Wallonian Pale Ale (Batch 04): Recipe

This is my fourth time trying out this recipe, a very hop-forward saison with moderate bitterness.  I absolutely loved my second batch of this (recipe; tasting notes).  The third batch was basically the same recipe as the second, and I didn't feel that it warranted its own post.  This was especially true as I was brewing with a friend (his half of the batch was fermented with basic Chico yeast) and I wasn't able to take many notes.  This attempt is slightly different, as I plan to change up the hop profile a bit, and will also probably dry hop each half of the batch differently.

Here are the full details on the batch:

Batch Number: 97

Brew Date: October 18, 2014

Keg Date: November 9, 2014

Batch Size: 10 Gallon

OG: 1.045 (est.)

FG: 1.003 (est.)

Fermentation Temperature: 65-70* F

IBU: 56.0 (modified Tinseth from BrewCipher)

ABV: 5.5%

SRM: 5.0

Mash: Single infusion for 60 minutes at 154* F

Boil: 60 minute

Fermentables

10lb 8oz Dingemans Belgian Pilsner

4lb 0oz Munich Malt

2lb 0oz Flaked Wheat

0lb 14oz Acid Malt

0lb 12oz Flaked Oats

Salts & Water

6.6g Calcium Chloride (all in the boil kettle)

7.1g Gypsum (all in the boil kettle)

2.5g Sodium Chloride (all in the boil kettle)

5.5mL lactic acid added to the sparge water to get that pH to approximately 5.3.  

Resulting water profile is as follows:

Mash pH (est.): 5.34

Calcium: 96

Magnesium: 12

Sodium: 25

Chloride: 100

Sulfate: 100

Hops

1.5oz Pacific Gem (pellet, 16.0 AAU) at 60 minutes 

4oz of Mosaic (pellet, 11.6 AAU), 30 minutes after flameout

2oz of Belma (leaf, 11.6 AAU), 30 minutes after flameout

2oz of Galaxy (pellet, 15.0 AAU), 30 minutes after flameout

Let the hops sit in the wort for about an hour total, as I ended up leaving them for a long time with Batch 02 of WPA and really enjoyed the character.

Dry Hops

01.02.2015: This one has been on tap for about two weeks, and I'm finally getting around to adding some dry hops in the keg.  I've been way behind, as my wife and I had twin boys in November!  I had planned on doing a blend of 3-4 hops and using some leaf, but I discovered that I'm out of large hop bags and don't have the time to reseal that many packages.  Thus, I ended up going with only two varieties of pellet hops, adding them to a hop bag (without weights, also can't find those) and dropping that into the keg attached to some unwaxed/unscented floss.

I went with 4 ounces of 2014 Mosaic and 1 ounce of 2013 Columbus.  The Columbus came from a 1-ounce package.  I usually have those around since I like to use them for bittering.  The Mosaic came out of a 1-pound bag.  I put the bag into a gallon Ziploc and put it back in the freezer.  Hopefully I'll have time to vacuum seal sooner rather than later.

Other

2.0 tsp. Wyeast Yeast Nutrient at 10 minutes

Yeast

Full batch used Ambrosia Blend 005 (now the seventh generation) from the cake of an September 27, 2014 batch of Demeter Facile.  Per yeast calculator.com, I needed 320 billion cells for the entire batch.  At 40-60% solids, this would mean 250mL for the whole batch.  I went with 500mL, as I was pulling from a wine thief and didn't have the best view, and I'd rather overpitch than underpitch, and didn't have time to let everything settle out before measuring.

Notes

11.09.2014: Kegged each half.  Will wait until closer to tapping to add the dry hops.