Aging a Saison with 3711

I feel like this question may have been better served by posting it in the Homebrew section.

I personally don't find the 3711 yeast very interesting unto itself and with some age on it the hops will have faded, rendering the beer a little boring for my tastes. If you had added a Brett strain to it, on the other hand, it would continue to develop more interesting flavors over the course of a year or two. The Brett can metabolize esters and other yeast byproducts (including the dead yeast itself) and can create the typical funky flavors without further sugars (though sugars certainly helps.) I believe the head brewer at Anchorage says that he gets more interesting Brett character from the higher pressure conditions of bottling. Next time, consider adding something like Brett B or C at bottling for a milder flavor or alongside the yeast for a more assertive and earlier occurring flavor.

 

I agree with fistfight, there isn't much to develop flavor-wise with that kind of beer. If anything, what you like about it now will degrade over time. For non funky or sour beers, its best to only really age heavier, boozier styles, as they will hold up better.

Another thing to note about aging home brews in general, oxidation is likely going to be a greater issue than anything store bought. The process of bottling home brew beer inherently allows for more oxygen to be present in the bottle, which will cause cardboard flavors to appear over time. I usually start finding this to be noticeable between 18 months and two years.

 

Cannot comment on the Brett, but mine (no brett) was wonderful and much improved at six months.

 

i did two batches of the same saison with 3711, 8 months apart. 6 months apart i actually prefered the older one. it just developed a little more character

 

pretty similar, except it was an all grain batch, and different hops

 

Pilsner, and a little munich for malt and Palisade and styrian golding hops. Obviouslly a lot of the hoppines dropped off over the 8 months. But the yeast developed more and just improved

 

I'm brewing a simple saison this Friday with 3711. It's an aggressive strain and attenuates well (that's why I use it). I have only had saisons last for 3-4 months at the most though. Since they are so good fresh they don't tend to last long in my house. Sure, the hops will fade, but that is the case with any beer. It will still taste great with some time. The brett batch will age better though, obviously. Keep that one around for a while.

 

I just had the last bottle from a 3711 batch brewed 14 months ago. It had not changed much at all over time. I was hoping it would have mellowed out some of the stronger spice flavors from the 3711, but it hadn't at all.