Nelson Sauvin Saison

I've never brewed with them before, but I got my hands on some Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand. I was interested in them because the flavor has been described as passion fruit and mangoes. I thought it would be a nice flavor for a pale ale, but a more interesting Saison... honestly I'm just a total whore for Saisons.

The grist for this is pretty straight forward. Lots of Belgian Pils. I add a little two-row for some breadiness. Followed by a touch of wheat. And then some Special B Crystal for a nice golden color. I also added some sugar to help dry this sucker out.

For the hops I used the Nelson Sauvin and a little Willamette. I did only late hop additions to keep the flavors bright and fresh, and then I intend to dry hop with a little more of the NV hops.

I don't know about everyone else but I prefer a saison to be sessionable. If you've never had Jolly Pumpkin's Bam Biere, you should give it a try. It's only 4.6% ABV but tons of flavor. Most commercial examples today are pretty high in alcohol and not that traditional to the style.

For the yeast this beer currently chugging away with some Wyeast 3711 French Saison. This is my go to saison yeast. It doesn't sputter out at 1.020 like most saison yeasts do. Plus the flavor profile is great. The mouth-feel is somewhat silky, with nice pepperiness and slight fruitiness. I highly recommend using open fermentation to allow the yeast flavors to develop... also it makes one of the chunkiest, funkiest krausens I've ever seen.

RECIPE!!!!

6.5 Gallons

76% Efficiency

O.G. 1.050

F.G. ????

ABV ??%

Color 7 SRM

15 IBUs

Malts and Fermentables

5lbs. Belgian Pils

3lbs. American 2-Row

2lbs. White Wheat Malt

1lb. Table Sugar

.25lbs Special B Malt 180L

Hops

1 oz. Willamette Hops 5.5%AA 20 minutes

0.5 oz. Nelson Sauvin Hops 12.4% AA 10 minutes

0.5 oz. Nelson Sauvin Hops 12.4% AA 5 minutes

1 oz. Nelson Sauvin Hops 12.4%AA Dry Hop - 7 days

Yeast

Wyeast 3711 French Saison 750ml Starter

I would like this beer to have some acidity (as is the style), so I'm considering finishing it out with a bit of Brett L.