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Recipe: Kros Strain Batch 625
From Kros Strain Brewing in La Vista, Nebraska, here’s a recipe based on the mixed-culture saison that thrilled our blind review panel and went on to become on of our Best 20 Beers in 2021.
This mixed-culture saison recipe comes courtesy of Bobby Kros, cofounder and head brewer at Kros Strain in La Vista, Nebraska.
Batch 625, he says, is “open-fermented in stainless with our house blend of two different Saccharomyces strains and five different Brettanomyces bruxellensis strains, then aged in an oak foeder. This saison has fruit-forward funk aromas and flavors followed by a dry but soft, finish.”
Here’s what our review panel said about the beer: “Hazy pale yellow with gorgeous, sturdy, meringue-like foam. Complex, enticing aroma with clove-and-chamomile spice, herbal-grassy notes, a touch of horse-blanket funk, and underlying stone fruit. Lively but soft on the palate, with bright stone-fruit flavors and fine, peppery bitterness that dissipates with the sparkle, leaving some cracker, herb-bitterness, and low-level barnyard. Elegant, tasty, and dry. Hits all the right notes.” The beer went on to become one of our Best 20 Beers in 2021.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.045
FG: 1.004
IBUs: 25
ABV: 5.4%
This mixed-culture saison recipe comes courtesy of Bobby Kros, cofounder and head brewer at Kros Strain in La Vista, Nebraska.
Batch 625, he says, is “open-fermented in stainless with our house blend of two different Saccharomyces strains and five different Brettanomyces bruxellensis strains, then aged in an oak foeder. This saison has fruit-forward funk aromas and flavors followed by a dry but soft, finish.”
Here’s what our review panel said about the beer: “Hazy pale yellow with gorgeous, sturdy, meringue-like foam. Complex, enticing aroma with clove-and-chamomile spice, herbal-grassy notes, a touch of horse-blanket funk, and underlying stone fruit. Lively but soft on the palate, with bright stone-fruit flavors and fine, peppery bitterness that dissipates with the sparkle, leaving some cracker, herb-bitterness, and low-level barnyard. Elegant, tasty, and dry. Hits all the right notes.” The beer went on to become one of our Best 20 Beers in 2021.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.045
FG: 1.004
IBUs: 25
ABV: 5.4%
[PAYWALL]
MALT/GRAIN BILL
6.7 lb (3 kg) Weyermann Pilsner
1.7 lb (771 g) Rahr Unmalted Wheat
5 oz (142 g) rice hulls
HOPS & ADDITIONS SCHEDULE
0.22 oz (6 g) Hallertauer Magnum at 90 minutes [12.1 IBUs]
1 g Yeastex 82 at 15 minutes
1 tablet Whirlfloc at 15 minutes
1.75 oz (50 g) Styrian Goldings at 10 minutes [8 IBUs]
1 oz (28 g) Styrian Goldings at whirlpool [5 IBUs]
YEAST
Yeast Bay WLP4020 Wallonian Farmhouse, WLP4022 Wallonian Farmhouse II, and Yeast Bay WLP4641 Amalgamation II Brett Super Blend
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and mash at 146°F (63°C) for 30 minutes; raise to 162°F (72°C) and rest 15 minutes; then raise to 170°F (77°C) for mash out. Recirculate for 20 minutes or until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge and top up as necessary to get about 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops, nutrient, and Whirlfloc according to the schedule. After the boil, conduct a whirlpool step: Stir to create a vortex, add the whirlpool hops, and steep 5 minutes. Chill to 66°F (19°C), aerate the wort, and co-pitch the yeasts and Brett blend. For the “open” primary fermentation, don’t use an airlock; loosely cover the fermentor with a sanitized piece of foil. Allow the temperature to rise gradually during fermentation. When fermentation is complete and the gravity has stabilized, crash, package in kegs or champagne bottles, and carbonate to about 3.2 volumes of CO2.
BREWER’S NOTES
Conditioning: We age in foeders for 2–3 months; you could use oak chips or a small barrel. This recipe will work well with any Brett strain(s) you want to use. Condition in bottles for at least 8–12 months.
Water and pH adjustment: We start with reverse-osmosis (RO) water. At the first mash rest, we add phosphoric acid to target a pH of 5.2, plus 1.9 g gypsum and 1.3 g calcium chloride (equivalents for a 5-gallon batch). At the start of the boil, we again add 1.9 g gypsum and 1.3 calcium chloride.
