Brewing Saison, but I have questions...

After a long hiatus from brewing (6 months), I'm looking at brewing a saison this weekend. I'm working with a blonde ale extract kit and some liquid saison yeast. I'm also wanting at adding some candied quince, probably in the secondary (time permitting) but that might change.

This is only my third brew, so I'm still wet behind the ears. My goal is to have this beer ready to hand out for the upcoming birth of my son around Christmas time instead of the traditional cigars (due date is Dec. 26). I'm looking for advice to make this a successful brew and ready to drink by then.

My main concern is that saison yeast slows down during fermentation so I'd like to know when to add the more/other yeast. I've heard that finishing with a champagne yeast will work, but want to hear some more suggestions as far as different yeast strains and when to add the fruit. The beer will be bottled so that should also be taken in account time wise.

Looking forward to the feedback,

GranolaMang

I'd probably use yeast nutrients, pitch a good amount of yeast based on Mr. Malty's pitching calculator and aerate the heck out of my wort just after pitching.

Quince is an apple-like fruit, and if it's been candied, then it might contain a little more fermentable sugars. I don't recall that it has a strong flavoring, so i'd probably add an ounce or two (you'll need to be the judge) into a grain bag and sink it into the beer just after primary fermentation is finishing up. Let it sit in the beer to taste, but if I had to guess, about a week.

Wow, thanks for the help and the quick reply!

My main concern is that saison yeast slows down during fermentation so I'd like to know when to add the more/other yeast. I've heard that finishing with a champagne yeast will work, but want to hear some more suggestions as far as different yeast strains and when to add the fruit. The beer will be bottled so that should also be taken in account time wise.

Click to expand...

Use 3711 . that yeast is a beast and will finish low with no problem. No need to get it hot, just keep it in a normal range and it will finish low pretty fast.

beergolf said:

Use 3711 . that yeast is a beast and will finish low with no problem. No need to get it hot, just keep it in a normal range and it will finish low pretty fast.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip, but I already have the 3724. Maybe I'll get the 3711 and use the 3724 for some mead in the near future.