Critique my Pineapple Saison Recipe

[naturals]

I'm planning on brewing a Pineapple Saison - it's going to be a bit of a bastardisation of the Basic Brewing's recipe but with some hop substitutions for those hops I have filling the freezer. This will be about my 4th or 5th AG batch and my first attempt at modifying a recipe so any help would be (very) gratefully received.

Batch volume = 23L
Target OG 1049 @ 67% efficiency.
Target FG 1013 = 4.91% ABV
IBU = 35.1
EBM = 8.6

Grain bill:
4.95KG Maris Otter
0.50KG Rye Malt

Hops:
18g Columbus @ 60min
30g Centennial @ 5min
30g East Kent Goldings @ 0min

Misc:
1L Pineapple juice @ 0min

Yeast:
Harvested from my favourite Saison

 

[RobWalker]

Saison yeast can attenuate well down to 1.002 or so, so expect a higher abv than that.

 

[naturals]

Saison yeast can attenuate well down to 1.002 or so, so expect a higher abv than that.

Thanks for the tip Rob - I'd heard this elsewhere but wasn't sure how to take this into account in my BrewMate calculations. If I omit some of the grain it indicates my OG is too low. Does this matter to the final product? I'm aiming for something around 4.8-5% ABV.

 

[RobWalker]

You can always liquor back a little. the highest you'll probably hit with that is about 6% - just means more volume if anything. and it's better to go too high than too low :thumb:

 

[naturals]

You can always liquor back a little. the highest you'll probably hit with that is about 6% - just means more volume if anything. and it's better to go too high than too low :thumb:

So for clarity - add the same amount of grains, just add more water to bring to gravity down to the desired range pre-boil?

 

[RobWalker]

I'd do it when your beer has fully fermented out and get an idea of what your attenuation was, if the ABV is too high for you. Just carry on as you have planned, and if you get down to the 1.000 region and end up with a 6%er, feel free to add some water at that point to bring the ABV down. It's a backup plan more than a technique! :thumb:

 

[jkp]

if you get down to the 1.000 region and end up with a 6%er, feel free to add some water at that point to bring the ABV down.

:shock: Sounds like a great way to ruin a nice beer. Why not just put it into 330ml bottles rather than 500ml, or drink from a smaller glass? :whistle:

 

[pittsy]

if you get down to the 1.000 region and end up with a 6%er, feel free to add some water at that point to bring the ABV down.

:shock: Sounds like a great way to ruin a nice beer. Why not just put it into 330ml bottles rather than 500ml, or drink from a smaller glass? :whistle:

I second that