Saison Boulevard Smokestack Series Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale Clone

[Schumed]

For those that were wondering, I don't believe Saison Brett (which is phenomenal BTW) is fermented in primary with bret. Rather Boulevard adds it at bottling.

Seriously doubt that...they add a yeast for bottle condition but its not Bret that makes zero since

 

[edroberts]

Seriously doubt that...they add a yeast for bottle condition but its not Bret that makes zero since

It is indeed.
http://kcbeerblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/boulevard-saison-brett-interview.html?m=1

 

[40watt]

That was a fun interview. Brett at bottling is not somethingI wwould have the balls to do at home, but they seem to have a good system for it. Explains why SB is so mild in terms of Brett, though it is certainly working under high alcohol conditions.

 

[dwarven_stout]

That was a fun interview. Brett at bottling is not somethingI wwould have the balls to do at home, but they seem to have a good system for it. Explains why SB is so mild in terms of Brett, though it is certainly working under high alcohol conditions.

Brett doesn't really care about alcohol. It's pretty much the honey badger of yeasts.

Oh, and to whoever was talking about brett primarys- you get a *very* different beer doing it that way. Most people add brett in secondary or at bottling.

 

[Schumed]

.26oz Amarillo dry hopped after 1 week fermentation

Just an update....this recipe came out really well and has been a big hit at home....took to the brew club meeting and they all liked it.....We all agree my recipe is a little sweeter than the originally but most preferred mine.....I think there needs to be a little more hops for bittering at 60....like .5 oz of Magnum....next time going to do a 10 gallon batch and try some of the other Belgian yeast strains to see how that affects the flavor profile


My recipe is solid if you want a nice refreshing beer with great Amarillo aroma

 

[wskee]

Nice Schumed! Thanks for sharing the info. I just brewed my first attempt at this one. This is what I came up with based on everyone's suggestions and I went the original suggestion of more wheat for the first try.

5.5gal batch

11lb Pale belg 2 row
3lb Flaked Corn
1.4 Wheat
(1.5 oz of carafa II for color) as a previous poster suggested

.20 oz magnum @60 I was tempted to bump this up but stuck to 6.9 ibu
.25 oz simcoe @45
3.5 oz amarillo @5min

Mashed @ 152º for 60 mins

I used the 3724 belgian saison yeast since the LBS did not have 3726.

My preboil gravity was 1.054 and I missed my OG by quite a bit for some reason, 1.065. The mill at the LBS was jamming up and I had forgotten to dump my wheat malt in. After it was unjammed and an employee adjusted it, I ran it through and it did not mill it well at all so I ran it back through but who knows if that affected it. They were closing and I wanted to get out of there so I went with it. I am looking forward to buying my own mill soon...

I was planning on a small dry hop of amarillo as well. I will post how this came out.

 

[mpride1911]

I just finished off my first 5 gal keg of it a few days ago. The family, the lady friend and my soldiers liked it. It was my first all grain so there was a lot of errors made in the making but it was still good. I did notice that it was a lot mellower after a little over a month in the keg.

 

[Straight6TT]

Brewing this right now!

 

[F250]

Has anyone tried the Danstar Belle Saison yeast on this?

Rick

 

[ericl]

What is the time and temps for wort and sparge?

 

[mpride1911]

I mashed at 154 for 60 minutes. My sparge was at 170. However, I was still building my brew stand at the time and experimented with the Brutus 20 concept, with just with a single burner. It's described as a counter-recirculating resparge. And you do it until the SG is equal in the mash tun and the boil kettle.

 

[doublehaul]

how do you think this would turn out if i took it down to like 6.5% ABV. I'd just decrease my malt bill so would it finish lower too?

 

[wskee]

I am still waiting on the 3724 yeast to finish. It really is a turtle but hopefully the wait pays off. It's close but it needs another week or two.

 

[midfielder5]

I am still waiting on the 3724 yeast to finish. It really is a turtle but hopefully the wait pays off. It's close but it needs another week or two.

Put a heating pad w/ towels around the fermenter so it gets up past 75 degrees.

 

[bd2xu]

Boulevard Smokestack Series Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale Clone
Type: Saison/Farmhouse Ale

Description taken from Boulevard Website:

SRM: 6 or EBC:12
IBUs: 38
OG: 1.071
FG: 1.010
ABV: 8%


70% Efficiency

0.66 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Adjunct 4.04 %
10.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) Bel (3.0 SRM) Grain 64.34 %
4.50 lb Wheat Malt, Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 27.57 %
0.66 lb Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 4.04 %
0.66 oz Falconer's Flight (Magnum alt) [10.50 %] (60 min) Hops 18.6 IBU
0.66 oz Falconer's Flight (Simcoe alt) [10.50 %] (20 min) Hops 11.3 IBU
0.50 oz Centennial (Amarillo alt) [8.70 %] (15 min) Hops 5.8 IBU
1.00 oz Amarillo [8.70 %] (Dry Hop 14 days) Hops - 0 IBU
1 Pkgs American Farmhouse Blend (Platinum Series) (White Lab #670) Yeast-Ale

Est Original Gravity: 1.077 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.077 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.022 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.022 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 7.17 %
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 7.20 %
Bitterness: 35.7 IBU
Calories: 355 cal/pint
Est Color: 6.1 SRM

A few comments:

Boulevard's Website states they use Simcoe, Magnum, and Amarillo.
I used other citrus/floral hops because that's what I had in my refrigerator.
It has also been suggested to increase the % of corn and reduce the percentage of Wheat in the grain bill

Alternate Option for Yeast - French Saison

Hops suggestions (taken from Head Brewmaster at Boulevard) -

Bitter - Magnum
Flavor - Touch of Simcoe
Finish - Amarillo
Dry Hop - 1 ounce Amarillo

I Just bought the ingredients for this, using the WY 3724, LHBS out of the WL670.

What temp and for how long did you mash?

 

[bd2xu]

I Just bought the ingredients for this, using the WY 3724, LHBS out of the WL670.

What temp and for how long did you mash?

Sorry I read through the whole thread, so I think I will mash at 152 for 60 mins. This yeast strain I'm going to use (3724) looks very interesting:

"This strain is the classic farmhouse ale yeast. A traditional yeast that is spicy with complex aromatics, including bubble gum. It is very tart and dry on the palate with a mild fruitiness. Expect a crisp, mildly acidic finish that will benefit from elevated fermentation temperatures. This strain is notorious for a rapid and vigorous start to fermentation, only to stick around 1.035 S.G. Fermentation will finish, given time and warm temperatures. Warm fermentation temperatures, at least 90°F (32°C), or the use of a secondary strain can accelerate attenuation.

Temperature Range: 70-95F."

I have a big plastic tub and aquarium heater which seems to work great for keeping temps stable but I'm trying to figure out the schedule for the primary. Thinking to start it at 70-72 for the first few days through the main vigorous fermentation then ramp it another 5 degrees every 3 days or so until I hit 90 (wow this seems crazy) then hold there until a total of 2 weeks is done. But when to rack to secondary and what temp there while dry hopping?

 

[bd2xu]

One more question ;-). I am nervous about this one, second belgian attempt, first was an extract clone of La Fin Du Monde and it's a low carbed, 10% fusel bomb... well it gets you drunk...

On this 3724, i've been reading about it to figure out my ferm temp schedule. What about a starter? Logic says use yeast calc like I always do and this will call for a pretty big starter, but are there any special considerations with 3724? Desirable to underpitch for certain flavor profiles?

 

[highgravitybacon]

One more question ;-). I am nervous about this one, second belgian attempt, first was an extract clone of La Fin Du Monde and it's a low carbed, 10% fusel bomb... well it gets you drunk...

On this 3724, i've been reading about it to figure out my ferm temp schedule. What about a starter? Logic says use yeast calc like I always do and this will call for a pretty big starter, but are there any special considerations with 3724? Desirable to underpitch for certain flavor profiles?

If you have problems with solventy beers, the last thing you want to do is underpitch at all. The risks of overpitching are far more benign and hard to detect than the risks of underpitching. You are far better to err on the over than the under.

 

[bd2xu]

I think the issue with fusels in my Tripel was too high OG, because of too much candi sugar, and I fermented too hot initially.

 

[wskee]

+1 for the starter

This was my first brew with 3724. I was able to move mine up to 85° after a 3-4 days in the high 60's and even bumped it to low-mid 90's after a couple weeks for 4-5 days then back to 85°. It finished, but it took close to a month to ferment then I dry hopped. I just bottled it a few days ago and the sample tasted pretty good. Fingers crossed!

I don't think I would add any heat when dry hopping. I thought it was best to leave it at room temp but someone with more experience may be able to answer that better.

Note:I did not make a starter as this was a last minute brew and I used 1 smack pack. The guy @ the brew shop talked me out of using two...

 

[bd2xu]

Whipping up a 2L starter as I write. 5.5 gallon batch at 1.077, yeastcalc says I need about 290 cells which equals a 2L starter. Doing this in a 2L Erlenmeyer flask on my stir plate. I've never gone over about 1.6 L starter in the 2L flask, I hope it doesn't overflow.

 

[bd2xu]

Coming along but slow with the 3724. Been fermenting for over 2 weeks and for the last week I've had it ramped to 90+ degrees. Still an occasional bubble in the airlock but I checked the SG today and it is only at 1.040. Was hoping it would be done by now since I'm keeping it at warm temps. The Krauzen has dropped and it's a beautiful color but still needs to ferment a lot more. Will give it a couple more weeks at 90 degrees and if not done then I plan on making a small starter with 3711 and pitching it at high Krauzen to finish it off. Smelling great, getting lots of crazy orange, coriander, spicy smells and taste. Hard to believe there's no spices or anything in here, it's just the yeast making the taste.

 

[bd2xu]

+1 for the starter

This was my first brew with 3724. I was able to move mine up to 85° after a 3-4 days in the high 60's and even bumped it to low-mid 90's after a couple weeks for 4-5 days then back to 85°. It finished, but it took close to a month to ferment then I dry hopped. I just bottled it a few days ago and the sample tasted pretty good. Fingers crossed!

I don't think I would add any heat when dry hopping. I thought it was best to leave it at room temp but someone with more experience may be able to answer that better.

Note:I did not make a starter as this was a last minute brew and I used 1 smack pack. The guy @ the brew shop talked me out of using two...

Have you taste a bottle yet or being patient?

 

[bd2xu]

A day after checking the SG, and swirling the fermenter the airlock is more active now, she's still going...

 

[Schumed]

A day after checking the SG, and swirling the fermenter the airlock is more active now, she's still going...

Typical dont want to swirl a fermenter ...you should rather walk away and leave it for 4-6 weeks ...that's what I did

 

[Schumed]

A day after checking the SG, and swirling the fermenter the airlock is more active now, she's still going...

Also I used 3724

I didn't go any higher than 78 for temp...started at 68 waited for 3 days and raised 1 degree each day until 78...this was based on insider info

What temp did you start at?

 

[bd2xu]

I've heard a lot of folks swirling this yeast every few days to keep yeast in suspension and running it up to 90-95. Even wyeast says: will finish, given time and warm temperatures. Warm fermentation temperatures, at least 90°F (32°C), or the use of a secondary strain can accelerate attenuation.

I started in the high 60s- low 70s and within a week was up to 90, and have been keeping it 90-95 since.

 

[highgravitybacon]

I've heard a lot of folks swirling this yeast every few days to keep yeast in suspension and running it up to 90-95. Even wyeast says: will finish, given time and warm temperatures. Warm fermentation temperatures, at least 90°F (32°C), or the use of a secondary strain can accelerate attenuation.

I started in the high 60s- low 70s and within a week was up to 90, and have been keeping it 90-95 since.

I think swirling promotes the flocculation, not decreases it. It's such a powdery strain that plenty of yeast will remain without intervention.

 

[bd2xu]

Cool well I will leave it alone and keep it up around 90 for a couple more weeks.

 

[bd2xu]

Just got back from being away a week and the water bath is at 86 and she's STILL bubbling away. At least every ten seconds. Go 3724 go! Been about 27 days... Not going to even check SG again until I see NO more bubbling.

The recipe calls for dry hopping with cascade but I'm thinking of maybe omitting that and making it a more traditional saison (not usually dry hopped?). Do we think tank 7 is dry hopped?