Dark Saison with Figs

This one is a tweak of an old recipe.  In my year of homebrewing before this blog, I have yet to re-brew a recipe.  I have had some requests for another batch of Pineapple Pale Ale (coming soon) and a Dunkelweizen (that started as a Doppelbock).  I did try to tweak the Dunkel during a co-brew session with my friend Nate, but I used a different yeast.

I really like Saisons, Farmhouse Ales, and Biere de Gardes.  One of my personal favorite brews is a basic Saison.  I drank the whole batch too soon, and the last one had this amazing citrus and pepper character that the others all lacked.  I was inspired by a post on The Mad Fermentationist about a Saison with Figs and I just happened to have some figs in my freezer from a local farm.  The figs are not dried, but have been frozen to break up the cell walls (this lets the juices escape the fruit more easily).  I added in some Carafa malt, a roasted malt with the bitter husks removed, hoping the orange and black pepper flavors will mix well with the roasted malt and the darker-version-of-a-strawberry flavor the figs have.

I'm still adapting to brewing at my dad's house.  His stove is either boiling like a cauldron or not at all. I boiled off a lot more than I usually do, even with adding extra water.  I ended up having add the sediment, straining out the hops, just to make up my fill level.

Dark Saison with Figs
// 1 gallon batch

Grain Bill
2 lb 4 oz    2 Row Malt
4 oz          White Wheat Malt
2 oz          Munich Malt
2 oz          Carafa III Malt
~8oz         Frozen Figs, thawed and blended
Mash/Sparge
90 minute mash
Target temp 146*F
Starting temp 148*F
Final temp 145*F
Lazy Fly Sparge @ 170*F 

Boil 20 g      Hallertau (5.2%AA) @ 60 minutes
3 oz      White Sugar @15 minutes
4 g        Hallertau (5.2%AA) @ 0 minutes 6 g        Hallertau (6.2%AA) @ 0 minutes
Ferment
1/2 tube WLP566 Saison II Ale Yeast
OG 1.064 
//Notes

Brewed 9/1/2012 by myself
Farmers Branch water, filtered through a Brita pitcher
Fermented under the sink, thermostat set to 78*F
Figs added 9/4/12