it becomes more "rustic", cellar-like, earthy and spicy - better. This is a finnicky yeast. Primary for 14 days minimum - it will take at least that long, longer at cooler temps. Secondary for 3-4 weeks warm.
Carbonation:	medium high carbonation. The longer in the bottle, the higher the carbonation will get as the yeast continues working for months.
Tasting:	Have made versions of this for 6-7 years each summer. Started with Homebrew Adventures kit by same name and have morphed over time into the current recipe. Very nice tart, spicy, cellar-like "artisanal" flavor from the WLP565 yeast - not quite as Belgian-funky as other Belgian yeasts but more "rustic". Compares very favorably with Ommegang Hennipen. Twice 2nd place BOS (always a bride's maid). Note that this yeast will continue working in the bottle. Seems at peak at 4-6 months. At 1 year it will be dry as a bone.

Recipe posted 04/29/08.