A Salute to Saisons (2020-2021)

LOL!

I suspect you are correct here.

I annually brew a batch of Saison (only beer style I brew in the summer since the yeast strains I use 'like' the heat). My consistent 'results' are:

• Once bottle conditioning is complete: beer is good (tasty)
• 3 months in the bottle: beer is very good
• 6 months in the bottle: beer is very good - excellent
• About the 10 month mark I notice some staleness occurring but still a tasty beer

I should caveat that I store my homebrewed beers at cellar temperatures in my basement.

I have a good friend that I share my Saisons with and he has a dedicated beer refrigerator and he has actually aged my Saisons several years (2+ years) and he will send me messages of: "Jack, I had your 201x Saison last night with dinner and it was excellent!". Another example how cold storage really extend beer shelf life?

Cheers!

 

Dupont brew master Olivier Dedeycker mentioned that he finds Saison Dupont optimal at 6 months.

Dupont?

 

Wish I'd seen this before I went to my local store. #nextSaturday

 

Asking for a friend...

Would one be despised or venerated if they happened to chug a magnum from Hill Farmstead?

 

You would be venerated if you could get one of the Hill taproom servers to pour it correctly for you, properly retaining the sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Chugging it any other way is blasphemy.

 

No way, the sediment swirled in is the way the cool kids get their pours at HF. Separate sediment glass if for the uncultured.

 

Well I’m only just learning...

 

I have homebrewed with a commercially available Dupont yeast strain (Wyeast 3724) a few times but it is not a favorite for me since this specific strain can be quite fussy (an extended duration primary fermentation).

To address the heat aspect here is how Wyeast specifies the recommended fermentation temperature for this product:

"Temperature Range: 70 - 95°F"

Now to a broader discussion, I have read from several sources that at the Dupont brewery the house strain is really a house strains with a total of four different yeasts strains being part of the blend. Here is one reference as regards this topic:

"Yvan de Baets in Farmhouse Ales indicates that there are at least 4 strains of yeast in the Dupont house culture, if not more. He also indicates that he thinks that some of them are Brettanomyces strains."

http://inboundsbrewing.com/saison-dupont-bottle-culture-yeast-review/

The lore is that Wyeast 3724 is one of those four (or more?) yeast strains.

Some homebrewers discuss culturing up the yeast from a bottle of Saison Dupont beer. I tried to do this once with Chimay (a bottle of Chimay Red) but I was not too successful and I had to augment my pitch with a sachet of dry yeast. As you well know all too often the bottles we receive here are old (too old?) and this has big impacts as regards yeast viability.

My absolute favorite Saison yeast is from a NJ company East Coast Yeast - ECY08, but it is very (too) tricky to obtain this yeast. East Coast Yeast is a one man show (at least it was in the past) with Al Buck doing everything there. He mostly produces yeast for commercial breweries but after producing a batch of yeast (of various strains) if there is some leftovers he will package the yeast in small bottles for homebrewers. As far as I know they are only available at a few (2?) NJ homebrew shops and as I discussed above their availability to us homebrewers is sporadic.

Cheers!

 

I was just messing with you. A reasonable amount have them swirl it in, but if you don't ask they automatically pour it in really carefully and give you the separate "dregs" pour in the little tasting glass. I have done both ways.

 

Oh I knew you were just goofing around! I was playing along. But I’ve only had them pour with the separate dregs pour. I never considered asking them to swirl some in, but I am amenable to trying it.

 

Why say anything?
Don't yuck our yum.

 

I've found that BE-134 gives me the reliability of Wyeast 3711, Belle Saison, or equivalent strains along with a complex flavor (pear, as well as a mix of warm spice, instead of just clove). I know you are a big proponent of blending a couple of dry strains, but give this one a try on it's own, especially if you plan on late hopping or using some fruit. It has become my go-to yeast for saisons, as I want to create something unique at home, using more complex malt bills and lots of late hops or spices. It is also my go-to yeast for cider.

 

I did just that for my 2019 batch. While I enjoyed that batch I personally felt it was not as complex as my 2018 T-58/BE-134 blend. I drank my first bottle of my 2020 T-58/BE-134 blend last night (only 3 weeks in the bottle) and I was very pleased with how this beer tasted. Since it was young I was expecting it is be good but to my pleasure it was very good. In 3 months it will be even better.

As Chris (@zid) is want to remind me: "we all have our own unique palates."

So, for my "unique palate" the T-58/BE-134 blend is better than just plain old BE-134. Your palate may agree with me (I would highly recommend you give it a try) or maybe it won't.

Another quote: "Life is a journey, enjoy the ride!".

Cheers!

 

This sounds quite refreshing, I'm in if I remember.

 

When I read that quote, my reaction was "That person might have a different version of the book than me... one with more specific information."

Looking it up, here's what Yvan de Baets really stated (twice):
"at the Dupont Brewery where the yeast is composed of several different strains, including at least one or more wild yeasts that are highly attenuative."

Perhaps Yvan stated something more specific in the book and I just missed it. I'm not saying the Brett quote is wrong, but that writer might be jumping to conclusions.

 

What was your appraisal of the De Glazen Toren Saison d'Erpe-Mere?

 

Chris,

There are a significant number of sources that discuss (debate?) what yeast strains are in the blend that is used at Saison Dupont. I just provided one link to you.

I suppose the only folks who know for absolute certainty here are Olivier Dedeycker and his wife (who is the yeast wrangler). Maybe a few other Dupont employees?

Cheers!

 

Right on. My homebrewed saisons often have complex malt bills, lots of late hopping, and/or Brett added, in some combination, and sometimes all three. Adding another Sacc strain seems like overkill. One of these days, when the schedule allows, I'll give it a try with a SMaSH so that I'll know what you're talking about. It sounds tasty.

 

Don't read this post until after you've had your new can.

I've always seen them as a brewer that was included in B. United's range because their saison is somewhat Dupont-like, and they wanted a Dupont-like beer. Same with Blaugies and Shelton. Just a hunch. That comment isn't meant as a slight on either brewer in any way!

I've always liked Saison d'Erpe-Mere quite a bit, but never loved it like something from Dupont or Blaugies. I've had various versions of it and a B. United canned version before... but the can that I had this week REALLY surprised me. Boy was it hoppy! Could have just been me on that particular day. It was a dry, rustic, and leafy beer for me. Heavy handed but great. Sure glad I got one again.

Please add your thoughts here as well.

@TongoRad

 

Yeah... and I wasn't criticizing you in any way for posting it. I could be wrong, but it just felt like he was putting words in another author's mouth rather than debating anything. Surprised me.