Brand New and Looking at Saisons

I would say that Wyeast French Saison would be the best yeast for you to use, Belgian Saison tends to be difficult to use. Also, many modern Saisons are fairly high gravity/alcohol, I would shy away from the temptation to try and match these, stick to a moderate gravity (1.040 to 1.050) clean, light saison.

 

Try 5# Pils LME
1# Table Sugar
1.0 oz Styrian Bobek 60 mins
0.6 oz Styrian Bobek 20 mins
0.4 oz Styrian Bobek 0 mins
0.5 oz Hallertau Mittelfruh 0 mins
0.5 German Saphir 0 mins

WYeast 3726 Farmhouse Ale Yeast (if you can still find it)
Ferment @ 75°F for 2 weeks

Should give you a nice drinking Saison, around 4.5-5 ABV, 20 IBUs.

 

A Saison beer is not a difficult beer to brew; making a Saison for your first batch would be OK.

To re-enforce what larsenju stated, Wyeast French Saison (3711) would be a very good yeast to use for your first homebrew. That yeast performs like a champ: fermentation will be complete is less than 7 days and the yeast will produce a low final gravity resulting in a dry Saison (which is what you want). The recommended fermentation temperature for 3711 is 65-77°F. Below is the description that Wyeast provides for 3711.

An alternative recipe for your consideration:

6# Pils LME
1# Table Sugar
1.5 oz. Styrian Goldings 60 mins
0.5 oz. East Kent Goldings 15 mins
1.0 oz. Styrian Goldings 0 mins
Wyeast 3711 fermented at 72°F for 2 weeks (an additional week of conditioning post primary fermentation being complete).

Good luck with your Saison.

Cheers!

“YEAST STRAIN: 3711 | French Saison

A very versatile strain that produces Saison or farmhouse style biers as well as other Belgian style beers that are highly aromatic (estery), peppery, spicy and citrusy. This strain enhances the use of spices and aroma hops, and is extremely attenuative but leaves an unexpected silky and rich mouthfeel. This strain can also be used to re-start stuck fermentations or in high gravity beers.

Origin:
Flocculation: Low
Attenuation: 77-83%
Temperature Range: 65-77F 18-25C
Alcohol Tolerance: ABV 12%”

 

The first time I used French Saison my buddy warned me to keep limbs, pets and small children away during fermentation because the yeast may eat them.

 

The biggest issue with a saison is the temperature during fermentation. I am sure you'll make a good beer, but if you don't keep good record of your temperatures, it will be difficult to reproduce.

 

End thread! Very good advice here.

 

OK should have gone one down before ending it.

 

+1 to Wyeast 3711 French Saison. Its an awesome yeast, and easy to use. 3724 is well known to stall out on people. I haven't had that issue with it, but I know a lot of people who have.

 

It's never stalled for me either. Slow yes. Stalled no. I'm just about convinced that many of the reported stalls are the result of two hydrometer readings a day apart that are the same (or close to the same), when the movement is too small to measure within the limits of the instrument.

 

I think it is worth mentioning that 3711 does this also. It just does it at the end of fermentation. One saison I brewed with 3711 fermented "normally" appeared finished and I tood a reading. It was at 1.010 so I thought it was done. Unfortunately I had nowhere to put it so it sat in the primary for a few weeks during which time it went to 1.002.

8 points over a few weeks probably would have been missed by the usual "if it does not change in three days". The moral of the story is give this strain some time at the end or you may have a big mess on your hands.

 

I am brand new to homebrewing as well; haven't even made my first batch yet. A buddy of mine who has been brewing all grain for a while encouraged me to start out that way. I'm looking to brew my first saison in a couple of weeks and like these recipes. Quick question, though, how do these compare to like a Logsdon Seizoen or a de Glazen Toren Saison d'erpe mere? Those are my two favorite saisons and am really hoping to come up with something like that. Any advice?

 

3711 is never done. The last beer I made with it finished at 1.000 after three weeks when I bottled it, and three months later I've got gushers. At first I thought it was an infection, but the only gushers I've gotten in the last 26 batches have been the two that used this yeast. Luckily, I got some 3726 washed and in the fridge that I'm about to propagate.

 

I have never experienced gushers with Wyeast 3711. I typically have Saison beers for an extended time (over a year in the bottle) and I have never noticed any changes in carbonation levels with aging.

Some past experiences with 3711:

· OG = 1.060, FG = 1.001

· OG = 1.069, FG = 1.005

Cheers!