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just an update on this beer: It's been aging in a carboy for several months, since I wasn't happy with the sweetness. Two weeks ago, I added the dregs of two bottles of Orval. There hasn't been any visible activity -- no pellicle, and the airlock activity is so minimal that it's impossible to...

oh, i see your logic.

why would you decant? that makes no sense to me.

1. i'd say don't bother with secondary. there's no point unless you're aging it for several months, and instead the beer will benefit from sitting on the yeast cake. 2. that yeast strain tends to slow down and play dead before the beer is really done. the first time I brewed with it, I had...

just put it in the closet where you won't be hurt if it explodes!

I was reading in Phil Markowski's "Farmhouse Ales" about the strain of yeast found in Saison Dupont. This yeast is highly unusual among ale yeasts: extra-attenuative, but prone to "giving up" especially at the temperatures around or below 70* (the ideal temperature for most ales). Instead, it...

Does beersmith allow you to specifiy exactly how much extract is in the boil, how much extract you're adding late, and for how long? Currently I use the tastybrew calculators on their website. It helps, but a lot of thinking/estimating is required.

The only drawback in my opinion is that it makes it a little more difficult to calculate your hop bitterness. Small differences in wort density make for huge differences in hop utilization.

#4 or #5. definitely not #1 unless you're trying to avoid yeast-derived flavors and aromatics.

I think you should just specialize in making saison, and nothing but saison!

Oh come on. Like I said before, you can't mix them directly because it makes a poison gas. But stir an ounce of bleach into 5 gallons of water and then stir in an ounce of vinegar, and you're cool. Anyway, Mr. Talley from Star San goes into all this in detail in the above-mentioned podcast.

Folks that don't believe bleach + vinegar is equally good -- Hey, don't take my word for it -- listen to this podcast (lord knows why the owner of star-san would tell this secret): Basic Brewing™ : Home Brewing Beer Podcast and DVD - Basic Brewing Radio™ 2007 March 29, 2007 - Sanitizing...

careful not to mix the vinegar and bleach directly though (poison gas!)

neither. it's pretty silly to buy star san OR iodophor, when a tablespoon of bleach plus a tablespoon of vinegar works equally well, and it's no-rinse necessary at that density...

Come on y'all. Gimme a little feedback. I'm aiming for something kinda like Houblon Chouffe.

the caramunich this is mainly for color... I got a nice orangey-yellow color with 2 oz of Caramunich. With a whole pound, I think it'll come out too dark.

Oh: a very important thing in a saison is the temperature! make sure that you ramp the fermentation temperature up to about 80*F after the first couple of days of fermentation. That'll help the yeast produce those typical saison phenols and esters, and eliminate the need for spices.

well... your IBU's seem about right. but saisons don't generally have an over-the-top hop flavor/aroma. dry-hopping your saison could be an interesting thing to try out, but I was just surprised to see that you were going to dry hop it *twice*!

what yooper said. for what it's worth, i've more or less specialized in making extract tripels.

also consider pushing the ABV up to 8.5% by doing 8lbs DME and 1.5lbs sugar.