Pacific Northwest Saison

Having never had a good Saison (local beer selection isn’t that great) I decided to make my own.  I wanted to use up some hops that I had and make this a bit different so I used a package of Falconer’s Flight and a pack of Citra I had lying around.  This isn’t standard hops for the style but I wanted a dry beer with a bit of fruit aroma. 

Malt Bill
Amt (lbs)	Type
5	Pilsner
1	White Wheat
1	Caramunich
1	Honey
Hops
Amt (oz)	Type	Time
.75	Falconer's Flight (11.5%)	60
.25	Falconer's Flight (11.5%)	10
.25	Citra (14.5%)	10
1.0	Citra (14.5%)	Flame Out
Mash Schedule
Temp	Time
150F	90 minutes
170F	Batch Sparge
170F	Batch Sparge
Yeast	Wyeast French Saison #3711
Stats
6 gal	85% efficiency	IBU: 36

I wanted to try using a real wort starter so I used my chiller to get the wort to about 135*.  I then filled 2 jars and my fermenter with the wort.  Once my starter jars were at pitching temperature I split the smack pack between them and put them on my stir plates.  I am using one of the jars to ferment the wort and the other jar to farm some yeast for my frozen yeast bank.  What is left from the yeast that I don’t bank I am going to add to a 8oz capable Coke bottle and throw in the fridge.  It will leave me enough yeast to ferment another batch if I make another starter like the one pictured.





With the wort I put in my fermenter I let it cool to pitching temperature overnight in my 67* basement.  I aerated and pitched the yeast this morning and will move it into my loft bedroom in a day or two which is 10* hotter to help the yeast finish out.