So I’ve been going through a nostalgia period with my brewing, and this week it was time to make another go of my Sichuan Saison. Last time, I’d used a White Labs yeast (no. 565). This time round I decided to keep it simple with a Wyeast Belle Saison packet. There were a few other changes I decided to make, here and there. One was the addition of Candy sugar, to make it have a little more kick. Another was the use of a Light malt, rather than a pilsener malt extract, lending it a little more body.
The main point of this exercise however concerned the secret (or not so secret) ingredient – Sichuan pepper corns. Last time I’d been disappointed about the lack of kick in the Beer from the Sichuan pepper, even though it was delicious, and I was left wondering – how much do I need to add? Too much, and I run the risk of creating a diabolically numbing and spicy beer that few will drink, too little and it will be another let down.
The clincher was a text from Alex, deep in the bowels of SF, telling me about a wheat beer with Sichuan pepper. Not to be out done, I decided to go for 30g, tripe the amount I used in the first edition of the sichuan saison mark I.
The final recipe I settled on was the following:
- 1.7kg Light Malt Extract
- 200g Caster Sugar
- 8g Ella Hops at 30minutes to go
- 22g Ella Hops at flame out
- 30g Sichuan Pepper at 10 minutes to go
All of the brewing went smoothly until the addition of the sichuan pepper, where upon a great plume of sichuan pepper gas rose out of the cauldron, filling the entire room with its delicious smell. At this moment, I realised that I may have gone too far. Only one way to find out though, so I’ll update this in about 6 weeks.
Finally I added the yeast. Since it was a dry packet, I’m not sure what the story will be in terms of flavours, but hopefully the saison elements will compliment the sichuan pepper well.
