Saison fermentation

Hey

So I want to brew a saison soon! I love funky barnyard flavors, but I know saison fermentation can be tricky. So I have two questions-

1. Are the high temps used in the fermentation process what helps the yeast develop the funk in beers like DuPont?

2. Under the proper temps, what is a decent fermentation schedule for a saison?

I use and save the Dupont strain, WLP 565. I pitch at around 73-75 and let rise to mid 80s. Keep it there for around a few weeks. I find that the fermentation is pretty violent at those higher temps and need a blow of tube vs an airlock. I ferment for around 3-4 weeks in primary then bottle. Last one I did, I fed it sugar after the initial 5 day fermentation, and helped it dry out some. They do make for some pretty spicy and tasty beer.

beerloaf

Saisons have a record of stopping fermentation, then picking back up again, so keep that in mind if you think you may have a stuck fermentaion when you do your brew. As far as funk goes, it comes from the yeast, not the temp (although higher temps can create slightly more funky flavors). Some strains can get really funky, and super dry. A good guideline is if you want super funk, fully ferment with a saison yeast strain. If your new to game of funkyness, its better to ferment witha normal yeast strain, then finish off with a saison strain.

You definitely want to kick the temperatures up there. It is the yeast that makes those wonderful spicy and funky flavors, but it needs to be pushed past the typical "safe point" for ale yeasts. I had mine start in the mid 60's then after a few days started increasing the temperature until it was in the mid 80's and even getting close to 90 at times. Made a great Saison!

Another thing to note is mash low. Saisons, in addition to being delicious, are fun because you take a lot of things to extremes. Mash low, ferment high. I usually mash in to about 148, then pitch at 72 and just let it ride however high it wants to go (typically low to mid 80s). Mmmm may have to get one going soon.

It depends on the yeast. Do a search for Wyeast 3711 French Saison and you will find a lot of success stories fermenting between 70-75 without the stuck fermentation problems of other strains.

Barnyard funk comes from brett, not the saison primary strain. Once fermentation is complete, pitch a small amount of simple sugar (like 5% of grain bill) along with some brett for a quick method to get brett character noticeable (the long way is just to pitch brett alone and wait months)

Naggs said:

It depends on the yeast. Do a search for Wyeast 3711 French Saison and you will find a lot of success stories fermenting between 70-75 without the stuck fermentation problems of other strains.

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I've never heard of 3711 ever getting stuck ever. It's powerful, it can ferment gasoline.

DannPM said:

I've never heard of 3711 ever getting stuck ever. It's powerful, it can ferment gasoline.

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+1. i used this and it never stopped or paused. I fermented in the high 70's to mid 80's. It had a spicy flavor and finished very dry. Loved it. You will too.

Thanks for the input! Definitely helpful!

DannPM said:

Barnyard funk comes from brett, not the saison primary strain. Once fermentation is complete, pitch a small amount of simple sugar (like 5% of grain bill) along with some brett for a quick method to get brett character noticeable (the long way is just to pitch brett alone and wait months)

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If I was going to do this. How long should I let it sit?

It depends on the fg of your original prior to pitching brett. Brett will consume complex sugars left over (slower the lower the temp). I keg so a tad extra isn't a big deal if it goes a few points more when you can safely go up to 130 psi but if you're bottling, which I wasn't thinking about, it might be as long as the traditional method, like 7 months. It's one of the rare times you actually probably need to do this in a secondary.