Why Not Dry Hop A Saison

Someone posted a thread and asked if they should dry hop a saison because they might have fermented too high, I say why not. If the Hops cover up some unwanted flavers who cares if it's not to style. Besides they should be drank quick this summer not laid down anyway right?:cross:

Darn right. Luckily the taste in mine is just fine, it's the odor that was a bit unusual. Maybe the yeast will clean it up a bit more, yet, and the Hallertauer will complement it.

While I occasionally dry hop a saison, I prefer to let the yeast do it's magic. Saisons are all about yeast aroma and flavor, most brewers choose not to dryhop because the hop aroma might conflict with the yeast aroma and make the beer muddy. It all comes down to preference and experience, you have to try it, at least once, to see if you like it.

Update: The beer still smells like burnt rubber/earthy/sweaty horse blanket despite the dry hopping. What a waste of Hallertau. Taste is still good though. I'm starting to get concerned because I noticed some white stuff on the surface of the beer that looks a little unusual. It seems to be "slick" and in patches, not like the bubbles that were there earlier, which are mostly gone as the beer has attenuated.

Is it possible for the hop bag to have infected the beer, despite rinsing it, spraying it with sanitizer, etc? Between the alcohol in the beer (about 6%) and the anti-microbial properties of the hops, you'd think that wouldn't be a problem. : /

Unless you kill the yeast, I'm not sure you can ferment a saison too high. That earthy, horse blanket aroma comes out in many of the farmhouse style ales. It sounds like you have a touch of brett in there.


TL

TexLaw said:

Unless you kill the yeast, I'm not sure you can ferment a saison too high. That earthy, horse blanket aroma comes out in many of the farmhouse style ales. It sounds like you have a touch of brett in there.


TL

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Oh man...That's not good. I took as many precautionary measures as I could, but I must've slipped up somewhere if that's the case. So the alcohol in the beer wasn't enough on top of that to keep it safe? Hm, any advice on what to do?

If it tastes good, then plug your nose and go at it!

lol @ horse blanket. I've never heard that term used to describe beer before.

EinGutesBier said:

Hm, any advice on what to do?

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Yep. Enjoy it. Brett often is present in farmhouse-style ales, so it might actually turn out a bit nice. Some people like it, some don't. If you are going to brew Belgian and farmhouse styles, though, you better get used to it.


TL

TexLaw said:

It sounds like you have a touch of brett in there.

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now if i opened my fermenter and saw this in there...



I might have to dump the batch...

TexLaw said:

Yep. Enjoy it. Brett often is present in farmhouse-style ales, so it might actually turn out a bit nice. Some people like it, some don't. If you are going to brew Belgian and farmhouse styles, though, you better get used to it.

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+1 to that! Also, you might want to let this batch age longer than normal. If it has some brett in it, the aging will allow the farm-y smell to mellow a bit.

That horsey smell should mellow out in a couple months. Just stick it somewhere dark and open it again in July.

As far as why not dry hopping a saison? I guess it comes down to what your intentions are. If you're trying to come up with a recipe that you could someday submit to competition, then you probably want to refine it based on the guidelines. If you're just looking for something cold and smooth to drink, and you love that hoppiness, go for it.