Crooked Stave Five-Grain Rustic Saison

Mill the grains and mash at 148°F (64°C) for 60 minutes.

Recirculate until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle with the first-wort hops.

Sparge and top up as necessary to get about 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort, depending on your evaporation rate.

Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops according to the schedule.

After the boil, do a whirlpool step: Stir or recirculate to create a vortex, add the whirlpool hops, and allow 10 minutes to steep.

Chill the wort to about 70°F (21°C), aerate, and pitch the yeast. Loosely cover the fermentor—for example, with an untightened lid or sanitized piece of foil—to avoid fermenting under pressure.

Start fermentation at about 72°F (22°C), allowing the temperature to free rise as high as 80°F (27°C)—adjust temperatures accordingly for your chosen yeasts/cultures. Once primary fermentation is complete and gravity has begun to stabilize (perhaps around 1.006/1.5°P), rack to secondary in stainless or glass, add airlock, and allow 3–6 months for conditioning and secondary fermentation with the Brett.

Once fermentation is complete, crash, package, and carbonate to 2.6–3 volumes of CO2. Optionally, condition with a small amount of Champagne yeast in sturdy 750 ml bottles.

BREWER’S NOTES
pH: We adjust the kettle pH to 5.2.

Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.050 (12.5°P)
FG: 1.004 (0.9°P)
IBUs: 28
ABV: 6.2%