Saison Cottage House Saison

[arnobg]

I just brewed this yesterday and hit every single number spot on. Was a perfect brew day! Can't wait to keg this soon!

Started fermentation at 68F last night and it has been going nuts today. Plan ramp it up into the 70's after 2-3 days and try to get high 70's. Is this a sufficient schedule or should I wait longer to ramp it up?

So, I plan on doing this batch on Sunday. I started a 750ml starter last night, left it on the stirplate all day, and I get home and it doesn't seem like its been fermenting much? Compared to my last yeast starters, it has pretty much no little white particles flying around. However that being said I just stopped the stirplate, left it on its own for 15mins and now that I look back I have a thick layer of yeast at the bottom...so I guess I'm alright? Maybe the yeast just really blended well with the wort?

Look forward to trying out this recipe...

I just did a starter a few days ago and it was the same. 3711 starters don't show much action compared to other strains.

 

[pmaster]

I just brewed this yesterday and hit every single number spot on. Was a perfect brew day! Can't wait to keg this soon!

Started fermentation at 68F last night and it has been going nuts today. Plan ramp it up into the 70's after 2-3 days and try to get high 70's. Is this a sufficient schedule or should I wait longer to ramp it up?





I just did a starter a few days ago and it was the same. 3711 starters don't show much action compared to other strains.

Cool! Thanks for the info can't wait till Sunday!

 

[sacrifice]

I brewed this about 9 weeks ago, and finally opened a bottle last night. The brew spent 5 weeks in primary (my usual time is 4 - 6 weeks) and 4 weeks carbing in the bottle. According to my wife, this is the best beer I have made in the past 6 or so years. It really is good.

I will be brewing this again soon.

 

[babaganuj]

I just brewed this yesterday and hit every single number spot on. Was a perfect brew day! Can't wait to keg this soon!

Started fermentation at 68F last night and it has been going nuts today. Plan ramp it up into the 70's after 2-3 days and try to get high 70's. Is this a sufficient schedule or should I wait longer to ramp it up?

I think your schedule sounds good. I would start ramping up on Sunday night because 3711 is an absolute monster!

 

[arnobg]

Just moved it to the bath tub and stepped it up to 75-76

 

[azscoob]

I brewed this about 9 weeks ago, and finally opened a bottle last night. The brew spent 5 weeks in primary (my usual time is 4 - 6 weeks) and 4 weeks carbing in the bottle. According to my wife, this is the best beer I have made in the past 6 or so years. It really is good.

I will be brewing this again soon.

This is my favorite kind of feedback!
I need to brew this again, once spring gets a better foothold in Chicagoland.

 

[JonM]

Here's another bit of feed back: this beer pairs beautifully with everything. Some beers pair well with a couple kinds of food, but this pairs with everything. Grilled shrimp, salmon, steak, chops, you name it. Heck, I've even had it with meatloaf or with grilled cheese and it still works beautifully.

It's bubbling away in my ferm chamber right now.

 

[arnobg]

This is my favorite kind of feedback!

I need to brew this again, once spring gets a better foothold in Chicagoland.

What did your temperature schedule look like during fermentation?

 

[pmaster]

I just finished brewing this! I ended up with an OG of around 1.054 finally, used a little bit too much water.
I also pitched the yeast too warm at around 78F... I don't know where my head was, I forgot to check the temp before pitching. Hopefully it'll be fine.
Now let's wait and see. The 6gal carboy is almost filled to the top, I'm hoping the blow-off tube will handle things OK!

 

[depper]

I brewed this for the third time last Friday and bottle/kegged it today. My OG was 1.063 and it finished at 1.001! I intentionally shot for a higher OG so I could get this over 8% ABV. Sure enough, that's where it's at! I fermented this batch differently than my first two. The first two I fermented at 68 degrees and left it there the entire time. This time I started at 68 for a day then raised it up 2 degrees everyday until I got to 80 degrees and left it there till I bottle/kegged it. It tastes AMAZING! A lot more "Belgian funk" than the first two times and I love it! If your into the "Belgian funk" then ferment it high. You won't be disappointed! I try to keep this on tap at my house all the time. One or two of these beers on a given night and all the cares of the world go away! Great recipe!

 

[pmaster]

This thing is fermenting like crazy... I dropped the temperature down at 68 overnight, and its still bubbling non-stop. Nothing blew off luckily, the blow-off tube seems to be doing its thing. I will leave it at 68 for 1-2 weeks and raise it afterwards, although I suspect it'll be done fermenting in a week at this speed!

 

[babaganuj]

This thing is fermenting like crazy... I dropped the temperature down at 68 overnight, and its still bubbling non-stop. Nothing blew off luckily, the blow-off tube seems to be doing its thing. I will leave it at 68 for 1-2 weeks and raise it afterwards, although I suspect it'll be done fermenting in a week at this speed!

I don't know if I'd drop the temperature if I were you. It's pretty clean at 68 and, personally, I like my Saison more funky.

 

[arnobg]

I've been holding it in a bath tub between 74-80 the last two days. Due to the temperature moving around within that range I am hoping for some good flavors. So weird to be doing this considering brews are usually sitting in the fermentation chamber at a steady temperature.

 

[pmaster]

I don't know if I'd drop the temperature if I were you. It's pretty clean at 68 and, personally, I like my Saison more funky.

I've seen this description before but not sure how to relate to it. What is it you call funky?

 

[pmaster]

Well, Its been 5 full days and I think fermentation is done or very close to done this morning. Just checked the carboy and no more activity (it had slowed down greatly yesterday). It really fermented like crazy! I'll probably bottle next week though because I don't think I'll have time this weekend.

 

[arnobg]

Mine went strong for 4-5 days and slow bubbling (1-2 a minute) for another 2 days. I'm on day 8 now and I will be racking it to a keg on day 15. Can't wait to taste this it has been smelling amazing!

My only complaint is that I am going to have to let the temperature fall. After day 3 I ramped it up in the bath tub holding it at 78-80 for a few days but I am about to leave town and gonna have to let it fall to room temperature around 68F.

Shouldn't affect much at this point since fermentation is probably a point or two from done right?

 

[azscoob]

Mine went strong for 4-5 days and slow bubbling (1-2 a minute) for another 2 days. I'm on day 8 now and I will be racking it to a keg on day 15. Can't wait to taste this it has been smelling amazing!

My only complaint is that I am going to have to let the temperature fall. After day 3 I ramped it up in the bath tub holding it at 78-80 for a few days but I am about to leave town and gonna have to let it fall to room temperature around 68F.

Shouldn't affect much at this point since fermentation is probably a point or two from done right?

Correct, no worries at this point!

 

[arnobg]

Just grabbed a sample for day 10 gravity reading and it was at 1.002! Tasted fantastic, nice and dry and I think it should be done now. Going to let it sit and leg on Thursday.

Is there any reason I would want to let this do a 3 week primary like my other ales?

 

[depper]

Is there any reason I would want to let this do a 3 week primary like my other ales?

No reason that I can think of. I've brewed this beer 3 different times and left it in the primary no longer than 10 days before kegging! All 3 batches came out wonderful! You should be good to go.....enjoy

 

[Feldmann]

So, I plan on doing this batch on Sunday. I started a 750ml starter last night, left it on the stirplate all day, and I get home and it doesn't seem like its been fermenting much? Compared to my last yeast starters, it has pretty much no little white particles flying around. However that being said I just stopped the stirplate, left it on its own for 15mins and now that I look back I have a thick layer of yeast at the bottom...so I guess I'm alright? Maybe the yeast just really blended well with the wort?

Look forward to trying out this recipe...

I wouldn't worry too much. I find a lot of saison yeasts lag a little at the very start.

 

[pmaster]

Here's my FG! Pretty much at 1.000! I put the sample in the fridge to taste it cold . Gives me an ABV of close to 7%. That was a hell of a hungry yeast

 

[arnobg]

Put it on gas a couple days ago and pulled a sampler glass tonight. Quite possibly my best all grain brew yet!

Finished at 1.001 and 7.7% ABV. Very good and can only see it getting better with a bit more carbonation!

Everyone else's seems darker than mine though. I used CaraMunich I, is everyone using CaraMunich II in this?

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1460854397.949980.jpg

 

[LemonJelly]

OP what was your brewhouse efficiency? I was about 11 points under your OG with a 72% brewhouse efficiency and I always seems to hit the numbers on other recipes. Not sure what I did wrong...

EDIT: nevermind just remembered I forgot the honey and just found your efficiency at 75%

 

[KaanX]

How many packets did everybody use to brew this using Belle Saison, 1 or 2? I have 2 packets, but want to keep one if a single packet is enough. (They are not easy to acquire here ).

 

[azscoob]

OP what was your brewhouse efficiency? I was about 11 points under your OG with a 72% brewhouse efficiency and I always seems to hit the numbers on other recipes. Not sure what I did wrong...

EDIT: nevermind just remembered I forgot the honey and just found your efficiency at 75%

My brew house efficiency is actually at 87% but I adjust to 75% for recipe posting to make it easier for most folks to hit the numbers without undo adjusting. And yes, forgetting the honey will do it as far as low gravity numbers... Add honey into the fermentor and let it rip!!!

 

[Shenanigans]

How many packets did everybody use to brew this using Belle Saison, 1 or 2? I have 2 packets, but want to keep one if a single packet is enough. (They are not easy to acquire here ).

I used 1 pack of Belle Saison at 79F and it brought it down from 1.067 to 1.000 in two weeks. I only checked it once a week so it was probably finished quicker than the two weeks.

 

[Brew-Dog]

My brew house efficiency is actually at 87% but I adjust to 75% for recipe posting to make it easier for most folks to hit the numbers without undo adjusting. And yes, forgetting the honey will do it as far as low gravity numbers... Add honey into the fermentor and let it rip!!!

azscoob - Sounds like a great recipe. Have you tried brewing a lower ABV version of this yet? I'm thinking about something around 1.048. I'm hoping for something a little more sessionable, but I'm afraid of it being watery or lacking in character. Would you increase the oats, cut back the honey and maybe mash a little higher?

 

[orangemen5]

How many packets did everybody use to brew this using Belle Saison, 1 or 2? I have 2 packets, but want to keep one if a single packet is enough. (They are not easy to acquire here ).

I've brewed it twice with 1 pack of belle saison. Save your other pk. You'll be good.

 

[azscoob]

azscoob - Sounds like a great recipe. Have you tried brewing a lower ABV version of this yet? I'm thinking about something around 1.048. I'm hoping for something a little more sessionable, but I'm afraid of it being watery or lacking in character. Would you increase the oats, cut back the honey and maybe mash a little higher?

My first thought would be to increase the oats a tick in proportion to the rest, but then scale the whole recipe down to drop the gravity. I might play with it a little here soon and see how it stacks up.

 

[m00ps]

azscoob - Sounds like a great recipe. Have you tried brewing a lower ABV version of this yet? I'm thinking about something around 1.048. I'm hoping for something a little more sessionable, but I'm afraid of it being watery or lacking in character. Would you increase the oats, cut back the honey and maybe mash a little higher?

IME, you cant really get a watery beer with wy3711. Ive used it in saisons around 1.050 that ended below 1.000 and they still had more character and body than most commercial attempts. I always have around 30% wheat/rye/oats in mine too though. But this is in addition to cane sugar too so... YMMV