Tart finish from cold-fermented 3711

[PHDrunk]

I recently brewed a saison with Wyeast 3711 French Saison yeast. pilsner and wheat malts, no spices, Sorachi Ace hops. I was trying to keep the esters in check as I wanted a very light and easy drinking beer. I chilled down to 62F or so before pitching the yeast (one smack pack, no starter, 3.25 gallons of wort). The beer fermented at ambient temperature in my apartment which was most likely under 65F for the bulk of fermentation.

The resulting beer (~ 1 month in bottles so far) is light and refreshing, and indeed the typical saison profile is fairly muted. But I notice that there's a very distinct tartness to the beer. I really enjoy the flavor, especially with the lemon flavors from the Sorachi hops, but I'm confused about why it's there. Has anyone experienced this with 3711 before? Is it a product of the relatively cold fermentation maybe?

 

[elkshadow]

I don't know but I'm doing exactly what you did right now (3.25G batch) and would love somebody to chime in on cold fermenting 3711. I've used it a lot but I always chilled to 68-70 and just let it rip. This time I chilled to 62. Pitched at about 64 two days ago and right now the ferm strip says 72 which looks like it's as hot as it's going to get. I might ramp it up in the next couple days but haven't decided

I'm just coming off of being burned out a little. I was making 10% hot fermented Belgians with 3711 one after another. This one is more like a tripel I hope. I mashed it high at 154 and the OG is 1.073. And fermenting on the colder side is new for me also. Can't wait to see how it comes out.

This one is experimental for me since it's more or less the opposite of what I was doing before.

 

[Brew-Dog]

I'm curious about fermenting 3711 on the cold side too. I'm wondering if it's possible to get a dry beer, with muted saison character, while keeping that great mouthfeel.

 

[elkshadow]

The one I made and fermented low came out a little more tart and spicy. Not fruity at all. Maybe as it matures the spicy will decrease and the fig/raisin will shine through but we'll see around christmas.

Edit: mouthfeel is the same. dry but rich.

 

[yeastylad]

I've had a similar saison on tap for a while now, 3711, pilsner and wheat, with Hallertauer hops. Mine finished up at 1.008FG, and is a little tart. I guess it's an artifact of the yeast combined with a dry finish. The lack of residual sweetness could be perceived as tart?

What was your FG?