3711 is amazing

I pitched Wyeast 3711 into my first attempt at saison and 8 days later it is still bubbling the airlock every 9 seconds, like clockwork. That is some amazing yeast. I've not not seen one ferment out for such a long time before. Has anyone else had experience with this?

i really like 3711. it's a beast. it just keeps fermenting (and it's perfect for these hot texas summer temps)

I did two brews with 3711 about a month ago. brought them both from ~1.064 to ~1.004. Just tried a bottle of the "Belgian IPA" earlier today, still not done carbonating even but that funk is delicious!

Lovely yeast. My last two beers using it went below 1.000, .997 and .998. Strangely, still leaves a nice mouthfeel and doesn't taste as dry as it is.

I did a strong sasion with 3711 and it turned out great! I'm a big fan of the ester profile, especially fermenting at 76 deg or so.

Thanks for the input, guys. I'm really excited to try this brew!!

One of my top 3 favorite yeasts of all time--if I am making any type Belgian style beer and not experimenting with the yeast (e.g. trying something new) I go with 3711. My last saison went from 1.078 down to 1.008--utterly delicious!

If I could only use 3 yeasts, they'd be 3711, Pacman, and 007. I recall reading that 3711 produces glycerol (?) and that's what gives the silky mouthfeel. Love it!

Piratwolf said:

If I could only use 3 yeasts, they'd be 3711, Pacman, and 007. I recall reading that 3711 produces glycerol (?) and that's what gives the silky mouthfeel. Love it!

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Those would be my top 3 as well.

Great yeast. Always ferments low. Easy to use. I use it often. Finishes low but still has great mouthfeel.

I just finished bottling a Rye Saision that went from 1.058 to1.003

I kept my rye lavender, coriander, rose hip saison in the low/mid sixties and it did wonderfully. It showed air lock activity for almost 2 weeks...slow for the final week. I think it finished with 90ish apparent attenuation. Tastes great too!

beergolf said:

Great yeast. Always ferments low. Easy to use. I use it often. Finishes low but still has great mouthfeel.

I just finished bottling a Rye Saision that went from 1.058 to1.003

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Did you use any simple sugar? What was your mash temp?

highgravitybacon said:

Did you use any simple sugar? What was your mash temp?

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I used a lb of turbinado. Mashed at 149.

Gravity sample tasted great.

Hey y'all! Just brewed my 2nd Saison with 3711, it is awesome indeed. My brew was a sort of West Coast Saison w a lot of NW hop character. At least that's what I'm hoping for.
10 gal batch split between 2 buckets, fermented at a steady 78*F for 8 days, ramped up to 82*F last few days. Recent gravity reads 1.004. tastes good but, the hops may be trying to outshine the yeast. Pretty dry,That's good, but the centennial & cascade are kinda taking over right now.
True, it's only 8 or 9 days young, but I'm optimistic.
My question to those experienced with this yeast is, how long should I let this go?

Its very close to done, if not totally. Plan to take another reading in a couple days to confirm.
I'm thinking about dry hopping with 2oz Belma in each fermenter, as I've had wonderful flavor contributions in pale beers with this hop before.
I pitched ample, fresh 3711 from starters for each brew. Mashed at 152*.
4oz hops total in 10 the gallons brew.
Anyone do anything like this?
I'm thinking it's gonna be great, I'm just anxious!
Thanx to all! BrewOn!

You think the hops are taking over and your answer is to dry hop?

Sounds nice though. If you think of it as a Belgian IPA, maybe you'll accept those hops! ;-)

That yeast can go lower than that. I'd wait until at least 3 weeks, then rack (if strong beer) or bottle (if not).

If you want to dry hop, why not try splitting the batch and dry hop half?

Thanx for the advice, Matt.
I'll let it go another couple weeks. My first attempt with this yeast went for 3 wks, crystal clear and delicious. That batch is conditioning now. The west coast version currently fermenting definately has the Belgian funk. I'm kinda loving it, just never tasted it that young, so I got a lil buggy over it. Ha!
The recipe is basically an even-tempered pale/ipa, with 3711.
But no, I'm gonna dry hop the whole batch. I just love the flavor of them dang Belma hops!
Thanx again!

Let us know how it turns out. I made a Belgian IPA with that yeast, dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin. That hop goes nicely with that yeast.

So, I legged and force carbed this the other day. Pretty young, sure, but hot damn that's good!
I decided to dry hop the second 5gals with 2oz Belma pellets for 5-7 days, and I'm sure it'll be damn good.
With respect to the thread, 3711 is indeed amazing!
10 Gallon Batch
GRAIN bill was 16# MO, 2# white wheat, 1#caramunich, 10 gallon batch
HOPS: 1/2oz Magnum +1oz centennial FWH, 1/2oz EACH cascade centennial@20mins,
1oz Cascade @5mins,
1/2oz Cascade @0,
no dry hops
Mash: 152*F

KEGGED! Kegged, I say. Stupid spell check.

That looks like a nice recipe, doom. I've always used pils malt, but the idea of using MO and some more pale ale-type malts would probably provide a bit more malty backbone to my saisons. Would you call it a hoppy beer? Or are the hops understated?

MNDan said:

That looks like a nice recipe, doom. I've always used pils malt, but the idea of using MO and some more pale ale-type malts would probably provide a bit more malty backbone to my saisons. Would you call it a hoppy beer? Or are the hops understated?

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Thanx buddy! The hops are definately not understated. I could've done without the 20 minute additions, I think, as it's it pretty dang hoppy. The bitterness is a bit strong, hoping it'll mellow out a bit. Leaning toward the Belgian IPA side of the moon. the yeast character is there, spicy & funky.
Next time I make it, I'll drop the 20min additions, omit the campden tab, and maybe ferment a few degrees lower. I went to the upper 70's/ low80's. I think at a steady 75*F is where the magic happens. All in all, not bad at all, just not quite as balanced as I was shooting for.

I did a couple of different batches last summer that got well into the 80's F - all turned out great! Nice yeast for hot summer brewing...

Since this is a general discussion, I won’t feel too bad about asking a slight highjack question.

Can this yeast help me with an extract beer that has stalled at 1.020?

Three gallon Belgian blond, 4# light Pils DME, 1# sugar, WLP515. I was very bad- I washed yeast from a cake that had been sitting dormant under a BPA for around for about 5 weeks, I didn’t increase viability with a starter, I aerated by shaking the carboy, and I probably waited too long to let it ramp up. So no surprise that all of that negligent behavior left me with a beer that needs to drop about 6-10 gravity points.

I am going to try to warm it up over the next few days and rouse the yeast, but if that doesn’t show any signs of improvement, then as far as I can see, the only thing that will save this otherwise tasty but cloyingly sweet beer is 3711 or brett, and I would prefer to keep all but a gallon clean.

Running to the French to save your butt seems a little odd, but if it works, I’ll be happy to send in the legionaries.

HerbieHowells said:

Since this is a general discussion, I won’t feel too bad about asking a slight highjack question.

Can this yeast help me with an extract beer that has stalled at 1.020?

Three gallon Belgian blond, 4# light Pils DME, 1# sugar, WLP515. I was very bad- I washed yeast from a cake that had been sitting dormant under a BPA for around for about 5 weeks, I didn’t increase viability with a starter, I aerated by shaking the carboy, and I probably waited too long to let it ramp up. So no surprise that all of that negligent behavior left me with a beer that needs to drop about 6-10 gravity points.

I am going to try to warm it up over the next few days and rouse the yeast, but if that doesn’t show any signs of improvement, then as far as I can see, the only thing that will save this otherwise tasty but cloyingly sweet beer is 3711 or brett, and I would prefer to keep all but a gallon clean.

Running to the French to save your butt seems a little odd, but if it works, I’ll be happy to send in the legionaries.

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it's not unusual for extract beer to stop at 1.020, do a search for "the 1.020 curse". if you have unfermentable sugars in your beer i'm not sure 3711 will be able to do much more but it won't hurt to try. make a huge starter, use part of it for this beer and save the rest for some other beer.

Attempting to use 3711 beat the 1.020 curse might be an interesting experiment, and of interest to extract brewers trying to do Belgians. I am going to let it warm up and rouse the yeast for the next week or so, and if I don't see anything happening, I might give 3711 a shot and get back with the results. I am on the very bottom of the 515 apparent attenuation range, but given that I have 20% sugar by extract, and given how poorly I treated the 515, I think there is something that the right strain of yeast might still be able to get to.

What was the OG of your wort? It couldn't hurt to add some more yeast.

1.074, so I got 73% apparent attenuation. The original yeast has an apparent attenuation range of 73 to 80, so I am within the range, it just tastes a bit too sweet. So the question is, if I were to add 3711 to a wort that is mostly DME but 20% sugar by extract and that is already is pushing 7% alcohol, would I have a shot of getting a few extra points out of this beer, or is that beyond the power of even this yeast?

I think you would be able to take it down at least a few points. Just be sure to pitch an active starter because the alcohol is going to hinder yeast health slightly.

What tagz said......make a big starter (1.5L+)....pitch.....and it should work

OK, I'm a confident enough guy to admit it: I panicked early. Heating and rousing did the trick. So unfortunately I will not be contributing to the general knowledge about 3711 in terms of its ability to help a brewer past the 1.020 curse. Thanks for your suggestions, I will accept any punishment you want to hand out, but in my defense, at least I came back and updated rather than leaving a future reader of this thread to wonder whatever happened with the experiment.

Little update on my West Coast Saisons:

Well, They are both amazingly delicious and balanced after a lil time in the keezer. The hops in the first one (non-dryhopped) mellowed out and let the yeast come thru. The second, dry-hopped, is beautifully bright in fruity Belma hop flavor with a noticeable yeast character.
Lesson learned. Thanx for all the support, gang!

Hey Guys,

I've been reading along. Good discussion. Just thought I'd post a picture of this, my first Saison. Man, is it delicious. Happy Brewing!

Wow, this yeast is a beast! Don't even try making a beer with residual sweetness with 3711 because it won't work. I tried all my tricks -- added oats, plenty crystal malts, and mashed warm-ish (ok, only 154F) but it still went from 1.060 to 1.004 and tastes dry as a bone. It seems almost pointless to use anything other than base malt, since 3711 will just eat through it. Oh well, live & learn.

SpeedYellow said:

Wow, this yeast is a beast! Don't even try making a beer with residual sweetness with 3711 because it won't work. I tried all my tricks -- added oats, plenty crystal malts, and mashed warm-ish (ok, only 154F) but it still went from 1.060 to 1.004 and tastes dry as a bone. It seems almost pointless to use anything other than base malt, since 3711 will just eat through it. Oh well, live & learn.

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Try mashing even higher--156-158°--as well as adding some in fermentable sugar like a touch of lactose. May not be normal for your current style but it will add mouthfeel and sweetness. And the higher temps with favor a less fermentable wort obviously. I dunno. Give it a shot.

SpeedYellow said:

Wow, this yeast is a beast! Don't even try making a beer with residual sweetness with 3711 because it won't work. I tried all my tricks -- added oats, plenty crystal malts, and mashed warm-ish (ok, only 154F) but it still went from 1.060 to 1.004 and tastes dry as a bone. It seems almost pointless to use anything other than base malt, since 3711 will just eat through it. Oh well, live & learn.

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Typo correction on my last reply. I meant UNfermentable sugar

You can get some residual sweetess by mashing higher, I mashed my black pumpkin saison at 156 and it finished at 1.010. The great part about 3711 is that altough it finishes real dry, it still retains a silky mouthfeel.

JRems said:

You can get some residual sweetess by mashing higher, I mashed my black pumpkin saison at 156 and it finished at 1.010. The great part about 3711 is that altough it finishes real dry, it still retains a silky mouthfeel.

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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...

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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I made a split batch Belgian IPA with Saaz and Nelson Sauvin (guess which dominated? heh heh) and used Wyeast 3522 and 3711. The 3522 was 8.5%, the 3711 was closer to 10% abv. Most people, me included, preferred the 3711. Works GREAT with hops! It did seem dryer than the 3522, but not as dry as the .997 FG would indicate. I think it gets some mouthfeel from the alcohol it produces.

Anyway, it pairs very, very nicely with hops.

And now for the contrary opinion ... I find that 3711 finishes so dry that a highly hopped beer would be ... I'll call it "challenging". My current is OG 1.072 with 33 IBUs and I'm glad I didn't go higher. If you prefer to balance high hop levels with sweetness, 3711 isn't for you (unless perhaps mashing really high worked).

Great feedback, thank you!

I read somewhere that the mouthfeel from 3711 comes from glycerol (glycerine?) production by the yeast. Can't spell that, let alone back it up, but I recall hearing or reading it.

I may re-brew this if it's over the top bitter and drop the hops 10-15%. I'll report back once it's all good to go.