Unfortunately, the day was fraught with troubles, starting with two broken thermometers. The mercury thermometer I was left with was very difficult to read, and my mash temperature was well too low. I'm hoping it will still turn out okay, as the style calls for a low mash temp and highly fermentable wort anyway.
However, my mash stuck to no end. There was only 12 oz. of wheat malt in the grain bill, and I didn't think rice hulls would be necessary. When the mash was finally through, I discovered this thick slime caked all over the bottom of my grain bag.
Finally, I was simultaneously building a table. I tried to keep track of both tasks, but both my mash and boil time may have been a bit too long. The mash time I'm not worried about. Low temperatures call for a longer mash to get full starch conversion anyway. A too long boil, while helping DMS, could easily throw off my color. And, oh yeah, I nearly forgot the pound of table sugar, which didn't go in until the rest of the beer was already in the fermenter. As such, I have no reliable gravity reading.
It ferments from 68-80 degrees, rising steadily to make the yeast attenuate as much as possible. At least this part I can control, now that I have a temp controlled spare fridge to ferment in. I'm really hoping that, even though it's not the best beer I could have made, it will remain true to the classic Saison.
