Brewing an "Imperial Saison" Recipe Critique/Advice

[HighlandRanger]

Brewing my first "Imperial Saison" on Saturday. Wanted some feedback on the recipe. Thoughts, comments? Thanks!


Title: Walha! "Fait à la Maison" Saison or Sai Wot?

Brew Method: Partial Mash
Style Name: Saison
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 7 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.067
Efficiency: 70% (brew house)


STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.085
Final Gravity: 1.004
ABV: 10.6%
IBU (tinseth): 27.53
SRM (morey): 5.21

FERMENTABLES:
9 lb - Liquid Malt Extract - Pilsen (69.2%)
1 lb - American - Caramel / Crystal 10L (7.7%)
3 lb - Orange Blossom Honey (23.1%)

HOPS:
1 oz - Tettnanger, Type: Pellet, AA: 3.9, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 11.62
0.75 oz - Perle, Type: Pellet, AA: 7.3, Use: Boil for 45 min, IBU: 14.97
1 oz - Perle, Type: Pellet, AA: 7.3, Use: Boil for 1 min, IBU: 0.94

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
1 oz - Bitter Orange Peel, Time: 10 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
1 oz - Sweet Orange Peel, Time: 10 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil

YEAST:
Wyeast - French Saison 3711

 

[Build]

It looks pretty good, but the honey malt may be over the top. It can get kind of overwhelming above 15% or so. I'm not seeing where 11.21% abv is coming from with those fermentables? Is that right?

 

[HighlandRanger]

Sorry, it's not Honey Malt but actually Orange Blossom Honey and I corrected the ABV. Should be around 10.6%

 

[HighlandRanger]

Anyone else have any comments or advice?

 

[GQT]

3711 might actually dry your brew out to .98 (that's why I like it so much).
Surprisingly, it doesn't kill the mouth and there is still plenty of taste at 12-13 abv. You can find a lot more input on this yeast in dedicated threads, search HBT for '3711' and you will have a bunch.
This one is particularly interesting:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=542346
(about mixing saison yeasts)

 

[HighlandRanger]

Seriously? Less than 1.00?? Is that bad??

 

[HighlandRanger]

Anyone else have any comments or advice? Brewing now...

 

[tagz]

1.004 sounds about right on such a big beer, although it could go lower. Just make sure you use a healthy pitch and control temps to avoid fusel production. The typical schedule for that yeast is pitch at 68 and ramp to mid 70s. You might consider adding the honey after the fermentation starts to slow. It will help preserve the delicate aromatics and give your yeast a little boost of simple sugars to finish things out. 3711 can chew through most worts with no problem, but with such s big beer you want to manage things to keep things from getting harsh.

 

[HighlandRanger]

k. So it's rigorously fermenting right now. Temp in my house is around 75. So what is the best way to make sure this stuff doesn't turn into jet fuel?

 

[tagz]

If you're already fermenting just avoid swings in temp. You'll probably need some conditioning time as well. 75 ambient means it probably shot up to 80+ right off the bat. Give the yeast time to clean up the best it can.

 

[HighlandRanger]

So far so good. The temp has stayed at a constant 74-75 deg. It's still going strong. Just hoping it will come out great.

BTW, this was the recipe I ended up brewing. I obviously started with too much water and my ending boil didn't come down far enough so I ended up with a SG of 1.080 instead of 1.085.

Brew Method: Partial Mash
Style Name: Saison
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.8 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 7 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.049
Efficiency: 70% (brew house)


STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.080
Final Gravity: 1.004
ABV (alternate): 10.56%
IBU (tinseth): 30.69
SRM (morey): 5.02

FERMENTABLES:
9 lb - Liquid Malt Extract - Pilsen (69.2%)
1 lb - American - Caramel / Crystal 10L (7.7%)
3 lb - Orange Blossom Honey - (late addition) (23.1%)

HOPS:
1 oz - Tettnanger, Type: Pellet, AA: 3.9, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 12.95
0.75 oz - Perle, Type: Pellet, AA: 7.3, Use: Boil for 45 min, IBU: 16.69
1 oz - Perle, Type: Pellet, AA: 7.3, Use: Boil for 1 min, IBU: 1.05

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
1 oz - Bitter Orange Peel, Time: 10 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
1 oz - Sweet Orange Peel, Time: 10 min, Type: Spice, Use: Boil
1 oz - Irish Moss, Time: 5 min, Type: Fining, Use: Boil

YEAST:
Wyeast - French Saison 3711
Starter: Yes