First time Saison

Hello all,

First time poster, but I've brewed about 7 out 8 batches that all came out well. I'm looking to brew a malt extract saison and I have read plenty of posts etc. online about the topic but I still have some questions. I'm not necessarily looking for a Saison Dupont clone but I do enjoy it, I also enjoy Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale from Boulevard brewery. Not a huge fan of Ommegang Hennepin. I'm confident that I could do a sort of "mini mash" if anyone thinks it would be very helpful.

First of all, any recommendations on extract? I've mostly seen dry pilsener and wheat extract used in Dupont clones and the like. Secondly, I know it's a loose style so could I use a light or raw honey instead of candi sugar, or might this risk a slow fermentation? What kind of hops would people recommend? I've seen lots of English hops used as well as Saaz.

Spices and bitter orange peel, or just let the yeast do its thing? Wyeast 3724? Put in the bottom of a bottle of Dupont once fermentation has slowed or skip that part?

Lastly, does anyone have an easy, inexpensive method for turning the temp up closer to 80 or 90 degrees for the fermentation while the fall season rolls around?

Thank you all for your time and input!

Most saisons consist of mainly pilsen malt and wheat malt or flaked wheat. So for extract, you should be going for mostly pilsen and some wheat. Not much needed in the way of specialty grains, maybe just a bit of aromatic and crystal for color. If you want to use some honey, it should be fine. It is my understanding that it takes a pretty big proportion of honey in the recipe to cause problems with fermentation. I prefer to not use any spices or orange peels, etc. in my saisons. If you are using a decent belgian yeast, the esters will take care of providing that slight spice note. It's really easy to go overboard on the spices, and IMO saisons should be easy to drink and refreshing above all else. As for hops, I like kent goldings and styrian goldings. And I REALLY have been digging strisselspalt for my late-boil hops on saisons. For heating the fermentation( unless you want to deal with something like an electric heating pad) I would say just wrap up your fermenter in a bunch of towels and blankets to try to keep as much of the heat that fermentation generates in there as possible. It can get 5 or more degrees above ambient temp. inside an active fermenter. Then just keep it in the warmest spot you can find in your house, preferably near a heating vent. Hope some of this helps.

Definitely helpful, thank you for the advice! I've heard some people say crystal for steeping might not be advisable because it might add some unwanted sweetness, but I don't feel like 1/2 lb. with a 1/2 lb. of another grain would be too much for a five gallon batch.

Anyone have any other opinions, or opinions on putting the dregs of a bottle of Saison Dupont in once the primary fermentation is complete?

Thanks again!

I just brewed a saison and used Wyeast's 3522 Belgian Ardennes. Lovely pepper/spicy notes. Temperatures throughout the process (primary, secondary, and bottle conditioning) were right around 75 degrees. Yielded some light banana/clove esters. Very mild, but they were present on the nose. I would say right around room temperature for this yeast is ideal. The 3724 is known to be a fermentation MONSTER right out the gate only to hang around 1.035 SG. It'll likely need a kick in the pants with VERY warm fermentation temps to finish. Some of my fellow Florida brew people have had decent results with temps as high as 85-88 degrees. It's easy here during the summer months... Just stick the carboy out in the garage. ;-)

As for the hops, I wanted to stick with the spicy, earthy notes so I went with the Hallertau Hersbucker at 60 min and 15 min. 2.5 and 0.5 oz respectively.

Overall, this beer turned out absolutely delicious. Refreshing and very easy to drink with plenty of flavor. I have pretty hard water so there was some ever so mild astringency, but it's hardly noticeable.

Cheers, mate!

lowtones84 said:

Lastly, does anyone have an easy, inexpensive method for turning the temp up closer to 80 or 90 degrees for the fermentation while the fall season rolls around?

Thank you all for your time and input!

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have you thought about using 3711?? ferments colder and is less of a hassle.

I have brewed a tank 7 clone, but it was an all grain. Here is a link to it if it helps. http://hopville.com/recipe/828287/saison-recipes/bully-tank-7-clone. I would avoid WY 3724 unless you want it to stall on you.

My local brew shop doesn't carry much Wyeast stuff unfortunately, so I went with Whitelabs 566 which is a Saison II. Their description: "...more fruity and ester production than with WLP565. Moderately phenolic, with a clove like characteristic in finished beer flavor and aroma. Ferments faster than WLP565." Optimum temp: 68-78.

Other parts of the recipe:
1/2 lb. vienna, 1/2 belgian aromatic both for steeping

3.3 lbs. Pilsen LME
3.3 lbs. Golden light LME
1 lb. Wheat DME
1 lb. candi sugar

Hops: 1 oz. styrian goldings-bittering
.25 oz. strisselpalt-bittering.

Some yet to be determined combination of styrian and strisselspalt for late additions. (suggestions?)

1 tsp. Irish Moss for clearing

Thoughts: Planning on adding most of the extract late. Think I should dial back the bittering hops addition in that case? Thinking about cutting back the amount of candi sugar, or cutting it back and replacing it with honey.

Thank you again everybody!

Don't change the bittering additions. I honestly wouldn't change a thing. I would brew as is and change the next time if necessary. Or brew two half batches. One original, and play with the other.

ozzy1038 said:

Don't change the bittering additions. I honestly wouldn't change a thing. I would brew as is and change the next time if necessary. Or brew two half batches. One original, and play with the other.

Click to expand...

Thank you! I actually plan on collecting the yeast in a sanitized jar from this batch then playing with a 3 gallon batch. I know that method of using a new yeast seems a little "unofficial" or whatever but I've done it before with other similar batches and had good results. Plus, I feel it's in the spirit of farmhouse ale!

Anyone have an opinion on pitching the dregs of 1-2 bottles of a favorite after primary fermentation?