So here’s my first recipe creation. Very simple. Been reading my @$$ off lately. Palmer, Mosher, Papazian, Noonan. Sat outside on a gorgeous day with notebook in hand, scribbled some notes, and then put it in Beer Alchemy for Mac when I got home and here is what I came up with. I could use some pointers.
Style: 16C - Belgian & French Ale - Saison
Boil Volume 2.5 gallons
Expected ABV: 5.9%
Expected FG: 1.012 SG
Expected IBU: 30.2
Expected Color: 7.6 SRM
Boil Duration: 60 min
Fermentables
1.25 lbs - US Caramel 20L - Steeped
2.5 lbs - Golden Light DME - Start of Boil
2.5 lbs - Golden Light DME - End of Boil (10 min before)
Hops
1.3 oz - 5.5% Golding Pellet - 60 min
.5 oz - 3.0% Saaz - 20 min
.5 oz - 3.0% Saaz - 2 min
Other Ingredients
Peel of 1 Orange - end of boil
.75 oz - coriander - end of boil
Yeast
Wyeast 3724 - Belgian Saison
Fermented @ 75F
Is this for a five gallon batch? If so then 1) That seems like a lot of crystal, and 2) What OG are you projecting? I think your FG is pretty close but based on the ABV % I think the projected OG might be on the high side. I think you’d end up with an OG of around 1.050 with that recipe in a five gallon batch and an abv of 4.8%.
Also, I think you may not be accounting for the lower hop utilization by doing a 2.5 gallon boil. I get around 23 IBUs when I put your recipe into beersmith. But that seems like it would be a good amount of bitterness for the recipe.
I have to say im not a huge fan of that program. I adjusted my ratios to about 10% of the caramel malt. I have a mac so until beersmith comes out for mac osx, im trying to make due. I used it once and really liked it. The numbers i got were from beer alchemy. Thanks for the input though. Back to the drawing board.
Expect your FG to be in the single digits (i.e., 1.00x).
Wyeast 3724 Belgian Saison will take a long time to ferment (4 weeks for me) and will get stuck around 1.035. Don’t freak.
See other posts on this forum about using this yeast. Not everyone has trouble with it (they recommend starters, which I did not do, and higher temps later in fermentation).
Consider a small amount of crystalized (preservative-free) ginger (2 oz or less for a 5 gallon batch added to the last 15 minutes of the boil and not carried forward into the fermenter). YMMV.