Homebrew Tasting: San Diego Session Saison

This beer turned out pretty close to what I was thinking.
If you remember from the Session Saison Brew Day post, I fermented this beer in 2 different containers. The big difference between the fermentors was temperature control:

• Keg was left in the brewing closet at ambient temperatures (72 - 76 F). 
• Carboy was kept at lower temperatures (68 - 70F) for 2 reasons:
• 1) This batch was made for a Bachelor party and the grooms favorite beer is Stella Artois so I didn't want this beer to get over the top spicy. 
• 2) For experimentation, I was curious what differences I would get from the temperature differences

These beers were different, but not nearly what I was expecting. The beers had very similar flavor profiles, the only real difference was the intensities of the flavor. The extra 5 degrees made an obvious difference. And I much preferred the Keg version, but the Carboy version did perform as I planned (Supposedly ... we drank all the beer waiting in the parking lot before the trip even started, so it was good)
  
Appearance: Pretty clear. the yeast took a while to settle out and is pretty fluffy. The color is very yellow due to 20% Flaked Corn

Aroma: Big citrus up front, a nice crisp lemony smell that comes off a bit sweet ( I believe this is also from the Flaked Corn.) Just a light background of peppery phenols.

Taste: The taste followed exactly with the aroma. It starts off crisp with a decent amount of lemon and citrus. Then you get some mild pepper notes and ends somewhat sweet (the sweet is hard to describe because the beer did finish at 1.002, but I think it a flavor from the corn that gives that perception)


Mouthfeel: Light, it has a quick finish that makes you want to keep drinking. It was carbonated up to 3 Volumes of CO2 which helps with the light mouthfeel.


Drinkability:Yes. Easy Summer-time beverage that has enough spice to be interesting, but not too much to prevent you from wanting to consume by the pitcher. My goal for this beer was achieved.

Notes: I'm very pleased with how this beer turned out. The one thing I might try to do differently is reduce the Flaked Corn by 5% maybe 10%. I liked the light body and but I think the corn sweetness threw off the dry finish of a Saison.


Session Saison Brew Day