Grisette is a sub-style of Saison, which comes from
the Hainut province in southern Belgium. Traditionally, Grisettes were made to
quench the thirst of miners just like Saison was used for the farm labourers. In
his book Great Beers of Belgium,
Michael Jackson describes Friart’s Grisette as “grainy dryness and a refreshing
acidity”. Phil Markowski, in Farmhouse Ales, describe them as “low-alcohol, light bodied, saison-like golden ales
of no great distinction". Being such a fan of the saison style and since I
never had a Grisette before; I was interested to try it.
For the grain grist, I adhered closely to the recipe
in Famehouse Ales but added some acid
malt to get that “refreshing acidity”. The hops consist of Brewer’s Gold for its
spicy and lemony notes, which is then complemented with Saaz’s herbal
character. When I was brainstorming for my recipe, I thought about using some
lemon peel in the boil (similar to using orange peel in a wit) then remembered
I had just received some Sorachi Ace. While researching this particular hop, I
learned that it has Brewer's Gold and Saaz as heritage so I thought it would be
a perfect pairing.
I brewed 18 gallons, split three ways with two other
friends. It fermented with three different yeast strains: 3522 Ardennes, like
the Farmhouse Ales recipe; 3726-PC Farmhouse
since it’s from Hainut (Blaugies); and for the third one I’m trying Mangrove Jack
M27 which sounds alot like Wyeast French Saison.
Santé!
Recipe Specifications
Batch Size (Gal): 18.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 28.69
Estimated OG: 1.045
Anticipated SRM: 3.0
Anticipated IBU: 29.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 75 Minutes
Grains
73.2% (21 lbs) - Floor Malted Pilsner
17.4% (5 lbs) - Wheat
7.0% (2 lbs) - Flaked Wheat
2.4% (11 oz) - Acid Malt
Hops
2.00 oz Brewer's Gold (8.7%) @ 60 min
2.50 oz Saaz (3.2%) @ 20 min
1.00 oz Sorachi Ace (13.0%) @ 10 min
2.00 oz Saaz (3.2%) @ 0 min
1.00 oz Sorachi Ace (13.0%) @ 0 min
Yeast
6gal -> WY3522 Ardennes
6gal -> WY3726 Farmhouse Ale
6gal -> Mangrove Jack M27
Mash Schedule
Sacc Rest - 60 min @ 152F
Notes
04/15/14: harvested WY3522 and WY3726 from a belgian pale ale I brewed last month
04/18/14: Brew day
Fly sparge with 170F water
Collected 18 gallons
OG = 1.045
Ferment at 58F for first 2 days, 70-72F for remaining
05/15/14: bottled @ 2.8 vol CO2. FG: 3522=1.010 ; 3726=1.002 ; M27=1.002
05/15/14: bottled @ 2.8 vol CO2. FG: 3522=1.010 ; 3726=1.002 ; M27=1.002