First saison questions - boil and aging times

[CadiBrewer]

I'm brewing my first saison this weekend and I have a couple of questions. The recipe I'm using calls for 56% Belgian pilsner malt. Should I boil for 90 minutes to avoid DMS with the Belgian pils?

Second question, this will be a fairly low gravity version of the style, with an OG of 1.041. There won't be any spices or adjuncts. I'll be using Wyeast 3711French Saison. I was going to pitch at 68 and then ramp up to 72 and leave it there for 10 days total before kegging. How long will I need to age this before it is at its peak?

 

[trav77]

I do a 90 min boil with any pils malt.

Probably drink it up right away given that it's low ABV.

 

[Aristotelian]

From everything I have read, 90 minute boil is unnecessary, even with Pils...but it doesn't hurt, so people still do it.

I agree, I don't see any reason why saison should be aged, unless you are adding brett or doing something else to it.

 

[CadiBrewer]

Thanks for all of the input. I'll go 90 since it won't hurt and then 60 when I brew it a second time for comparison purposes.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

That beer should be delicious fresh a d for quite a while. I've kept them out to a year. Definitely not as good but still refreshing. I keg and co2 transfer for minimal o2 exposure.

 

[The10mmKid]

Cadi, you might consider a late sugar addition. It will ferment out drier which I always appreciate in a Saison.

'da Kid

 

[CadiBrewer]

Cadi, you might consider a late sugar addition. It will ferment out drier which I always appreciate in a Saison.

'da Kid

How much? Grist is 56% Belgian Pils, 35% Vienna and 9% torrified wheat. Also, I was trying to keep this a smaller, lawnmower beer but I'm always open for improvement.

 

[wolves63]

I'm brewing my first saison this weekend and I have a couple of questions. The recipe I'm using calls for 56% Belgian pilsner malt. Should I boil for 90 minutes to avoid DMS with the Belgian pils?

Pilsner malt is so perfectly refined now there is no reason to boil 90 minutes.

Second question, this will be a fairly low gravity version of the style, with an OG of 1.041. There won't be any spices or adjuncts. I'll be using Wyeast 3711French Saison. I was going to pitch at 68 and then ramp up to 72 and leave it there for 10 days total before kegging. How long will I need to age this before it is at its peak?

I would pitch at 68, then just let to free rise in your house, you will get some awesome saison flavors that way. I would leave it for 2 weeks minimum on the yeast then look at kegging.

 

[m00ps]

With modern malting techniques, I've never found any advantage to a 90min boil vs a standard 60min with regards to DMS. I've done 100% pilsner malt before without any issues. You need a good rolling boil though

Definitely let it free rise. Insulate the fermentor with a hevay jacket or blanket if you can. The hotter you get that yeast, the fruitier and more bright the yeast character will be. It should also attenuate a bit higher at warmer temps

Once you package it, the beer will be drinkable within 2 weeks IME. I've used this yeast more times than I can count and it doesnt require extensive aging, but the yeast character will change over time. If you get some bubblegum or banana flavors when its young, dont worry those will fade in another few weeks. I would say at 2 months from bottling its at its "peak" but it all depends onw hat flavors you like the best. The yeast character should be pretty stable at 1 month out IME, but Ive had some saisons that a couple of my f4riends actually preferred when they were a bit green than once they were fully matured

I have a bunch of kegs, but I actually prefer to bottle condition my saisons. It gives them a much better shelf life than my ones I used to keg. Especially the couple I would purge and bottle from the keg

 

[RayZab]

How much? Grist is 56% Belgian Pils, 35% Vienna and 9% torrified wheat. Also, I was trying to keep this a smaller, lawnmower beer but I'm always open for improvement.

I recently brewed a saison with 3711 that was 88% pilsner and 12% wheat. OG was 1.049 and the 3711 yeast took it all the way down to 1.002. There's no need to dry it out with sugar.

 

[trav77]

I recently brewed a saison with 3711 that was 88% pilsner and 12% wheat. OG was 1.049 and the 3711 yeast took it all the way down to 1.002. There's no need to dry it out with sugar.

+1 on this. Most saison yeasts will attenuate quite highly even on higher OG beers. I would skip the sugar unless you're 1.060+.