First Saison

[CHans3]

Hi all,

So I am trying to formulate a recipe for my first Saison. I am looking for a malty beer with a some mouthfeel with some roasty flavor and notes of raisins and caramel. Some spices would be nice too. Here is what I have so far.

8 # Pilsner LME
7.2 oz Caramunich
6.4 oz Special B
6.4 oz Roasted Barley
6.4 oz Biscuit Malt

Steep specialty grains at 155F for 30 minutes. Bring to boil. Add in 8# Pilsner Malt. 60 minute boil.

Hop schedule:
1 oz East Kent Goldings 60 min
1 oz Styrian Goldings 30 min

WYeast 3724 Belgian Saison

Est OG: 1.059
Est FG: 1.012
Est ABV: 6.1%
SRM 20.7
IBU 22.3

Any critiques would be much appreciated. Also, this is my first time using Beersmith, so hopefully all of the numbers are correct. I designed the beer to be a little too dark for the style.

Are there any spices that might be good in this beer? What temperature should I ferment at? Did I over do it with the specialty grains?

 

[BigRob]

Not sure you'll be happy with a Saison after looking at the description of the beer you're trying to craft. That said it looks like a tasty saison to me, 3724 isn't that friendly if you can't maintain a high 80s fermentation temp, or leave it for 4-6 weeks.

 

[CHans3]

Is there a yeast which would work better for me? My apartment is usually close to 70F

Also I think I might lose the biscuit and add some orange zest. What is the best time to add orange zest?

 

[cm02WS6]

Grains look a little complicated for a saison. Stay simple, that is one of the characteristics of a saison. Also look at 3711 yeast, it will chug through it even at 70F. Search on it, lots of info out there.

 

[CHans3]

Thanks 3711 looks like it will work much better for me

 

[progmac]

personally, i would choose either caramunich or special b, up the % a bit, and drop the other malts

i'd rely on your yeast for spiciness

 

[LakesideBrewing]

+1 on 3711, she's a beast!

I like a much simpler grain bill, but that's just my personal taste.

-Mike

 

[CHans3]

Ok. Going to drop the caramunich and biscuit, up the roasted barley and special b to 8 oz each, and use 3711

Thanks for all of the help guys

 

[BigRob]

Looks tasty, you're going to finish a lot lower than beersmith projects, probably 1.004 or so. With 3711, stick it in a room temp area and just let it go, controlling your temp is unnecessary.

As far as your specialty malts, take a look at the makeup of your LME (usually manufacturer has it on the website). You can also consider using regular table sugar for 10-20% of your fermentables, very common with saisons. I usually make an invert syrup and cook it until it gets a little golden colour to it.

 

[logan3825]

I would add some sugar to help it dry out a bit. Somewhere between 8 and 16oz.

I prefer the 3724 to the 3711 as it will throw off more flavors but it is tougher to deal with unless you can ferment it hot towards the end.

 

[Brewtah]

If you like spice try Grains of Paradise. Its sweet, its peppery yummy. Maybe start with 3-6 grams.

 

[CHans3]

So I picked up ingredients yesterday and will brew this today. Lhbs did not have 3711 so I am using 3724. Not sure how to keep this up to temp. I am thinking about keeping the apt at ~72ish wrapping the fermenter in a blanket and setting it next to one of the walls with a heater on it. Anyone have suggestions? I'm also thinking about going and getting a cheap heating pad from Walmart

Here is the final grain bill based on what lhbs had:

6.6 lbs light lme
1.6 lbs light dme
8 oz roasted barley
8 oz special b

Thanks again for the help with this

 

[CHans3]

I brewed this last night. Here is my temperature control solution

Hamper with fermenter stuffed with blankets and clothes. Ambient temp in my apt is 76 according to the thermostat. Seemed to be chugging away nicely this morning. Will this get me below 1.030 for the 3724 I am using?

 

[logan3825]

I brewed this last night. Here is my temperature control solution

Hamper with fermenter stuffed with blankets and clothes. Ambient temp in my apt is 76 according to the thermostat. Seemed to be chugging away nicely this morning. Will this get me below 1.030 for the 3724 I am using?

My guess is probably but not by to much. With your grain bill you should have probably added about a pound of sugar to get close to 1.010FG.

 

[BigRob]

You never really know with 3724, it might go right to FG, it might stall for a few weeks at 1.030. If you didn't make a starter, I think you're in for a longer wait for this saison to finish up.

 

[CHans3]

I added 5 oz of priming sugar I had kicking around during the boil. Hopefully that helps. I didn't make a starter tho.

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

I added 5 oz of priming sugar I had kicking around during the boil. Hopefully that helps. I didn't make a starter tho.

Im my experience with 3724 i would start off cooler around 68-70 and slowly ramp it up to as high as 80 as you see it start to lag. I had a batch in primary for over a month when i pitched hot and kept it there. Always start cooler and ramp up. Gives the yeast more encouragement when they start getting sluggish to keep on eating.

Ive never seen a saison recipe without at least a half to full pound of simple sugars. Helps dry it out and let the funk shine.

3724 gives off some nice funk if fermented properly. If you find it much 3711 would be perfect for your next batch.

 

[logan3825]

It will help a bit but not much. I think it will still turn out pretty good but not quite as dry as you would expect a Saison to be.

Without a starter you could be in for a long long fermentation with a very large chance of a stuck fermentation.

 

[CHans3]

I am in no rush to get this to finish. I have an ipa and a raspberry wheat I'm ready to keg as soon as my kegerator is done being built. Is letting it sit in the primary long enough all it takes to finish this beer?

 

[BigRob]

I let mine sit in primary for at least a month, sometimes more. 3724 either needs to be ramped up, or you need patience to allow it to finish. I've had it stall at 1.030 for 2 weeks straight, then just start going again for no discernible reason.

 

[progmac]

my last saison with this yeast finally stopped (mostly) after 7 weeks in the low 70s. The FG was something like 1.002. give it time. i think surrounding it with blankets is a bad idea. it will raise the temperature up even higher during high krausen but then afterwards the temp will fall back to ambient. you really want the opposite of this.