Brewday at Brudi Bräu and I'll be testing the Braumeister with a Saison today.

The ultimate summer pinter! And very forgiving if I don't get the mash efficiency right on the new system 😅

#homebrewing #brewersOfMastodon #Saison

I haven't made a Saison in a while. The first one I made was essentially a batch to get rid of some leftover ingredients. It blew my mind and I made it a couple of times after that. Since then, Fermentis has moved production of their Saison yeast to Mexico, which is kind of anti-spirit when I try to make a farmhouse ale from somewhat local ingredients. I found the yeast manufacturer WHC Lab who produces in Ireland which is at least in the EU. So today I'll also check them out.

Saison is also a great style for beginners. Lots of room for interpretation in this style. The ingredient bill can be super easy. No complicated processes necessary.

As Thandi from the Beer Ladies Podcast put it: It's just a Pale Ale.

With diastatic yeast, which is a bit different from regular ale yeast. But once you know what that's all about, it is super easy to make a Saison.

I'll be going for the classic interpretation: 4-5% ABV., pale, dry, somewhat hoppy, super refreshing.

The craft beer movement has produced a lot of interpretations that are either super strong or fruited or soured. That's cool, I just prefer to keep it simple and classic.

The Braumeister is heating up.

I have to say, after 10 years of manual fumbling with knobs and measuring the temperature, it feels super weird to have a device that's all "64°C? Okay, I gotchu! Go grab some coffee! Whirrr!". 😅

I mashed in with 2kg of Pilsner Malt. I suppose now that I have a somewhat standard-ish setup, it makes sense to give actual weights instead of just percentages with the grain bill.

Anyway, as I said: My Saison is going to be a simple summer refresher so there's no need for a complicated grain bill. Braumeister says that around 2.4kg make a wort with 12°P. I am aiming for 10°P because Saison yeasts are brutal when it comes to final gravity. 2kg will hopefully get me there.

I'll go with my standard mashing schedule:
* 30 minutes at 63°C
* 30 minutes at 70°C
* 15 minutes at 78°C
It works with my malts and I used it all the time with the old system so I should get somewhat comparable results.

I made a good Saison once with an infusion mash at 65°C for an hour and some added flaked wheat. If you don't want to do step mashes that's a great cheat code.

I lautered and sparged the wort with four liters of warm water. No idea what the boil-off rate of this thing is but I guess we'll find out at the end of the boil phase.

And I think my favorite feature of the Braumeister is the fact that all the mashing gear can go into the dishwasher 😍

@brudibrau
This all looks too easy, now.
@scandigonian Yes, it actually freaked me out a little 😅