Saison - Age or Not?

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Rudeboy

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I've never made a Saison before but I'm intrigue and have the yeast on order. Is it too late for this summer. I plan on making a more traditional table Saison ~ 5%ABV. But I keep reading stuff like this from the Wiki:


<<“Saison” is the French word for season, because these ales were traditionally brewed in the autumn or winter for consumption during the late summer harvest>>.

Should they be aged for 6 months? Warm or cold? I realize any beer can be drunk "Green" but will I be missing out on something not letting it age.

Thanks

Rudeboy
 
Last one I did fermented for 6 weeks at 27C last fall. Drank my last one last a few days ago. Tasted terrific. It acutally won 1st place in the Belgian Ale cat. at recent competition. Can't say that I noticed a difference between October and May though. ABV was around 7%.
 
3-6 months is quite normal for most pales. A traditional "farmhouse" or "table" beer, was often brewed in spring as well and fall, and often drank early. The stronger version were more likely to be put away for the harvest time, but even then often mixed with a younger, lighter beer to help the flavor.

I would condition at 50-70. Room temp. If kept cold, you are more or less lagering, and I don't think this was traditional for a Saison. They are very often fairly funky from the higher temps.
 
I thought Saisons were brewed in late Spring before the temp was too hot to brew. Tried my pretty basic Saison with Wy 3724 after 3 weeks in the primary and it's tasty! Going to bottle it up and start drinkin it down
 
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