Nelson Sauvin + Ardennes = White Wine Blonde

[Bobby_M]

I've had a couple Belgian beers using Nelson hops before and I recalled a hint of vinous aroma but nothing like the blonde I just brewed. Being on a solid SMASH brewing kick, I coupled Pilsner and Nelson Sauvin this time. I have to check my notes to see if I broke SMASH protocol with any Munich, but I don't think so. I used Omega Labs OYL-024 Belgian "A" yeast.

Anyone do something similar?

 

[Chris-Naz]

Post resurrection. Subscribed.

I’ve been on a similar kick to you and typically do smash 5gallon batches with Stone Path Pilsner and a fermentation schedule that starts at 64 and ramps to 74-76F. I bottle condition to 4.5 volumes.

I was psyched to see this combo - I’m a huge fan of the Ardennes yeast and have been cycling through different hops for flame out additions. So far: Amarillo, Vic’s Secret, Saaz, lemondrop/Amarillo, Loral. Next up is Nelson!

Might be a couple months before it’s ready to comment on but your notes get me fired up.

 

[HomemadeSauce]

This sounds really nice...something I'll have to add to the list to brew. I was using Ardennes frequently for my saisons and such a couple years ago but transitioned away for whatever reason. I always thought it worked pretty well. Would love to try with a Pilsner malt from one of the local maltsters as well.

 

[Chris-Naz]

Ok. I'm a few weeks post bottle carbonating with CBC1 with a primary-fermented saison with wy3522 (Achouffe strain, cake from a previous batch ~500B).
Great combo with this yeast/hops. I’m getting a subtle grape/wine/gooseberry, which melds well with the yeast-driven flavors/aromas. This is probably the most vinous saison that I've brewed to date and it agrees with the OPs assessment [emoji4]

 

[Chris-Naz]