Saison Recipe

How long you condition with Brett before kegging/bottling?

 

Any suggestion of a yeast to go along with this?

 

3711. Seriously, I hear that's what they use.

 

I guess I don't exactly hate the flavor of 3711, I just don't love it and I'm afraid that it's relative ease of use has catapulted it to popularity and over Dupont-derivative yeasts, fast becoming the defining flavor of modern American saison. Dupont yeast has such a beautiful, complex fruitiness to it, while 3711 has a very heavy-handed peppery phenolic character that I think borders on plastic in some cases.

 

I have a question for the folks disliking 3711: What temps are y'all fermenting at? I tend to go up to the mid-70s, tops, and, while not as complex or nuanced as 3724, it definitely doesn't produce a one-dimensional beer for me.

 

I ferment 3711 in the low-mid 70s and every batch was dominated by phenols (spicy flavors). There is some citrus there but very much in the background. It has been my consistent experience that strains like 3724, WLP585, ECY08, ... result in a more complex flavor profile (fruity & spicy) that I prefer.

If you like the flavor you are getting from 3711 then you should continue using it. 3711 is a non-finicky yeast strain.

Cheers!

 

i'm also doing a siason this weekend. Grain bill is simple, 80% pilsner malt, 6% wheat, 6% munich, and sugar to finish it out. just a single hop, a single bittering addition, and a single aroma addition. gonna use WLP-568, that's what my HB shop had. The biggest concern I've had is temp schedule for fermentation...at this point, I'm gonna chill to 68F, pitch, and hold there for 2 days. Then ramp over 5 days to 80F.

to OP, I'd suggest not worrying much about the recipe and focus on the fermentation temps and schedule. You'll want it to finish dry with whatever yeast you're using. I think its probably a matter of figuring out how the yeast you have will attenuate best given temp and time. Good luck!

 

Usually about 2 months in primary, followed by another 6 weeks to 2 months of bottle conditioning. They taste best with 6 months in the bottle, though.

 

From the above posts I would go with the 3711. I would have responded earlier, but I'm on vacation in Belgium at the moment drinking a bit of beer.

 

Oooo la la! Lucky! I was there back in December, and I would do anything to be there right now. Have a great time!.

 

So far as the grain bill, I like 80% Pils/10% Wheat/5% Caravienne/5% Acidulated, Though I have done some 100% Pils that have come out amazing. OG of ~1.055, Hopping with Sazz to 30-35 IBU.

At The Yeast Bay, we have a few strains that might interest you that are unique from any other saison yeast out there that a lot of people have used successfully within the saison style, including the Saison Blend, Wallonian Farmhouse (seems to be a favorite among a lot of people), and the Saison/Brettanomyces Blend if you want some Brett funk as well.

Cheers, and good luck with the recipe development! It's one of the most fun parts of brewing.

 

Thanks! Just got up and ready to do some more beer hunting!

 

More late addition hops. Keep the ferment around 70*F for the first 2-3 days then ramp up with the lamp and hold to finish. Too hot too soon can create fusels and such.

 

Why the 3 lbs of 2-row? Just laying around?

While I haven't used 3726 specifically, I'm not sure I agree with the too hot too soon can create fusels. I pitch my saisons at 80, let em get up to 95, never get any fusels.

 

Good luck with your Saison(s).

Please report back your results.

Cheers!

 

@mattbk posted: “I'm not sure I agree with the too hot too soon can create fusels.” Whether a given yeast will create fusels at elevated pitching temperatures is strain dependent, As a general rule Saison strains tend to not produce a lot of fusels at higher temperatures but I would personally be cautious with the Danstar Belle Sasion yeast. I brewed a Saison last summer using this strain. I pitched at 70°F and by day 3 I let it free rise to 74°F (which is the highest the fermentation temperature achieved). The resulting beer was ‘weird’ in that there were some funky flavors at 1 month post bottling and I really did not like this Saison until it had several months in the bottle. I did not specifically perceive a hotness or harshness in this beer but there was something ‘different’ in this beer. If I was forced to choose what this ‘difference’ was I would feel compelled to state that the beer had elevated levels of fusels which diminished with bottle aging.

A long winded way of stating that I would strongly suggest to @TastyAdventure that you not pitch the Danstar Belle Saison in hot wort. It has been a very long time since I brewed with 3726 so I have no comment on that particular yeast strain with respect to pitching temperature.

Cheers!

 

Towels should be fine.