Recipe calls for secondary - do we need to for a Saison?

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JoeDaddio

JoeDaddio

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Brewed a Saison last Sunday (WLP566) and the recipe (from the LHBS) calls for moving it to secondary after a week.

I've read on here and other places that it isn't really necessary for most beers, so I'm thinking I'm not going to move it. I was just wondering if there was a reason I should specifically move a Saison to a secondary carboy.

Thanks!


joe
 
There is no need to secondary unless you are dry hopping or adding fruit. My saison I left in primary for 4 weeks, transfered to secondary for one week of dry hopping and then bottled.

I would leave it in primary for longer than one week. It will do wonders for the beer. Some people even dry hop in primary so it's really a matter of preference.
 
JLW said:
There is no need to secondary unless you are dry hopping or adding fruit. My saison I left in primary for 4 weeks, transfered to secondary for one week of dry hopping and then bottled.

I would leave it in primary for longer than one week. It will do wonders for the beer. Some people even dry hop in primary so it's really a matter of preference.
Click to expand...


Thanks. We were thinking three weeks in the primary, then bottling. Would 4 weeks be preferable? Crap... gonna have to buy another carboy anyways because I'm not sure I can wait that long to get my brew on again! :D


joe
 
Well that depends some on your OG higher the OG the longer you might want to leave it be. The long primary really gives the yeast time to clean up and ultimately you will get a cleaner, clearer beer.

Extra fermentors are always good to have on hand. I have two bucket and 4 glass carboys. I think two buckets that also are bottling buckets will give you flexibility on how many you can have going at once. Big stouts take a long time to age out so you want a carboy for those while you brew, ferment and bottle beers that take less time. At least thats my approach.
 
JLW said:
Well that depends some on your OG higher the OG the longer you might want to leave it be. The long primary really gives the yeast time to clean up and ultimately you will get a cleaner, clearer beer.

Extra fermentors are always good to have on hand. I have two bucket and 4 glass carboys. I think two buckets that also are bottling buckets will give you flexibility on how many you can have going at once. Big stouts take a long time to age out so you want a carboy for those while you brew, ferment and bottle beers that take less time. At least thats my approach.
Click to expand...


The OG of this saison was 1.060, which, from what I understand, is sort of medium high.

We have a bottling bucket, but I'm thinking another BB is in the cards in the next week or two.


joe
 
I think 3 to 4 weeks would be long enough. Now that I think back on it I may have let mine go for only 3 weeks. Plus with a saison you want to make sure the yeast has attenuated all the way out. Saisons are meant to be dry. My saison was made with Wyeast 3711 and it got down to approx 1.001.
 
If you can heat it up over a few days to 80F+ (water bath + aquarium heater), you will help the yeast fully attenuate. Saison yeast seem to like that. It's not a necessary step.

I doubt you will reach 1.001 with WLP566, so don't worry if you don't get close to that. 3711 is a beast, the last time I used it, it went down to 1.000.

The longer you leave it, the cleaner and clearer it will be. 4 weeks is a good length to aim for. After a few beers, you will get an idea of what is right for you. 4 weeks is usually my minimum; it's been 15 brews since I did one in less time, and that one was 3 weeks. Can't remember when I brewed quicker than that.
 
Calder said:
If you can heat it up over a few days to 80F+ (water bath + aquarium heater), you will help the yeast fully attenuate. Saison yeast seem to like that. It's not a necessary step.

I doubt you will reach 1.001 with WLP566, so don't worry if you don't get close to that. 3711 is a beast, the last time I used it, it went down to 1.000.

The longer you leave it, the cleaner and clearer it will be. 4 weeks is a good length to aim for. After a few beers, you will get an idea of what is right for you. 4 weeks is usually my minimum; it's been 15 brews since I did one in less time, and that one was 3 weeks. Can't remember when I brewed quicker than that.
Click to expand...

ditto
 
Calder said:
If you can heat it up over a few days to 80F+ (water bath + aquarium heater), you will help the yeast fully attenuate. Saison yeast seem to like that. It's not a necessary step.

I doubt you will reach 1.001 with WLP566, so don't worry if you don't get close to that. 3711 is a beast, the last time I used it, it went down to 1.000.

The longer you leave it, the cleaner and clearer it will be. 4 weeks is a good length to aim for. After a few beers, you will get an idea of what is right for you. 4 weeks is usually my minimum; it's been 15 brews since I did one in less time, and that one was 3 weeks. Can't remember when I brewed quicker than that.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the info, Calder.

I'm in So. Cal. and we've had a relative cool spell the past couple days since we brewed, but it's supposed to be back up in the mid 90's in the next couple days, so I'm sure that it'll see temps in the 80's. We've got it in an unused bathroom in my friends house. So the temps don't change rapidly, but in hotter weather it'll get pretty warm in there. It's one of the reasons we chose the Saison.


joe
 

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