Low FG for Saison

[gyst]

I made a Saison Dupont clone with WPL565 (Belgian Saison 1). I hit my OG exactly - 1.068 according to Beersmith, 1.068 according to my hydrometer. Its been in primary for 25 days, and I just took my first (post-ferment) reading. Beersmith says it should be at 1.019. I'm getting 1.000. It tastes big, too - funky saison on the front end, all hot alcohol on the back (I know, it needs more time, I just thought I wouldn't waste the beer). Has this happened to anyone else? Aside from the beer being super-dry, and 2.4% higher in alcohol content than it should be, is anything else going to be wrong with it?

BTW, I don't think my hydrometer is off - I've been hitting pretty close or dead on for my OG and FG readings in my previous batches.

Thanks for in advance for any advice or comments, and sorry for my noob worry.

 

[MalFet]

1.019 is incredibly high for a Saison. 1.000 is actually closer to what I would expect for that yeast and that grist, but still a bit lower than I'd usually shoot for. Keep an eye on things to make sure it's stable.

 

[vitrael]

R

 

[beerloaf]

I agree with malfet that the FG should have been well under 1.019. I have a 565 saison fermenting as we speak and I hope to get it under 1.010. Then again my OG was not nearly as high as yours. What temps were you fermenting at?

beerloaf

 

[phenry]

Saison yeast usually finishes up super dry. My last batch finished at 1.002, so I'd say you're fine.

 

[gyst]

OK, thanks guys, I feel better. Beerloaf, I cooled the wort down to 70, pitched the yeast, and then let it go up on its own. My apartment is a hellmouth, so its been at least between 80 and 85 for about three weeks, but there were definitely days it got up to 90 during the day (south facing windows and no air conditioning during the day). My sticky thermometer on the better bottle only goes to 82, but its never gone below 80 when I've checked it. Basically, my total lack of reasonable temperatures was why I decided to do a siason - my last brew was an English bitter, and using the swamp cooler method I had to change the ice packs in the water 3x a day to keep it between 65-70. I figured for the summer, I would become a specialty saison brewer. Gonna do a dark rye saison next with this yeast cake.

 

[beerloaf]

Thanks, I was just curious because this strain is notorious for getting stuck and not fully dropping. I pretty much did the same thing as you and pitched at around 74 and then let it rise naturally to low 80s. I was thinking along the same lines as figured might as well take advantage of this heat wave. I plan on washing this yeast and if this turns out wwell brew again.

beerloaf

 

[Calder]

FG will be dependent on the fermentability of your wort. If I remember correctly Saison vieille (Dupont) is fermented about 90 F to get it done quickly and has an FG of around 1.004 (from an OG of 1.054), so your 1.000 is not out of line for that yeast.

You obviously had some good luck, but I think that strain can also drop out with large temperature swings and not start up again.

 

[Beeru]

I just made a Saison with an OG of 1.074 and checked it today (4 weeks later) and it's down to 1.000. Insanely strong beer, but I've read it's expected for this style. The weird thing is that it's still active, which is starting to worry me. There's visible activity in the airlock, and it tastes a little effervescent.