Honey Rosemary Saison

[Piratwolf]

What yeast are we using here? 3711?

From what i'm seeing, 3711 is very much the way to go. I couldn't get it locally and went with WLP565 and the result is great but it does require some temp adjustments.

 

[2brew1cup]

For the wlp whats your temp range/adjmnt?

 

[lowtones84]

FWIW... Finished @ 1.002!!! That's about 8.5% buy the alcohol is a gentle warming under light orange & honey plus a full mouth feel! Bottled yesterday & can't wait to try one

Nice! Dried out more than mine, and I'm sure it'll be great!

 

[eulipion2]

Just racked and pitched. OG was 1.060, a little lower than expected, but my post-boil volume was a little high, so that's okay. Hydro sample tasted great! Rosemary and honey are both very noticeable. I will say that the rosemary gave off a cooked aroma in the no-chill cube, but the wort tasted and smelled delicious. Depending on how this turns out I may be willing to up the rosemary a bit, or perhaps dry-hop with it.

 

[eulipion2]

Oh, and to the person who posted about whether to use Wyeast 3711, I chose that strain because the description said it could ferment in the mid- to upper-60's, meaning I wouldn't have to turn the space heater on my carboy. Also, it seems 3711 dries out very nicely.

 

[Piratwolf]

Just racked and pitched. OG was 1.060, a little lower than expected, but my post-boil volume was a little high, so that's okay. Hydro sample tasted great! Rosemary and honey are both very noticeable. I will say that the rosemary gave off a cooked aroma in the no-chill cube, but the wort tasted and smelled delicious. Depending on how this turns out I may be willing to up the rosemary a bit, or perhaps dry-hop with it.

Nice!

I'll definitely up the rosemary also. In fact, I was thinking about putting a single rosemary "leaf" in each bottle at bottling time just for kicks (after sanitizing, of course).

As for the wlp, I let it ferment in a closet at room temp (about 69 ambient) and free rise as it fermented. Eventually I had to use my space heater to get the temp high enough to finish.

 

[eulipion2]

Finally bottled today! Gravity sample (including priming sugar) read 1.005. I fermented on the cool side, so my fermentation took about 2 weeks. Finally turned the space heater on just to make sure it was done.

Hydro sample was strong rosemary flavor, though it tasted more cooked than fresh, so I may cut back on my kettle addition and dry-hop with more. Also, I think I'd like a little more lemony hop flavor, so I may do a late addition. I didn't really get much honey, but I'll let it carb up and see.

I will say that the yeast gave a bunch of phenolics that, in the flat hydro sample anyway, seemed to clash. Again, some carbing and aging may help this, but I might have to drop the Belgian yeast in favor of something more neutral. I do love the dryness that 3711 gave the beer though.

 

[eulipion2]

So, I took this to my homebrew club meeting last night, and I must say, it was a hit! Will be brewing one more time to try out some tweaks, then I'll post the final version in the recipe database. This one's a keeper!

 

[Piratwolf]

So, I took this to my homebrew club meeting last night, and I must say, it was a hit! Will be brewing one more time to try out some tweaks, then I'll post the final version in the recipe database. This one's a keeper!

I've gotten good reviews on my version as well. Will re-brew next month w/ 3711 to emphasize the citrus. It's already very dry & crisp, with great floral notes and a really nice black peppery finish. It finishes with a warming alcohol note as well. Thanks again for this recipe! It's gonna be a house standard for me.

 

[eulipion2]

FINALLY! Final version (for now) posted in the recipe section.

 

[Piratwolf]

Thought I'd bump this with an update.

Just took 1st place out of 41 entries in the French/Belgian category at the 20th Annual Spirit of Free Beer competition near D.C. with my version of this recipe. Thanks for the inspiration, Eulypion!

 

[eulipion2]

Thought I'd bump this with an update.

Just took 1st place out of 41 entries in the French/Belgian category at the 20th Annual Spirit of Free Beer competition near D.C. with my version of this recipe. Thanks for the inspiration, Eulypion!

Nicely done! I plan on entering mine into a few competitions in the next few months. I must say, I love this beer!

 

[Siberian]

Just brewed up this recipe, left out the honey since I didn't have it and used a starter made up of yeast from a bottle of Cellar Door Saison from Stillwater Artisanal Ales.

Just kegged it up, first taste of it is awesome. Can't wait for it to finish carbonating.

 

[eulipion2]

Awesome, glad to hear it! I will say that the honey really comes out as the beer ages, so depending on how quickly you drink it, you probably won't notice it's missing.

For the yeast, I think Stillwater uses 3711, or maybe that was only in Stateside Saison.