Home Brew - Rough Draft Rye Saison

Tim and I love beer.  So, learning how to brew our own beer seemed like a natural hobby for us to pick up.  Our birthday presents to one another this year was a beer-making class and beer-making equipment ... and so the hobby began :)

Our Beer Journal

On January 3rd, 2014 we brewed our first beer - a rye saison, which Tim has decided to name "Rough Draft Rye" (Saison).

Rough Draft Rye (saison)
Original Gravity: 1.060
Final Gravity: 1.006
Alcohol by Volume: 7.09%
Apparent Attenuation: 90%




Ingredients:

•  2 lbs - rye malt
• 1/2 lb - 2-row carapils malt
• 1/2 lb - caramel malt 60L
• 1/2 lb  - caramel malt 40L
• 1/2 lb - caramel malt 20L
• 6.6 lb - CBW Pilsner Light malt extract
• 1 oz - Northern Brewer Hop pellets
• 1 oz - Chinook Hop pellets
• French Saison yeast
• 4 oz - corn sugar (for priming)

Steps:

1. Push the nutrients container in the yeast bag down the corner and smack it to release the nutrients into the yeast
2. Bring 2 gallons of water to 165
3. Add the crushed grains to a straining bag and seep in water for 1 hour
   
1. we used a cloth bag instead of nylon, but will be switching to nylon for our next brew
2. we had trouble keeping the water at 165, it may have gone up to 180 for 2-3 minutes around minute 17 
4. Lift grain bag out and allow it to drain (don't squeeze the bag)  
5. Add 1 gallon of water
6. Bring wort to a boil
7. Add 1st Pilsner Malt extract
8. Bring wort to a boil and let foam subside
9. Add 1 oz Chinook hops (set timer for 30 minutes)
10. After 30 minutes, add 2nd Pilsner Malt extract and let foam subside
11. Set timer for 25 minutes after adding 2nd malt (immediately)
12. After 25 minutes, add 1 oz Northern Brewer hops
13. 5 minutes later, turn off heat
14. Cool wort to 70
15. Transfer wort to sanitized fermenter
1. straining through a sanitized strainer to strain out hops
2. strain back into cooking pot (wipe out inside with sanitized rag first)
3. strain a third time into fermenting bucket
16. Add water to equal 5 gallons
17. Take Original Gravity reading (ours was 1.060)
18. Sanitize yeast package and scissors - add yeast and cover with sanitized lid
19. Plug with sanitized airlock (with sanitizer in it) 
20. Allow beer to sit and ferment in 65-70 area away from light for 2 weeks 

Measuring Original Gravity (left) and Fermenting Bucket with Airlock (right)

Bottling:

• Create priming solution -
•  corn sugar + 2 oz water 
• boil for 10 minutes
• let cool to 70
• Sanitize 48 bottles and caps
• Take final gravity
• Calculate alcohol by volume 
• Calculate attenuation
• Gently add priming sugar mixture to empty fermenting bucket
• Gently rack beer - ie: transfer beer to fermenting bucket containing the priming sugar mixture via a sanitized plastic tube
• Attach sanitized bottling rod to the fermenting bucket
• stop when you get to the bottom (don't want to add the yeast residue)
• Fill bottles and cap with sanitized caps
• Allow bottles to sit for 2 weeks in a cool dark room
• Refrigerate bottles you want to drink 1 week before drinking  (We didn't wait a week for our first beer ... a few hours seemed like more than enough time!)

 
Enjoy :)

Our Tasting Notes:
  * fruity and spicy - classic saison taste
  * slight caramel undertones
  * dry (bitter) finish