Spring Saison - 2025 Edition

I make a Sorachi Ace saison every spring. Last year, I tweaked the recipe a bit by adding some rye and balancing the sorachi ace with some mosaic hops and was really happy with the results:

Last Year's Recipe

This Year's Recipe

This year, I kept the same recipe but thought I would give a different yeast a try. I used the Lallemand Farmhouse yeast and fermented at the lower end of the temperature range - the package insert gives a range of 72 - 86F and I fermented at around 72. Per Lallemand's description:

LalBrew Farmhouse™

LalBrew Farmhouse™ is a non-diastatic hybrid that has been selected to make saison-style and farmhouse style beers.  LalBrew Farmhouse™ was selected using the most advanced breeding techniques. The research team used classical and non-GMO methods to remove the STA1 gene, responsible for the diastatic activity of Saison yeasts. Care was taken to retain normal brewing sugar utilization to produce dry saisons. Additionally, the patented technology from the University of California Davis (USA) ensures that the strain will not produce hydrogen sulfide (H2S) off-flavors, therefore enhancing the saison yeast aroma characteristics.

I have to say I am getting zero off flavors - hydrogen sulfide or otherwise - and this turned out to be an exceptionally dry, clean, and crisp saison. Not getting any funky farmhouse flavors, but that is probably due to the low ferm temp I used for this yeast - would love to try it again on the high side of the temperature range. This batch is definitely more dry than with the Belle Saison yeast I used last year and I am picking up a lot more peppery aroma and flavor than I recall in last year's batch. Also, the flavors from the yeast are more prominent than the lemongrass and dill flavors from the sorachi ace hops which is surprising given how potent those hop flavors usually are.

In reality, it is probably a much better balanced beer than the one I made last year. Either way, I like them both as a spring or summer seasonal saison!