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**AnOldUR** · 03-23-2009, 12:11 PM

Been reading through some very informative threads on Saison's. This style and yeast require some unusual techniques. I brewed an Americanized version of a Saison yesterday based on some recipes in an older issue of Zymurgy. OG was 1.071 and I ended up with almost 6 gallons in a 6½ gallon carboy. Put a blow-off in it, but I was hoping someone with experience with this yeast could tell me what type of fermentation to expect. Right now it’s steady, but not overly violent to where it needs the blow-off. I’ve read that this yeast is prone to stopping and starting, but not much about intensity. Would it be safe to go with an airlock in a couple of days?

**AnOldUR** · 03-23-2009, 02:53 PM

Well, sort of answered my own question. Less than eleven hours in and I had blow-off. Still would like to know what to expect down the road? Some additional information might be of interest to anyone, like me, who is new to Saison yeast.

American Farmhouse Ale
6 gallon batch
1.071 OG
1.006 FG
45 IBU

6¾ lb Pilsner / Weyermann (GER) - 45%
3¾ lb Pale Wheat / Weyermann (GER) - 25%
1½ lb Flaked Wheat / Oio (CAN) - 10%
¾ lb Aromatic / Castle (BEL) - 5%
¾ lb Acidulated Malt / Weyermann (GER) - 5%
1½ lb Tarbinado Sugar / Sugar in the Raw (Hawaii) - 10% (last 5 min of boil)
¾ lb Rice Hulls
1 oz Amarillo Hop Pellets / Alpha 8.0% - 90 min (FWH) - 30 IBU
1¼ oz Amarillo Hop Pellets / Alpha 8.0% - 15 min - 15 IBU
1 oz Amarillo Hop Pellets / Alpha 8.0% - Flame-out
2 qt starter Wyeast 3724 Belgian Saison

Step Mash
20 min @ 104
30 min @ 140
60 min @ 150
15 min @ 168

90 minute boil
Batch Sparge

Pitched yeast at 70 degrees. Moved up to 75 over 24 hours. I have a heating pad wrapped around it and plan to ramp it up to 85 over the course of the week.

Edit: Went to 80 degrees after 48 hours. Hit 85 on day three and held that for 8 weeks.

eulipion2 · 03-24-2009, 09:33 PM

I made what I'm calling an 'American Saison' using 3724. I didn't realize the temperature needs and stalled out after about 3 days. I boosted the heat by pointing a room heater at the carboy, and took it up to about 75-80, maybe higher (I don't have the most reliable means of checking). With a high temp it threw lots of phenols. The sample when I bottled it tasted like a really hoppy hefeweizen. Pretty good, and I'm sure the hop aroma will come through more once some carbonation is added to the mix.

7 lb. Belgian pilsner malt
4 lb. German wheat malt
.5 lb. Aromatic malt
1 lb. Turbinado sugar

1 oz. Columbus (60)
.25 oz. Columbus (20)
.25 oz. Centennial (20)
.75 oz. Columbus (0)
.25 oz. Centennial (0)

Wyeast 3724

**Doog_Si_Reeb** · 03-24-2009, 09:45 PM

I'm planning to brew a Saison this weekend, although I'll be keeping it pretty close to Jamil's recipe in Classic Styles. I'm going to use WLP568, but I'm sure I will run into some of the same funky behavior.

Keep us posted on your techniques and results.

**AnOldUR** · 03-24-2009, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eulipion2

I made what I'm calling an 'American Saison' using 3724. . .

Rick. Our recipes are pretty similar. Is that yours or was it based on something? What was your brew date?

Doog. After about 24 hours the blow-off had stopped. The tube was getting that funky look from dried krausen, so I switched to an air-lock this evening. It’s chugging nicely at around 80 degrees. That funk in the tube had a nice spicy smell to it. Heck, even the wort decanted from the started tasted pretty good. I got a good feeling about this one!

eulipion2 · 03-25-2009, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnOldUR

Rick. Our recipes are pretty similar. Is that yours or was it based on something? What was your brew date?

My recipe is the same grain bill as a recipe from Zymurgy's Saison issue last year called 'Springtime in Amarillo.' Where I used Columbus as my primary hop I'm calling it 'Springtime in Columbus.' Not very original, but I liked Columbus and Centennial hops better

Brew date was in February sometime (don't have my brew journal at hand) when it was freezing cold. Cooling was the fastest it's ever been!

**AnOldUR** · 03-25-2009, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eulipion2

My recipe is the same grain bill as a recipe from Zymurgy's Saison issue last year called 'Springtime in Amarillo.

Ahhh. I should have known that. The change in hops got me. My recipe was put together from a few of the one's from that same article. It was a good read on Saison's. Got me interested in the style.

Quote:

Originally Posted by eulipion2

Brew date was in February sometime (don't have my brew journal at hand) . . .

So, you should be ready to sample a good month before me. If you remember, would you post results here? I'd be interested to hear how it turns out.

eulipion2 · 04-24-2009, 02:58 PM

I've been drinking on this for about a month now. Went over really well at my club's beer/food match paired with Alton Brown's Deep Fried Pickles. Really tasty. It tastes very Belgian, but you certainly notice the hops. They blend very well. I'll give a better description once I have a bottle in hand, but for now I can offer that I don't quite get the 'Belgian lace.' I'm wondering if that could be because of the sugar. Would Candi sugar do it? The head lasts a long time, and is pretty rocky, but it's just too 'wet' to effectively stick to the glass.

More to come...

skeeordye11 · 04-24-2009, 03:37 PM

I'm glad I say this thread. I looked through all the Saison recipes in the database to see how other treated this yeast and their results. I brewed this recipe http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f71/saison-57683/ about five weeks ago and am eagerly waiting to get it into bottles and then into my mouth. The samples have been very good thus far!

**AnOldUR** · 05-21-2009, 02:07 AM

Here's to hoping that patience pays off. Bottled my Saison tonight. Over 8 weeks in the primary, no secondary. Keeping the heat in the 85 degree range seems to have worked. I had steady airlock activity the whole time. 1.071 OG / 1.006 FG! Sure hope it was done. I primed to what should give me almost 3.0 vols. Putting a lot of faith in the 22 ounce Fisher bottles. No bottle bombs please. Sample tasted great. The spice from the yeast and Amarillo hops are working well together. Should be around 8.5 ABV but the alcohol did not stand out. Back into patience mode while I wait for it to carb.

(I did cheat and carbed about 20 ounces with a Carbonator Cap. Give it a try tomorrow night.)

Edit: The fast carb'd stuff was great! Me want more . . . hav to wait