Saison Boulevard Smokestack Series Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale Clone

[bd2xu]

Give it some time. A 10% beer will usually be better with some aging.

 

[geoffm33]

Will do. Would leaving it in the fermenter longer have a positive effect in regards to the alcohol taste? I had it in for about 3 weeks.

 

[bd2xu]

That should be long enough assuming it's done fermenting. I'd rack to a secondary or keg.

 

[geoffm33]

That should be long enough assuming it's done fermenting. I'd rack to a secondary or keg.

It was done fermenting. Bottled it few weeks ago. I'll just give it a month or so more in the bottle then taste again. Thanks!

 

[hammy48]

BS is giving me around 10 IBUs for my recipe:

.5oz northern brewer (trying to use up what I have) at 60
.25oz simcoe at 45
3.5oz amirillo at 5 minutes
.5oz amarillo dry hop

That is only a third of what this is supposed to have... suggestions?

 

[highgravitybacon]

BS is giving me around 10 IBUs for my recipe:

.5oz northern brewer (trying to use up what I have) at 60
.25oz simcoe at 45
3.5oz amirillo at 5 minutes
.5oz amarillo dry hop

That is only a third of what this is supposed to have... suggestions?

Add more hops.

 

[midfielder5]

BS is giving me around 10 IBUs for my recipe:
.5oz northern brewer (trying to use up what I have) at 60
.25oz simcoe at 45
3.5oz amirillo at 5 minutes
.5oz amarillo dry hop
That is only a third of what this is supposed to have... suggestions?

You aren't following the recipe schedule and anyways-- It depends a lot on the boil gravity and of course the AA% of the hops. The 5 min addition will give some bitterness but you should probably move an ounce or so to the 60 min addition.

 

[hammy48]

Modified my recipe to:

1oz northern brewer at 60 (9.3)
.7oz simcoe at 45 (9.1)
1oz amarillo at 10 (3.4)
2.5oz amarillo at flameout (1)
.5oz amarillo dry hop

Total of 22.8 IBU

Trying to keep my recipe as close to the email from Paul as possible (see below). BS says I would need 35 ounces of amarillo at 5 minutes to get the IBUs in the email from him... so I set it at 2.5 because that is closer to what everybody was posting for recipes and still gets me close in IBUs.

Magnum 6.4 IBUs at 98C
Simcoe 7.1 IBUs at 15 minutes after beginning of boil
Amarillo 14.0 IBUs at 65 minutes after beginning of boil (or 5 minutes before end of boil)
Amarillo 9.6 IBUs in the whirlpool

 

[dancemyth]

OK. Time to pitch in here:

Brewed the bad boy mid June, using the recipe given below. This recipe was derived from a few sources, but primarily from the Boulevard email posted somewhere in this thread.

This came out really close to Tank-7, although a little "hotter" since it finished at 9.1% ABV. Final gravity at 1.003. Should have stopped it at 1.006-1.008. I'll explain below.

5.5 gal batch. 70% overall efficiency.

12 lbs Belgian 2-Row (78%)
3 lbs Flaked Corn (20%)
6 oz White Wheat (3%)

2.3 AAU Magnum - 70 mins (.18 oz of 12.6%)
2.7 AAU Simcoe - 5 mins (.21 oz of 13%)
25.5 AAU Amarillo - 5 mins (3 oz of 8.5%)
25.5 AAU Amarillo - Whirlpool (3oz of 8.5%)
5.25 AAU Amarillo - Dry Hop 3 days (.5 oz of 8.5%)

Wyeast 3724 - Belgian Saison
Wyeast 3711 - French Saison

Mash
145 - 50 mins
155 - 25 mins
163 - 15 mins
168 - mashout 10 mins

Fermentation
- 1.5L starter of 3724 for 4 days at 70*. Dropped from OG=1.072 to 1.042.
- Added 1.5L starter of 3711 to primary
- Fermented 14 more days at 72-74*. Gravity dropped to 1.003 (!). Was still fermenting steadily when I cold-crashed it and fined it to stop fermentation. Racked to the keg and dry-hopped at room temp.

Note that I fermented very much on the cool side, because I wanted NO bubblegum flavor. As expected, the 3724 stalled out (or at least slowed way down) pretty quickly. I didn't really want to wait a month, or jack up the temp, so I added the 3711. As noted elsewhere, 3711 is an ungodly terror, and just tore through the proto-beer.

After a week or so of lagering in the keg, this was already drinking really well, if still a little green - but it definitely improves with some age. After a few more weeks, it was going fast, so I beer-gunned a couple of six packs, and have continued to sample it every couple of weeks since. I can definitely say that at 2-3 months, this was really close to Tank 7, and it continues to age wonderfully.

I've seen some recipes with a lot less late-boil Amarillo. I think this is a mistake. This beer really needs to lean heavily on the flavor/aroma of the Amarillo, so don't hold back here. I know the mash schedule is complex. I don't really know how much difference the 3-step mash makes, but I think it helps to do the long mash at 145* and then one in the high 150's. This helps to keep it super dry and tart, again reinforcing that Amarillo grapefruit bite.

The only thing I would change is to increase the dry hop to an ounce of Amarillo. Also, stop the fermentation a little sooner - closer to 1.010 than 1.001. Mine was a tad too dry.

This is a dangerously refreshing brew. I had it ready for the dog days of summer. You don't realize how much kick there is until you try to stand up after a pint or two.

Will try to post a picture later.

Boston Strong!

 

[hammy48]

If I put that (dancemyth's) hop schedule in BS I get very low IBUs... that was the reason I made my original post. However based on what everybody is posting I think that seems to be the right schedule so I am going to finally go with 1oz of NB at 60 and then .75oz simcoe and 4oz of amarillo at 5/whirlpool and 1oz dry hop. Cant afford any more amarillo otherwise I would be adding more!

Thanks for reporting those results and following the boulevard schedule so closely! I should be brewing this in the next few weeks and will post back with my results.

Boston strong indeed!

 

[dancemyth]

Not a great pic, but here's the beer I made. Foamy head lasts about a week. Leaves great lacing.
IBUs did calculate low, but seemed comparable to the real thing to me.

 

[hbr2547]

Mine has been stuck at 1.03 even after ramping up to 88....any other suggestions that have worked for all? Pitch another yeast?

 

[eulipion2]

Wyeast 3711 should finish it off, assuming 1) extract was fresh, or 2) you didn't overshoot your mash temp, depending on how you brewed it.

 

[hbr2547]

All grain - definitely didn't overshoot but stalled with saison yeast and added 3711 wyeast and brought to 88 no luck!!!

 

[eulipion2]

All grain - definitely didn't overshoot but stalled with saison yeast and added 3711 wyeast and brought to 88 no luck!!!

Wow! I've never seen 3711 stall anywhere higher than 1.006, and even that was no higher than 75 degrees! What grain did you use as your base malt? Was it fresh? Are you sure you didn't accidentally use a specialty grain like Victory instead of a base malt?

 

[hbr2547]

Wow! I've never seen 3711 stall anywhere higher than 1.006, and even that was no higher than 75 degrees! What grain did you use as your base malt? Was it fresh? Are you sure you didn't accidentally use a specialty grain like Victory instead of a base malt?

idefinitely positive - I didn't make a starter though. All went well. To be honest I've only used 3711 once and it ripped through my last beer.

 

[eulipion2]

Well then, how long has it been stuck at 1.030? I really have no other ideas to finish that off.

 

[hbr2547]

About a week - I'm going to make a 1.5 liter starter and oxygenate starter an pitch - this doesn't work I'm out of luck

 

[fatboy34]

Brewed this last night using Schumed recipe. Thanks! Hit numbers I was looking for and used WYeast 3726 with starter.

I just noticed this recipe comes in around 7.5 ABV. Looks like Boulevard has it at 8.5 ABV. Sounds like the recipe is solid but why the discrepancy? And/or what's it missing?

 

[Schumed]

Brewed this last night using Schumed recipe. Thanks! Hit numbers I was looking for and used WYeast 3726 with starter.

I just noticed this recipe comes in around 7.5 ABV. Looks like Boulevard has it at 8.5 ABV. Sounds like the recipe is solid but why the discrepancy? And/or what's it missing?

my final gravity was 1.016....mine needed to dry out more to be a closer clone...like 1.006 what would be the extra ABV...

I've had more people say mine taste closer to Chainbreaker White IPA which I would agree...both are great beers

 

[fatboy34]

my final gravity was 1.016....mine needed to dry out more to be a closer clone...like 1.006 what would be the extra ABV... I've had more people say mine taste closer to Chainbreaker White IPA which I would agree...both are great beers

Ahh, got it. Makes sense, thanks for quick reply. Yeah 1.006 would get it closer to advertised 8.5 ABV if not exceed. Will see where the 3726 takes me.

Good to know, I would be very content with something like a Chainbreaker too! Very good beer.

 

[bd2xu]

If you don't get where you want on fg then add some wy3711, it will take it down to the low single digits.

 

[doublebogey10]

Is there a reason not to use 3711 from the start?

 

[bd2xu]

Is there a reason not to use 3711 from the start?

None at all, 3711 is going to finish very dry and a little peppery but not a lot of other flavor contribution. It's not a ton of Belgian flavor in my opinion. 3724 is going to be very very tart and more like Saison Dupont, since it is the Dupont strain. It will not finish as dry and will have a pretty complex profile but tartness is dominant. 3726 is a special seasonal one, I'm not sure but I think it is a blend of a couple different yeast. I haven't had the chance to use it yet, but I have read that it is kind of a blend between 3724 and 3711.

 

[highgravitybacon]

None at all, 3711 is going to finish very dry and a little peppery but not a lot of other flavor contribution. It's not a ton of Belgian flavor in my opinion. 3724 is going to be very very tart and more like Saison Dupont, since it is the Dupont strain. It will not finish as dry and will have a pretty complex profile but tartness is dominant. 3726 is a special seasonal one, I'm not sure but I think it is a blend of a couple different yeast. I haven't had the chance to use it yet, but I have read that it is kind of a blend between 3724 and 3711.

I think boulevard uses something similar to wyeast 3787. I don't think it's a true saison yeast.

 

[HamiltonBrian]

Just tried Tank 7 just the other day and loved it! I've used the Farmhouse yeast before, just once, and it was on a gruit. Does the yeast lend itself to any sourness? The gruit came off very sour, but I think high fermentation temps may have contributed more to that than anything else.

It is a yeast I want to stock more of. I'll be interested to try this recipe in somewhat of an altered form.

 

[GTG]

I think boulevard uses something similar to wyeast 3787. I don't think it's a true saison yeast.

Two years ago the brewmaster at Blvd. told me that they use the same yeast on all their Belgians. Differences in taste are due to the different fermenting temps.


Thanks,
GTG

 

[highgravitybacon]

Two years ago the brewmaster at Blvd. told me that they use the same yeast on all their Belgians. Differences in taste are due to the different fermenting temps.

Thanks,
GTG

Yes, and I think that yeast is close to 3787. I have tried Nommo, Long Strange Tripel, Sixth Glass, Tank 7, Zon, Reboot, Saison Brett. And to achieve the scope of flavors requires a yeast that can deliver across the board. Thus it cannot be a singular saison yeast.

 

[fatboy34]

Ahh, got it. Makes sense, thanks for quick reply. Yeah 1.006 would get it closer to advertised 8.5 ABV if not exceed. Will see where the 3726 takes me. Good to know, I would be very content with something like a Chainbreaker too! Very good beer.

Well, 13 days in primary and it's at 1.022. I measured at 8 days and it was also at 1.022. Temps were in upper 70s, and touched low 80 up to day 8 or so. Fallen to upper 60s now.

Do I go buy a 3711 pack and pitch it? Or do I warm it back up and wait a week or two?

 

[Schumed]

Brewing this up for the 3rd time

Going to ferment with this

And see what happens