First off, here’s the build:

• Grains
  • 4 lbs 2-row
  • 1.5 lbs flaked rice
  • 0.5 lbs flaked barley
  • 0.5 lbs Crystal 10L
• Yeast
  • WLP565 – Belgian Saison I Ale
• Hops
  • 1 oz Sorachi (90 minutes)
  • 1 oz Citra (30 minutes)
  • 1 oz Citra (10 minutes)
  • 1 oz Citra (1 minute)
• Secondary
  • 1 oz Citra hops
  • Zest of a lemon, lime, orange, and grapefruit soaked in vodka

Now, the why. Broadly speaking, I believe homebrewing comes down to optimizing for what you want in a beer. There are many, many beautiful examples of each style, and, honestly, I will never be able to match the skill and finesse of the professional brewing trade. That being said, professional brews have to be marketed, and my homebrew only ever needs a successful audience of one- myself.

To that end, I decided to focus on a flavor and style profile to suit me:

• Rustic, frayed edges
• A yeasty palette cleanser
• Heavy hop content
• Dramatic brightness from citrus

The Four Horsemen was designed to match my tastes as closely as possible, and spans my interests in IPAs, Witbiers, Rice beers, and Hefeweizen. Each component stands out as a piece of my beer preference, and should act more as a tour than an extravagant fireworks show.

For the technically inclined, here’s a temperature guideline I use:

• Mashing – 155F
• Pitching – 80F
• Early Primary Fermentation – 68F
• Late Primary Fermentation – 75F
• Secondary and Conditioning – 70F