Saison For First Brew?

Hello all. After a lot of reading and investigation I've decided to take the plunge and start brewing. My wife and I are big beer fans but for the most part don't have overlapping tastes. One of the very few styles we can agree on is saison, so it seems like a logical choice but I'm concerned about this being too much of an advanced style for a first brew. I want to make sure we get off on the right foot and don't bite off more than we can chew. What do you all think?

Saisons are easy. They're easier in the summer, but if you have a warmish house you can brew one now. Use Wyeast 3711 or T-58 dry yeast, keep the recipe simple, and have fun!

Edit: I love the Wyeast 3724 for my saisons, but it can be tricky. The 3711 is surefire success.

If the area you want to ferment in is not warm enough a simple water bath with an aquarium heater works well.

Yea, Saison's are easy and really tasty during the summer. I will definitely recommend Wyeast 3711. I have a Rye Saison that I do pretty regularly and that yeast is definitely what makes that beer. But as for a style, it is a pretty easy. Enjoy and welcome to the addiction.

I knew I came to the right place. I post this question and have 3 informative responses in 15 minutes. I don't have an aquarium heater but I do have a heated mattress pad that I bet I can rig to give me a summer-like fermenting area.

My LHBS stocks a much better white labs selection so I used WLP565. I thought it made a very nice saison. (In case you want another yeast option).

I agree with the others, I did not think the saison was a particularly challenging brew, but keeping them around was tough. They went fast when I had a few people come over for a summer BBQ!

pconn75 said:

I knew I came to the right place. I post this question and have 3 informative responses in 15 minutes. I don't have an aquarium heater but I do have a heated mattress pad that I bet I can rig to give me a summer-like fermenting area.

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That will work. Different saison yeasts will "prefer" different temps. That 3711 is fine in the mid-70s to low 80s, while the 3724 and WL565 aren't really happy below high 80s. Of course, these are all higher than typical ale yeast range of 60-70 degrees, which is part of what makes saisons so interesting to brew. Simple to learn, hard to master, as with many things in life.

I just bottled a White Labs 568 Saison blend 9 wanted 3711, but LHBS does not stock wyeast), the hydro sample was tasty. fermented in the 80's.

Saisons can be easy. I definitely recommend using 3711.It is the easiest to use Saison yeast. If you have at least 68 degrees ambient temp you are good, and the yeast will chew through the fermentation. If you can get the temp up more then you will get some more of the Saison flavors.

Good choice for a brew. Lots of good recipes in the recipe database on the forum. I always have a few bottles of Saison in my fridge.

3711 is probably the easiest yeast to use. OK at 'low' temperatures, and chews thru wort like it is simple sugar.

It makes an OK beer, I prefer other yeasts, but they need more attention to temperature control.

The ease of use you all claim and a nearby store that stocks 3711 seem to make it a logical choice. If this batch goes well perhaps I'll try one of those higher temp yeasts next as it will be easier to keep it warm as summer approaches.

Hey, Just wanted to follow up on this. I brewed Midwest Brewing's Lawnmower de Saison about 3 weeks ago with 3711. It sat in primary for two weeks and will have a week in the bottles this Saturday. I cracked one open tonight because I had to know how things were progressing. The 3711 already had a good amount of carbonation and the taste was not bad at all for such a young beer. I think in 2 weeks or so this is going to be a decent first brew. The same day I bottled the saison, the wife and I brewed up NB's Extra Pale Ale. We are already talking about when we can move the Pale ale to the secondary to make room for our next saison. So it looks like the obsession is in full swing. Anyway, thanks again for the feedback guys!

pconn75 said:

Hey, Just wanted to follow up on this. I brewed Midwest Brewing's Lawnmower de Saison about 3 weeks ago with 3711. It sat in primary for two weeks and will have a week in the bottles this Saturday. I cracked one open tonight because I had to know how things were progressing. The 3711 already had a good amount of carbonation and the taste was not bad at all for such a young beer. I think in 2 weeks or so this is going to be a decent first brew. The same day I bottled the saison, the wife and I brewed up NB's Extra Pale Ale. We are already talking about when we can move the Pale ale to the secondary to make room for our next saison. So it looks like the obsession is in full swing. Anyway, thanks again for the feedback guys!

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if you your obsession is growing go ahead and buy another fermentor or two and skip the secondary since it's not needed.

You will like the extra pale ale too. Nuthin wrong with secondary, and if you do, you can use gelatin finings in it, and cold crash it too. Dont rush primary. Give it a few extra days on the yeast to clean things up, transfer to secondary, and cold crash it if possible.
(that means sticking your bb in the fridge for a few days). Transfer to bottles and condition at room temp as usual. The cold crashing off the cake really can clear the beer, especially if you use a finings like gelatin. Or skip it alltogether and bottle after 3 weeks in primary (this will still help clear the beer and make sure the yeasties are done cleaning up after themselves). Its up to you! So many choices. But the one thing to remember here is patience. Dont rush.