TEMPS GAI BELGIAN POPCORN PALE ALE

This is my first brew using a partial mash, thanks to a spare converted keg lent
by Greg Ferlin.

2 lb. popped corn
1 lb. Crystal malt (10ƒ deg. Lovibond)
3 lb. Breiss 2-row pale malt.
1 1/2 lb. Light DME
1 lb. Billington's Muscovado sugar
1/2 lb. Demarara sugar.
1 1/3 oz. homegrown Northern brewer hops (start of boil)
1.8 oz newly picked NB "wet hops" (:02 from knockout)

Wyeast #3724 Saison (1 tube)
Windsor dried ale yeast

     Brewing day and primary: 8/25/04

     Having long ago ditched my hot air popper, I used my Orville Redenbacher-
     branded microwave popper, which yields nicely poppoed corn with or without
     oil (I popped without oil, of course). It took about 16 runs in the popper,
     and the popcorn filled two paper grocery sacks. Good thing I had that keg-
     sized mash tun.
   
     It took 7 quarts of water to get all the popcorn to soak. Started my mash
     at 150¡F. Held for about an hour. Added hot water to raise strike to 175¡F.
     Sparged by draining into a small pot and pouring back slowly at the top of
     the tun. After half an hour of sparging, I was still getting very hazy
     runnings, which I put down to the extra starches from the popcorn.
     Collected 3 1/2 gallons of wort.

     Started 75 minute wort boil while adding the DME and sugars. The two brands
     are essentially the same "unwashed" sugars, a substitute for Belgian candi
     sugar, available at Whole Foods. Added dried homegrown hops at start of
     boil. Added wet hops two minutes from the end. Cooled. Racked to fermenter
     while doing my best to filter out hop cones and wondering why I'm not using
     a grain bag for whole hops. Added preboiled water to 5 gallons. Pitched
     Saisson yeast from a starter of DME.

     OG: 1.052 Racked to secondary at 9/11 (17 days)

     Gravity at this point was still 1.018, so on advice from homebrew shop, I
     rehydrated and pitched a packet of Windsor ale yeast to the seconday on
     9/18.

     Moved to bottling bucket on 10/2. Since I had run some yeast through the
     secondary, I left it a week as a tertiary ferment, then bottled with 1/2
     cup of corn sugar and 1/3 cup of the Demarara for priming on 10/10.

     FG: 1.004  ABV: 6.5%

================================================================================
Entered in the Brewers of South Suburbia 15th Annual Chicago Cup Challenge,
April 1, 2006. Score: 36 out of possible 50 (1st place in category).

Judge 1 comments: 
"Dry, malty, hoppy, challenging and pleasant. Crisp and lively, with some good 
 citric. Shows lots of hop flavor and has some good rose-like esters in the
 palateÉ Very much in the tradition of Saison DuPont; bitter, hoppy and dry.
 The dryness and thinness make me wonder if this is an older bottle. I could
 drink lots of this."
Judge 2 comments: 
   Aroma: "Hops, malt & orange aroma. Pleasant. Some pear and other fruitiness."
  Flavor: "Hops are well used and balanced w/malt. Maltiness is great; and you
  		   need it this high because it's so dry. Astringent mid-palate and
  		   long aftertaste."
 Overall: "Huge pithy astringency overwhelms me. I feel it hurts drinkability.
 	       You are not far away from excellence on all other aspects."
================================================================================
Entered in the American Homebrewers Association's National Homebrew Compeition,
May, 2006. Score: 40 out of possible 50 (3rd place, Gold Ceretificate, and 
advancement to the Nationals).

Judge 1 comments:
   Aroma: "A toasted popcorn aroma is noted, rather rich. Quite interesting."
  Flavor: "Very nice! Popcorn character really does come through in this brew,
           and at a good level that works! Lends a richness to the body. Saison
           notes from yeast are also present and appropriate. Light tartness."
 Overall: "This works! Good job! I honestly never would have thought of this
           -- I will try it myself in other styles."
Judge 2 comments:
   Aroma: "Distinctive aroma of popcorn, blended with malt character. Slight
           spice, slight citrus. Some slight 'burnt' popcorn aroma."
  Flavor: "Well balanced. Malt character is distinctive. Kind of toasty. Kind
           of nutty. Slight tartness. Low hop flavor and balanced bitterness."
 Overall: "This beer worked out well. The popcorn contributed a distinctive
           grain character that I wasn't expecting. Other features are in
           balance. Very odd, but well crafted!"