Annie Johnson is an experienced R&D brewer, IT specialist, and national beer judge. Her awards include 2013 American Homebrewer of the Year honors.
Die-hards will say you need to go all-grain to brew a great pilsner. They’ll also say you need strict temperature control. That’s fine—we don’t have to share our beer or our tricks with them.
Saison may bring to mind thirsty farmers in amber waves of grain—or it may remind you of intricate, multistep mash regimes aimed at high attenuation. However, there’s no reason extract brewers can’t take a crack at it. Here’s a recipe.
With saison’s high attenuation, delicate body, fermentation-driven complexities, and lasting foam, it would be easy to assume that extract brewers are at a disadvantage. Not necessarily, as Annie Johnson explains.
When it comes to barleywine, the American way is to balance all that rich malt and alcoholic warmth with a bracing dose of hops. Here’s a partial-mash extract recipe for one you can drink fresh or lay down for months.
Here is Annie Johnson‘s partial-mash recipe for an English-style barleywine, getting classic depth from judicious caramel malts and east Kent Goldings hops.
Whether English or American or breaking new ground, barleywines are the Cadillacs of the ale world. Can you brew a great one with extracts? Of course you can. Annie Johnson breaks it down in our ongoing series on extract-brewing exceptional beers.