Saison

I've never brewed (or had) a saison before, so I decided now was a good time.
Two days ago I brewed and it's been vigorously fermenting since.

I pitched at 65F, however it quickly escalated to 78F. I know saisons can (and are supposed to) ferment at higher temps, however I'm getting a bubblegummy, almost juicyfruit aroma from the airlock. Is this a good or a bad thing for a saison.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! (sorry if this is already a topic, I didn't see one on search).

It's a great thing. Some yeasts will take better to the higher temperatures than others. I used the farmhouse yeast from Wyeast b/c I couldn't get my temperatures very high in the basement. The Saison yeast from Wyeast will be great with the high temperatures. Also, the high temperature will let you get a higher attenuation which is an important part of the style.
You should head over to Brasserie Beck (in DC) and try a Saison. I'm sure you'll enjoy.

I wouldn't worry so much about it. At this point, even if you have too much ester and phenolic action going on, there is nothing you can do really. Just let it ride out, and in a month or so see how it turned out. Saisons can be ramped up quite high, in fact a Saison reminds me of a Winter Warmer beer because there is a lot you can get away with and still classify it as a Saison. Doesn't mean it will be great (there is no guarantees of that), but you shouldn't worry either. Let time work on it and see what becomes of it.

I haven't researched Saison style brews at all, but I bought one and drank it a couple of days ago. It seemed very much like a Belgian style to me. Very nice. Had a crisp edginess, sour overtones, and champagne-like carbonation.

I don't really have a good way to ferment above 66 degrees, since that is the temperature of my storage room where my ales ferment. Is higher fermentation temperature a requirement for a Saison? I guess I could ferment inside the house where the temp stays around 74 this time of year (at least for another month), but I don't really like having a 14 gallon conical sitting in the corner of my living room.

I pitch saisons arround 65 and then I let them free climb until they max out. I will push the temps to 90 degrees if I can. Saison yeast will work very well in that range and you should be able to get a low final gravity for a nice, dry finish.

In my opinion, 78 is still a little low but if you keep it there (which is fine) I would give it more time to finish. Saison yeasts can take their sweet time.

zoebisch01 said:

I wouldn't worry so much about it. At this point, even if you have too much ester and phenolic action going on, there is nothing you can do really.

Click to expand...

Saisons benefit from the esters produced. This is absolutely a good thing.

TheH2 said:

It's a great thing. Some yeasts will take better to the higher temperatures than others. I used the farmhouse yeast from Wyeast b/c I couldn't get my temperatures very high in the basement. The Saison yeast from Wyeast will be great with the high temperatures. Also, the high temperature will let you get a higher attenuation which is an important part of the style.
You should head over to Brasserie Beck (in DC) and try a Saison. I'm sure you'll enjoy.

Click to expand...

How did your saison come out with that strain. I just transferred mine to secondary after 6 weeks in the primary (d'oh, got busy) and it smelled very strongly of bubble-gum and apple juice.

ColoradoXJ13 said:

How did your saison come out with that strain. I just transferred mine to secondary after 6 weeks in the primary (d'oh, got busy) and it smelled very strongly of bubble-gum and apple juice.

Click to expand...

Six weeks in primary isn't bad at all.

How much sugar did you put in there? The apple juice smell would indicate a lot of sugar in the mix.

ColoradoXJ13 said:

How did your saison come out with that strain. I just transferred mine to secondary after 6 weeks in the primary (d'oh, got busy) and it smelled very strongly of bubble-gum and apple juice.

Click to expand...

Still in primary, it is only at 4 weeks. I'll probably let it sit another week or two and transfer to secondary for a couple months. My lhbs recommended this one (strand of yeast) after I told him my concern of not being able to get the temperature up enough.

I haven't even checked a gravity reading, since OG of course, so I don't even know what attenuation I have.

carnevoodoo said:

Saisons benefit from the esters produced. This is absolutely a good thing.

Click to expand...

Depends.

I wasn't too happy with the 3748 (or whatever the Wyeast strain is) when I let it ramp up into the 80's. I got a very odd phenolic that I can't really put my finger on...thankfully it is dissipating. At any rate the amount of Ester production is once again at the discretion of the brewer.

billtzk said:

I guess I could ferment inside the house where the temp stays around 74 this time of year (at least for another month), but I don't really like having a 14 gallon conical sitting in the corner of my living room.

Click to expand...

A sacrifice for the cause! You can start it low, and ramp it up on around day 2 or 3 of your ferment. Once it hits day 5, just move it again...or do you actually lug around a 14 gallon conical?

I suppose you're right there. I just like my saisons dry and funky.

carnevoodoo said:

Six weeks in primary isn't bad at all.

How much sugar did you put in there? The apple juice smell would indicate a lot of sugar in the mix.

Click to expand...

it was 2# of cane sugar for a 10-gallon batch, IIRC OG was 1.079 or so, it is at 1.011 now. This was the 'import strength' Saison recipe from Jamil's style book. It is almost 9%, so I am definitely going to let this sit for 6 months or so before drinking.

The warmer the better with Saison. Mine started at 75* the first day then was at 80* for the next 2 days then ramped it to almost 90*. It came out great very dry and a light pepper taste I added some orange rind and cracked pepper corn to the secondary as I wanted a more pronounced bite to it, I used cultured yeast from a bottle Saison Dupont and a bottle of Hennepin

grain bill was high for a 5 gallon batch 16 LBS of grain.

ColoradoXJ13 said:

it was 2# of cane sugar for a 10-gallon batch, IIRC OG was 1.079 or so, it is at 1.011 now. This was the 'import strength' Saison recipe from Jamil's style book. It is almost 9%, so I am definitely going to let this sit for 6 months or so before drinking.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that doesn't seem so off to me. I would probably use that much or more in a 10 gallon batch as well. hmm.

I'd say bottle it and sit on it for a while. Or keg it and do the same. It'll likely all come together. It is likely just very, very green.

carnevoodoo said:

I suppose you're right there. I just like my saisons dry and funky.

Click to expand...

Dang, did my response really make you curse? Sorry for that, it was not intended.

zoebisch01 said:

Dang, did my response really make you curse? Sorry for that, it was not intended.

Click to expand...

Apparently I type the word f**k more than I type funk. Go figure.