Beer Stain
Dark Saisons
I saw New Belgium’s Dark Heather Saison winter seasonal and now want to brew one.
Found some possible jump-off points for recipe formulation.
- Just Brewed: Dark Heather Saison
- Hopville . Dark Heather Saison
- The Mad Fermentationist - Dark Orange Rosemary Saison
- The Mad Fermentationist - Funky Dark Saison with Black Cardamom
I’m guesstimating 23-27 IBUs and 22-22 SRM and aiming for 7.5 abv.
I know that New Belgium uses Target and Saaz hops, as well as heather tips, cardamom and black pepper. (I think I’ll skip the heather in my version.)
New Belgium says that their malt bill consists of pale and black barley malts, but that it pours with a deep midnight hue with reddish highlights. A quick web-search reveals that roasted barley is the preferred red coloring in Irish Reds and that a combination of Caramunich and Special B also works (and may be preferable, as it might be more belgian-ey). Other grains to consider are: Carafa II, Crystal 60, 80, 120, Chocolate/Belgian Chocolate malt.
