L-I-V-I-N

Origin Story

L-I-V-I-N, by Lukas Whitley. This beer was inspired by a certain batch of beer that I was drinking at Hoxeyville Music Festival last year. It was a farmhouse ale/Saison that a brewery in Michigan makes. This particular batch was very tart, and super refreshing. Since then, I've had this same beer numerous times on draft, and in the can... and it's not even as close, as far as tartness, and deliciousness, and crushability. I wanted to make that magical Hoxeyville batch again, and try to improve upon it with my own twist. I would describe L-I-V-I-N as a tart saison, with orange and lemon zest. I made the malt bill fairly simple, mostly Pilsen, with a dash of Munich and Vienna malts. The yeast was chosen with help from Sam Decamp in ER. I was telling him about my idea for the beer, and he suggested the White Labs Saison iii yeast. It's characteristics are described as "Producing beer with a high fruit ester characteristic, as well as some slight tartness. Finishes slightly malty, which balances out the esters. Also produces low levels of clovey phenolics. Great yeast choice for a summer Saison that is light and easy-drinking.".... This yeast sounded absolutely perfect for what I was going for. I used a couple different types of low Alpha acid hops for the bittering/flavor/aroma. There should be a slight bitterness in this beer, but the hops will take a backseat somewhat. I thought orange and lemon zest would accompany the characteristics of the yeast very well, for ultimate thirst quenching. Finally, I added some lactic acid to the kettle to drop the PH of the beer, and ensure some of the tartness I was going for. The Name L-I-V-I-N was inspired by David Wooderson (Matthew McConaughey's character in the movie "Dazed and Confused"). I originally wanted to call this beer "Alright, Alright, Alright Ale", which was one of his famous lines from the film....But it was already taken (of course). There is another part of the movie where he is giving advice to the younger high school kids, and he says, "You just gotta keep Livin' man...L-I-V-I-N." in all of it's misspelled glory.