Recipe: Lemon Grove Lemon Saison

Our second-annual Homebrew Summer program had such a fantastically high level of participation from San Diego County breweries—with over 30 of them taking part—that we’ve had to extend it well into the fall. It’s been a long, fun journey, but today we reach the finish line as we share the very last of those recipes.

Today’s contribution comes courtesy of 13 Point Brewing. That Lemon Grove business’ Head Brewer, Robert Bessone, teamed up with local homebrewer Jeremy Gaspar to craft a fruit-tinged liquid homage to the municipality it calls home. After all, 13 Point is Lemon Grove’s only brewery, so it’s fitting that Bessone’s and Gaspar’s beer should bear its name. Lemon Grove Lemon Saison is a Belgian-style farmhouse ale invoking the city’s signature citrus fruit, and a homebrew-scaled version of its recipe is available for download below.

We appreciate you spending your summer with us and hope you gained some tips and inspiration over the course of Homebrew Summer (and half the fall). It’s been a pleasure connecting San Diego’s professional and amateur fermentationists.

I selected Jeremy Kasper as my homebrew partner for a couple of reasons. For one, he’s been a solid regular of our brewery from the beginning. For two, he is also a talented woodworker and made all of our flight boards. And the last reason is that we learned that he was an avid homebrewer. Although he hasn’t brewed in a while, I thought it would be fun to do this project with a fan of our beer and someone we know as a friend, as well.  The beer we settled on was one he was most proud of as a homebrewer. It’s a lemon saison. That also makes it a perfect beer for us to make being that we are in Lemon Grove. This is also a beer-style we have never made. so this will be an adventure for us all.”

Robert Bessone, Head Brewer, 13 Point Brewing

I have been friends with Robert and [13 Point co-founder] Bob Frank for several years and was thrilled when they asked me to brew with them. We became friends because of our love of brewing, which I have been doing at home since 2011. I have brewed many beers over the years, but this saison has always been one of my favorites. It is the first beer I used Beersmith to make my own recipe. I chose it because it is my favorite, but also because the brewery in Lemon Grove should have a lemon beer.”

Jeremy Kasper, Homebrewer