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I brewed several variations of this recipe in 2020—those brew days and those beers helped to keep me sane during a challenging year. My favorite version featured a burst of lemony Loral hops, and this split-batch (or splatch) recipe goes all in on those.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 10 gallons (38 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.048
FG: 1.002/1.006
IBUs: 35-ish
ABV: 6.2%/5.5%
MALT/GRAIN BILL
18 lb (8.2 kg) German pilsner
HOPS SCHEDULE
1 oz (28 g) Loral [10.5% AA] at 30 minutes
1 oz (28 g) Loral [10.5% AA] at 10 minutes
1 oz (28 g) Loral [10.5% AA] at flameout
3 oz (85 g) Loral [10.5% AA] at whirlpool
2 oz (57 g) Loral at dry hop (for the saison)
YEAST Omega OYL-500 Saisonstein and Fermentis SafLager W-34/70, or whatever saison and lager strains you prefer.
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains, mash in at 144°F (62°C), and rest for 30 minutes. Raise the temperature to 160°F (71°C) and rest for 30 minutes. Then raise the temperature to 170°F (77°C), rest 10 minutes, and mash out. (This is a pretty classic multistep mash; see “Short and High: The Hochkurz Mash,” beerandbrewing.com. If you want to keep it simple with single infusion, aim for about 149°F/65°C for 1 hour.) Sparge the grains and top up as necessary to get about 12 gallons (45 liters) of wort—or more, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops according to the schedule. After the boil, whirlpool and cool to 180°F (82°C), add the whirlpool hops, and wait 20 minutes, allowing the hops to settle. Chill to 68°F (20°C), aerate well, and rack into two fermentors.
The Saison: In one fermentor, pitch the saison yeast. Ferment at room temperature, about 72°F (22°C), without worrying if the temperature rises on its own. After about a week, add the dry hops. After another week, crash, package, and carbonate.
The Lager: Cool the other fermentor to about 48°F (9°C) and pitch plenty of healthy lager yeast. Ferment at 50°F (10°C) for 2 weeks, or until fermentation is complete. Then lager at about 34–36°F (1–2°C) for at least 4 weeks, or longer. Then package and carbonate.