3711 is amazing

I should clarify that I am not someone who does crazy over the top IPAs.

The Belgian IPA I made with this yeast was only 52 ibus (Tinseth). For a 24 liter batch, I used 36 grams of EKGs 20 minutes from the end of the boil, 36 grams of Tettnanger 10 minutes from the end of the boil, then dry hopped with 42 grams of Nelson Sauvin, with Columbus as a First Wort Hop (again, softer bittering).

I think, compared to what other people often do that that is pretty mild.

That beer started at 1.074 and ended all the way down at .998, so 10% abv.

What you do with the water is also going to affect how you perceive those hops and the bitterness. I didn't go too crazy on the water. Chloride was at 83, sulfate at 118 for a chloride to sulfate ratio of .71, which is not too much towards the bitter side.

Anyway, for me and some of my friends, it worked out nicely. I guess maybe 15 or so guys tried it, all brewers. Maybe about 3 or 4 of those preferred the Wy3522 batch and the rest preferred the 3711.

Anyway, best of luck and tell us what you end up with and how you like it.

I doubt you can get it where you live, but if you can, this beer is AWESOME. From New Zealand's 8Wired Brewing, a Saison that uses 3711 with Nelson Sauvin and is at 50 ibus. And it's definitely not too harsh, too dry or too bitter, IMHO.

http://8wired.co.nz/our-brews/saison-sauvin-0

Ill give some suggestions from what I found from a batch of this yeast. The whole process in great detail is listed in the recipe drop down under the screen name on the left.

First, it's a very unusual fermentation compared to many of the yeasts I tried in the past. It is in no way a top cropping strain. Very little krausen. Second, it continues to ferment rather slowly after nearing terminal gravity. It took about three weeks to finally stop bubbling. Towards the end, it still slowly fizzed in the carboy. Don't be in a hurry to bottle lest you find out the hard way it's not done.

I cellared it for another two weeks at about 52f to clean it up a bit and make sure the yeast had finished. Initially, the bottles were exceptionally fruity and subtle funky. I don't pick up on the spiciness as well as some people it seems, but I noticed very little spice at first. Given a few months, the frutiness fades slightly and the spice is more noticeable.

If I was to brew another batch, I would not use a fruity hop as a late addition. I would go with something earthy or spicy, like a noble type hop. I also would pitch more yeast to both help restrain the alcohol flavor and help reduce the ferment times.

Temp wise, I would keep it restrained until the very end. Mid 60s at most, increasing to maybe 72 after 90% done. The yeast kicks out enough esters for my taste at the 60s our 70s I don't see much advantage to going higher without risking a hot alcohol character.

Unless you have a special reason, I would limit the simple sugars to maybe 5% or less. Its a rather aggressive sugar eating machine. This will help to keep it from over attenuating. Especially for lighter bodied beers.

My first run with this I fermented 65-70. Had a honey, lemon thing going. Pretty subdued overall. This run I'm going 68-75 to try to push the spice and esters. I've seen lots of varied opinions on the fusel thing. However when you think about the guidelines (65-77) it wouldn't make sense that you would have to keep it in the 60s, even in the first few days right?

tagz said:

My first run with this I fermented 65-70. Had a honey, lemon thing going. Pretty subdued overall. This run I'm going 68-75 to try to push the spice and esters. I've seen lots of varied opinions on the fusel thing. However when you think about the guidelines (65-77) it wouldn't make sense that you would have to keep it in the 60s, even in the first few days right?

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My experience (5 saisons prior to this Belgian IPA) has been that it plays best when I start it in the 65-68 range for 2-3 days and then let it free rise as warm as it wants. I have had ZERO fusel production with this approach, even on a Strong Saison that reached almost 10%. Letting it free rise does allow some flavor development and assures a complete fermentation. YMMV.

Piratwolf said:

This. I love it!

I'm a bit nervous about the dryness for today's brew--a Belgian IPA. I've made it twice before with 530, but the yeast character from that strain kinda clashes with the hops. I'm hoping the more mellow fruitiness of 3711 (I'm keeping it @ 68F for the first 2-3 days of fermentation) will work better with the hop bill. However, that bone-dry finish may make the hops way too dominant. Only one way to find out, I guess...

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You can also adjust your water alkalinity to promote a stronger malt flavor. Might help get you closer to an even balance.

In the interim, I've been fermenting a Saison with a blend of wlp530 and 3711. Took the beer from 1.063 down to 1.001. Holy cow.