DuPont Summer - Saison - Extract w/partial mash

Your subject line is Dupont Summer... are you trying to make a clone of Saison Dupont, or at least something very similar? If so, I'd recommend a grain bill that's 100% pilsner malt (or extract), which is reportedly what Dupont uses. If there's anything else in the grist, it's not much. For hops, I believe it would be EKG and Styrian Goldings.

You can ferment 3724 in the mid 80s. I hold it at about 80F. It can sometimes be a mistake to assume that commercial fermentation temps, especially for Belgians, are also best for homebrew. Larger fermenters tend to suppress fusel/ester formation that would otherwise occur at these higher temps.. Having said that, lots of people use 3724 at very high temps and claim their results are great, so YMMV.

 

I agree that your Est FG is way too high for that yeast, especially with the honey. I would assume a FG in the 1.005 range, or lower, just give it time.

 

If you are trying to control ABV, I would drop the honey all together. I don't think it will add much/anything to the beer.

 

I recently brewed two saisons with 3724. Beertools calculated the fg at 1.010. I bottled it at 1.012 and got border line bottle bombs. My second one is still in the carboy pushing 8 weeks and is currently at 1.018. I've held it at 80 deg. I think I'm going back to 3711, this is a bit much for me.

 

@ventura78 brings up a very good point. When brewing with 3724 you need to be very, very patient and wait until you reach a 'true' final gravity before bottling. My last batch of Saison with 3724 took over 7 weeks to complete primary fermentation with a final gravity of 1.002 (the OG was 1.058). Wyeast 3724 makes a very tasty Saison but it can indeed be a finicky yeast to use.

Cheers!

 

Wyeast 3724 can be, and usually is, slow. But I have used it many times and have never found it "finicky." Unless that means slow.

 

In this case I think finicky probably means that fermentation rate and attenuation may be more sensitive to things like pitch rate, oxygen, and temperature than other strains. Finicky could also mean that the flavor profile is sensitive to these things. While all yeasts show sensitivity to these fermentation factors, this strain seems to be more sensitive than many other ale yeast strains commonly used by homebrewers. I base this more on reports in the forum than on personal experience with 3724, which is limited. One of the reasons 1056 and 1968 are so common probably has to do with their being less sensitive to these factors and therefore more predictable for sloppy homebrewers (three fingers pointing back at me) who are not entirely consistent in their fermentation protocol. Not that fermentation control doesn't matter, just maybe not so much.

FWIW, My last two saisons with this strain (excluding the brett saison) went from 1050 to 1006 (94% pils, 5% sugar, 1% crystal malt) and 1057 to 1009 (all pils). The OP's suggestion of a higher finishing gravity seems reasonable to me, especially with extracts, which have always finished a little high in my brewhouse.