The annual Bastille Days celebration held in downtown Milwaukee, July 9th-12th, will feature an exclusive collaboration brew between MKE Brewing Co. (Milwaukee, WI) and Bayou Teche Brewing (Arnaudville, LA). The Bastille Days Saison is recipe created by head brewers Robert Morton (MKE) and Gar Hatcher (Bayou Teche) to highlight the French and Acadian heritage of Louisiana. After deliberating over several ideas, Brewers Morton and Hatcher decided on a Saison Style Ale that is essentially a deconstructed version of a classic Louisiana treat called Succade that consists of candied citrus peel. The collaboration Saison is a limited release brew that will be on tap throughout the Bastille Days Festival at the Milwaukee Ale House and available in a small amount to local bars and restaurants following the festival. Bayou Teche will also be bringing the soundtrack for the festival as the Lost Bayou Ramblers, made up of members of Bayou Tech Brewery, take the stage Sunday night to entertain the Bastille Days crowd.
The Recipe
The core beer style at the heart of the recipe, a Saison Style Ale, is flavored with a variety of Meyer Lemon, Tangerine and Lime peel then fermented with Belgian Candi sugar, a popular brewing sugar. It was decided to ferment the beer with a traditional Saison Yeast strain known for its fruity and herbal character that can best be described as a” bubble gum” aroma. The malt bill for this Saison consists of light Pilsen malt and un-malted wheat with a small portion of biscuit malt added for color and flavor. The brewers didn’t want the hop bitterness to clash with the citrus peel flavors so, they chose to add the majority of the hops in the fermenter to reduce the hop bitterness (IBUs). The hop variety they chose was Sorachi Ace , known for its fresh lemon character.
The end result is a Golden Ale that has a number of complex layers. The floral nose has hints of clove, citrus peel, peach, and bubble gum. The beer pours with a solid white head that can be attributed to the unmalted wheat in the recipe. A warm crisp flavor hinting at green apple, pear, and citrus refreshes the pallet.
0 comments (click to read or post):
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment...I do moderate each comment so it may not appear immediately...and please be nice! You can also comment using Disqus (below) or even comment directly on Facebook (bottom).