Farmhouse Ale with Quince

Beer Recipes
1

I brewed a bretted quince saison last year which, while very quincey, failed to deliver what I wanted from it.

Quince are back in season now, and I’ve not yet given up on the idea so here goes:

For 20 l of 1.080 beer:

3 kg pale malt    (44%)
2 kg wheat malt  (28.5%)
1 kg caramunich  (13.5 %)
.5 kg flaked wheat (7%)
.5 kg honey          (7%) (added in secondary together with cooked quince)

Mash at 67°C until conversion complete

20g Jarrylo            @ mash
20g Lemon Drop      @ mash
8g Jarrylo              @ t-70
8g Jarrylo              @ t-10
16g Lemon Drop      @ t-10
20g Jarrylo              @whirlpool
20g Lemon Drop      @whirlpool

Ferment with fresh Wyeast3771 French Saison cake.
In secondary, add 8 quince, boiled with honey.

Bottle when completely fermented.

Hops courtesy of homoeccentricus’ borrowed innocent hand.

2

Maybe this lines up with your vision for this beer but the combination of that much pale malt, wheat and cara seems like a recipe for a heavy, sweet beer for a farmhouse-style ale.

3
  • 1 - I increased the caramel malts to try to get a bit more color in a saison and it wasn’t good. I wouldn’t go over 250g, and even that is pushing it for my tastes.
4

Yeah, Saison Voisin has a significant caramel malt sweetness and I’m just not a fan. It doesn’t work too well in the style, IMO.

Now a brown ale or Oud Bruin with quince might work well with the caramel character…

5

Agreed with all the above. Crystal in saison totally defeats the purpose for me, that being a very dry, drinkable beer. I tried 2 or 3 oz in one and didn’t like it at all. Pils, Vienna or Rye, and a little wheat works for me.

6

There you have it :slight_smile:

I’m sure the BJCP has a different opinion on the matter but as far as I’m concerned, farmhouse ales can pretty well do as they please.
Sure, saisons are supposed to be super-dry and there’s the whole yeast-thing and blah blah, but farmhouse ales? The very concept of a farmhouse ale would be “anything but the kitchen sink”, as long as it ferments and has a certain saison-esque je-ne-sais-quoi.

But yeah, it all depends on how it lines up in your head.
Way this one’s turning out, it’s definitely not sweet.

Funny you should say that, as Voisin is arguably the most authentic saison around.

7

Go for it l, but I think the malty sweetness from a large addition of caramunich will cover up the light flavor of the quince.

8

I have to agree with Steve here. I’d go really delicate on the specialty malts. Find malts that compliment the quince. 13% cara malt will compete here. If it were me I’d go nearly all pils to let the fruit flavor come through./

9

Delicate…

Now I agree that lightly poached quince has a delicate flavour.
If you reduce it to a thick, deep-purple paste though, it becomes quite potent.

I hear your concerns, and share them to a degree. The brew is currently still quince-less; I’ll report back once it’s completed primary.