Saison Fermentation

[phendog]

Brewed a 5gal Saison 17 July. Aerated for 20mins with an aquarium pump and good stone and then pitched a 1.4L WLP-565 starter into the 72deg wort. Lag time was ~12hrs and then it took off. After that, I began to raise the temp until I reached 83degs and there it sat. Left for vacation 23 July and had my house sitter disconnect my temp controller 28 July. Came home last night (29 July) to a very clear Saison sitting on a very nice yeast cake. I took a refracto reading of 7.5brix, adjusted for alcohol and came up with FG 1.012. (OG=1.060). It tastes great, but not dry.

Is this beer done or am I experiencing the Saison stall so many talk about? I do notice a fair amount of small CO2 bubbles still rising. Any chance of this dropping any further? Temp now is 72degs - do I bump it up agin?

In lieu of anything else, I plan on letting it sit on the cake for another two weeks as is at a minimum - any issue with this?

 

[Aristotelian]

Still bubbling and higher than your target gravity...I would let it go. Both saisons I have brewed took 3-4 weeks to stop bubbling. I only took gravity at 4 weeks, so I don't know how much of a difference the last two weeks made, but it seems like a bad idea to bottle a beer that is actively bubbling.

 

[eadavis80]

I have not used that yeast strain, but my saison made with Danstar Bell Saison dry yeast continued to ferment out throughout a 2-week secondary. It was around 1.010 after two weeks, but after two more weeks it finished all the way to 1.004, so I'd let it go another few weeks. I let mine get as warm as the low 80's during its peak fermentation and while in secondary it sat upstairs around mid 70's. Good luck drying it out!

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Saison yeasts can be slow to finish. I had one that dropped 5 points between weeks 3 and 5. Give it plenty of time.

 

[Brewmasher]

Or if you can't wait, pitch some WY3711 or above mentioned Danstar Bell Saison yeast and you will be dry in no time. It shouldn't effect the flavors that are already present, and might even add some complexity and body. See this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=542346

 

[jmill]

I've used this yeast before and it does tend to stall. I had two stalls: at around 1.020 and again around 1.012. Give it some time. You may even swirl a little to get the yeast active again. I ended up letting mine rise to closer to 85 and then it finally finished.

This is from the White Labs site: This strain tends to stall out in fermentation and then restart as long as two weeks later. Make sure the wort is well-oxygenated and allow the temperature to free rise in order to ensure complete fermentation. Some brewers add WLP001 to finish.

 

[sonofred]

I am also using the same yeast. Pitched a week ago, then split the batch yesterday with half on top of some peaches. Fermented around 75-76 degrees. The gravity was 1.008 after only 7 days. The batch with the peaches took off again and had another very active ferment but now both are just sitting there. Not sure what to do. Will let it go another week for sure but I may just keg the non-peach batch next weekend and see how it goes.

 

[Sujeto]

I am also using the same yeast. Pitched a week ago, then split the batch yesterday with half on top of some peaches. Fermented around 75-76 degrees. The gravity was 1.008 after only 7 days. The batch with the peaches took off again and had another very active ferment but now both are just sitting there. Not sure what to do. Will let it go another week for sure but I may just keg the non-peach batch next weekend and see how it goes.

I'm curious about the batch with the peaches. How many pound of peaches did you use and how did you prepare them? Did you try to sanitize them or just cut them up and rack on top? I presume you racked ~2.5 gallons onto the peaches.

The reason I ask is that I bought Austin Homebrew Supply's Summer Saison Belgian Ale and this sounds like an awesome idea!

 

[sonofred]

I'm curious about the batch with the peaches. How many pound of peaches did you use and how did you prepare them? Did you try to sanitize them or just cut them up and rack on top? I presume you racked ~2.5 gallons onto the peaches.

The reason I ask is that I bought Austin Homebrew Supply's Summer Saison Belgian Ale and this sounds like an awesome idea!

I wound up using around 5 pounds for 2.5 gallons. I just whirled them up in a food processor. I figured the more surface area the better. They were local peaches and some were really ripe and some were like apples....very crunchy. Then I froze them for a couple of days before racking. I didn't try to sanitize them at all. Now I have a peach sponge floating on top. It really went wild for a day or two. I'm thinking of kegging the plain batch this weekend cuz I'm dying to try it. Will let the peach batch go another week or so.

 

[tagz]

A first generation DuPont pitch experiencing a temp drop will tend to stall. It may take quite a bit of time to get that guy to finish, but I wouldn't consider it done until you are well within single digits.

 

[GHBWNY]

Let it ride a few more days and re-check FG. I just finished a 3.2 session blonde that FG'd at 1.014 that was scheduled for 1.008. Re-swirled it (twice over 1 week) --- nothing. Re-pitched, waited 4 days --- nothing, FG hadn't budged. Had to conclude my mash temp was too high. Not the ABV/dryness I was hoping for, but tasty and ready to bottle. Trust your refracto/hydro --- that will tell you all you need to know.

 

[secondbase]

This yeast can be slow to finish. I would gently rouse the yeast and crank the heat up to 90º for two more weeks.

 

[Yeroc]

phendog, is your saison an extract or all-grain recipe? An extract recipe might finish a bit higher but either way, I would give it more time and maybe keep the temp up. I generally raise the temp of my saisons slowly from mid-60s to the mid-80s over a few weeks and then hold the temp high a week or two longer. Good luck!

 

[shanecb]

As others have said, this yeast is slow to finish and tends to stall. Not many people know, but it's meant to be pitched in combination with another yeast. The WLP566 Saison II is wonderful, and always seems to do just fine by itself!

 

[sonofred]

Here is mine after 3 weeks. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1470412205.023554.jpg. Turned out great for my first attempt. Love the yeast profile on this one. May add a touch more pepper next time.