帰省の旅 (Homecoming)

While many of our Saisons here at Kyoto Brewing Co. lean too heavily on new world ingredients than would be considered appropriate in the style’s home country of Belgium, for this brew, we decided to reach back closer to more traditional roots by focusing on Pilsner malt and European hops. The entire malt recipe is made up of German Pilsner, and the East Kent Goldings and Aramis hop varieties are English and French, respectively, with East Kent Goldings likely being a variety widely used during the heyday of Saison production. The result is a clean and crisp malt base with hints of grass, spice, and herbs that compliment what is as of yet our most traditional expression of Saison fermentation character to date.

To achieve this, we looked to the yeast blend we first tried in Platinum Twins, a combination of Belgian Ale and Belle Saison yeast, but accentuated the Saison character more by fermenting at a sweltering 30C. This created a nice background banana character from our house yeast, while the sharper and more peppery tones from the Belle Saison keep the beer bone dry. While the ABV jumped to 7.0%, the overall complexity of the beer is right in line with what we think is perfect for the style. Enjoy!

Naming: While we are not from Belgium, the home of the Saison, we fell in love with this style and were determined it was going to be our first year-round beer from the very beginning. Recently, we’ve been doing a lot of travelling and experimenting with new hops from around the globe and with styles originating from various parts of Europe and North America. Gaining new experiences through time away from home is lots of fun, but so too is coming home for the first time in a while, seeing old faces, and of course once again experiencing those aromas and flavours that were once so very familiar. This traditional Saison is somewhat like a homecoming for us, and akin to a trip back to where we started.

Style: Saison

Malt Bill:

Pilsner

Hops:

Bittering: Merkur

Flavour/Aroma: East Kent Goldings, Aramis

Yeast: Belgian Ale, Belle Saison

ABV: 7.0%

IBU: 23

Gas Volumes: 2.6