First Saison, looking for feedback

[ImNoExpert]

Next weekend I plan to brew my first saison. I like the general style and I like the history/lore behind the style. I'm really interested in getting a solid feel for the style in dryness of flavor and spiciness of the yeast. I'm not looking for anything delicate or neutral. I want something that will say "I'm a saison!"

Here is my recipe/process. I'd appreciate any feedback from those who have had success with the style.

11 gal into fermentor

7 lbs. Bel. Pilsner
7 lbs. American 2-row
2 lbs. American Rye
2 lbs. wheat
2 lbs. Vienna
1 lb. clear candi sugar

25 IBUs of Saaz (I'm open to other suggestions)

60 min mash
60 minute boil (I usually would do 90 when using pilsner malt, but is this really necessary? Will I really get DMS if I don't boil for 90 min.?)

Cool it into the 70s and pitch half with wyeast 3724 and half with wyeast 3711.

I then plan to "Garage" one or both batches (I'm open to suggestions as to which or if you' suggest both) as my garage in July/August should easily keep in the 80s.

Thanks for any and all input!

 

[m00ps]

Im glad I found this thread, im obsessed with saisons and have tried just about every variation and yeast you can get. I always use pils with just a 60min boil and ive never had any DMS.

so you're going 50/50 with 3724 and 3711? That should be interesting. My favorite saison yeast is a blend of 3711 and wlp566 that I have. 2nd fav is a 3724, 3726, 3711 blend though. Definitely get them as warm as possible. I crank mien up past 90F after fermentation takes off. But dont let them swing down in temp, especially 3724. it will almost certainly stall. The higher the temp the more of that awesome yeast character youll get. Id suggest insulating the fermentors with a winter jacket as opposed to letting them sit in the garage where itll go and up and down with the days. This should get it around 80 by free rise. Only time I had any bad bandaid off flavors was from when my saison went up and down 6deg or so every day

I think the grain bill looks great. No adjuncts which is good. What temp are you mashing? I usually go for 148 to get it super dry

 

[ImNoExpert]

Thanks, m00ps for the reply. I was planning to do a 149 mash aiming for some highly fermentable wort.

I was planning to cover it in a blanket in the garage to hopefully retain some of the daytime heat. Otherwise my basement this time of year is around 65. Of course there's the bath in our master bathroom that will probably stay around 72 to 76 this time of year too. Maybe that will be a better option.

What do you think about putting one in the basement and one in the garage? Any thoughts on which strain to put where if I did?

 

[m00ps]

Yeah, 3724 is notoriously finicky and 3711 is just the opposite. Put the 3724 where ever temps will be most stable and be sure to insulate is. 3711 should be fine where ever, but try ti minimize fluctuations by insulating it as it still may ferment it fine, but may produce fusels

Heres what I do for my saisons: get a big rope tub ($7 at lowes) and a 100W aquarium heater ($15 amazon). Fill the tub, crank the heater and leave the bucket in there for like 10-14 days until fermentation finishes. Let it come back down to room temps before bottling

 

[ImNoExpert]

Follow up:

So I fermented these both in my master bath bathtub (doesn't get much use this time of year and my wife is shockingly indulgent) where the air conditioning vent is closed off. I wrapped them both in blankets and let them free rise. They both blew a lot of gas and got into the mid 80s.

The 3711 got down to 1.004. Thinking it was done I put it in the basement (about 65F) to settle more. It still got lower and went down to 1.001. I bottled it and I'd say it was a really good saison. I might switch up the recipe a little, but I think the process is good.

The 3724 got stuck at 1.030 in the tub. I brought it into the basement and hooked it up to the heater and wrapped it in the blanket. A week in the upper 80s and another in the mid 90s only got it to 1.008 before it stopped.

Between the two batches I got a chest freezer so I am able to serve out of my kegs again. This batch went into the keg. It's been force carbing for the past 48 hours. It's unsurprisingly sweeter and more fruity than phenolic. I'm optimistic that with good carbonation, this will be a good beer as well.

I'd say I like the 3711 better than the 3724 due to the ease of use and the phenolic flavor profile was more to my taste as to what I like in a saison.

Thanks for your help, m00ps!

 

[m00ps]

glad it turned out well! I prefer 3711 too for its very bright lemony zip it can give a saison. It's probably my favorite one to blend with other saison yeasts. Still trying to find the perfect combination though
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=542346

 

[MannyEdwards]

I've just got into home brewing, and this style is one of the reasons why. You can see the results and the recipe of my first Saison here: http://jigheadbrewing.com/2015/08/11/funky-summer-beer-skipjack-belgian-saison/

But I wanted to point out that I used a dry yeast, the Danstar Belle Saison. I don't know enough to know whether it has the character of liquid Saison, and I'd love to hear what you think.

 

[m00ps]

Belle saison is a good saison yeast. It may not have as much character as some of the usual liquid yeasts, but its definitely authentic saison tasting. To me its pretty similar to 3711 but with more spice than bright lemon character. Pretty clean as far as saison yeasts go

nice blog BTW

 

[MannyEdwards]

Belle saison is a good saison yeast. It may not have as much character as some of the usual liquid yeasts, but its definitely authentic saison tasting. To me its pretty similar to 3711 but with more spice than bright lemon character. Pretty clean as far as saison yeasts go

nice blog BTW

Thanks for that! I have another Saison in the pipeline, and as soon as I taste it I'm going to start another. When it cools off in the fall, I'll order some 3711 -- until then, the Belle Saison.

 

[AsianMead]

Hello,

I just realized that I've done 3 batched of saison this year.
At the beginning I wasn't think about the saison , I just got the M27 Mangrove's jack ale yeast and just brewed. They were turn out over my expectation.

First batch OG 1.042 down to FG 1.003
Second batch OG 1.052 down to FG 1.002
Third batch OG 1.044 down to FG 1.002 + secondary fermentation
Bottle conditioned for all batches.

All of them have spicy,fruity character with mildly dry and bitter end.