Saison Nelson Sauvin Dry Hopped Saison

[Brickwalker]

I think I'm going to brew this as my first saison but I have a few questions.

You mentioned the dry hops competing with the yeast. What do you think about moving the dry hops to flameout or using less? Or do you feel its best the way it is?

I've been saving/culturing yeast from the boulevard farmhouse tank 7 ale bottles. I would like to use them for this, but am not sure what I got, any opinions one way or the other?

Also I just made an order for the Nelson Sauvin hops at homebrew4less. I got no indication that they were sold out and paid $2.20/oz. Anyone know if I'm actually going to get these? Or if they're sold out but still taking orders.

 

[southside2234]

I believe they told me in an email they were sold out after I ordered. I posted on the last page where I got mine. Some organic store.

As far as yeast goes, I think the tank 7 is excellent so it would probably fine. Fermentation temp is more important to flavor than which saison yeast you use. I knocked back the dry hops to .75 oz. mine has been in the bottle for 2 weeks. I plan on trying it in another week or so and will give an update in case you aren't brewing in the next few days.

It smelled pretty hoppy at bottling though. Westbrook has a Farmhouse IPA that they dry hop that tastes almost like you are eating hops when it is fresh. This beer kinda smelled similar to be honest.

 

[Homebrewtastic]

Good news! My LHBS told me yesterday to expect the NS hops sometime in the next 7-10 days. You can order from them online.

Homebrew Party San Antonio

 

[Homebrewtastic]

I believe they told me in an email they were sold out after I ordered. I posted on the last page where I got mine. Some organic store.

As far as yeast goes, I think the tank 7 is excellent so it would probably fine. Fermentation temp is more important to flavor than which saison yeast you use. I knocked back the dry hops to .75 oz. mine has been in the bottle for 2 weeks. I plan on trying it in another week or so and will give an update in case you aren't brewing in the next few days.

It smelled pretty hoppy at bottling though. Westbrook has a Farmhouse IPA that they dry hop that tastes almost like you are eating hops when it is fresh. This beer kinda smelled similar to be honest.

I hope it turns out well for you. Let me know how you like it.

 

[southside2234]

Wow, what a fantastic beer. I started drinking it last weekend at ~3 weeks in the bottle and it was on point. Just the perfect amount of aroma and flavor from the dry hopping (I think dropping down to .75 oz really helped) on the back end combined with the upfront spice from the yeast. Just a very, very well rounded beer. I have to say I am a saison fanatic and this is one of the best I've ever had. It's right behind Fantome for me, I'm serious.

I think I will eventually try bottling this with some Brett a la Saison de Lente from The Bruery. Would contribute a unique character and add to the complexity already present.

Well done.

 

[Homebrewtastic]

Wow, what a fantastic beer. I started drinking it last weekend at ~3 weeks in the bottle and it was on point. Just the perfect amount of aroma and flavor from the dry hopping (I think dropping down to .75 oz really helped) on the back end combined with the upfront spice from the yeast. Just a very, very well rounded beer. I have to say I am a saison fanatic and this is one of the best I've ever had. It's right behind Fantome for me, I'm serious.

I think I will eventually try bottling this with some Brett a la Saison de Lente from The Bruery. Would contribute a unique character and add to the complexity already present.

Well done.

Glad you like it!!! I'm planning a version of this with the whitelabs American farmhouse blend, which also has some Brett in it. IIRC it uses Brett C which makes some pineapple flavors that should blend well with the hops.

 

[frailn]

Brewing this recipe today - wow, these Nelson Sauvin hops smell good!

 

[frailn]

hey, just occurred to me in the middle of my brew day, that if there are no 60 minute additions of hops, does one really need to boil a full hour on this recipe? I'm going to boil a full hour since I already calculated out my water amounts before thinking about this. Maybe, the full hour is needed to boil off any DMS precursors due to the pilsner malt? Not sure.

 

[Homebrewtastic]

hey, just occurred to me in the middle of my brew day, that if there are no 60 minute additions of hops, does one really need to boil a full hour on this recipe? I'm going to boil a full hour since I already calculated out my water amounts before thinking about this. Maybe, the full hour is needed to boil off any DMS precursors due to the pilsner malt? Not sure.

Bingo! DMS is exactly why. It may take a full 90 minutes depending on how vigorously your boils are.

 

[BeachBeerBoo]

Can anyone recommend a White Labs yeast for this?

Looks like WLP670 is the best bet:
http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/strains_wlp670.html

 

[Homebrewtastic]

Can anyone recommend a White Labs yeast for this?

Looks like WLP670 is the best bet:
http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/strains_wlp670.html

I've used 670 in other saisons and overall I like its character. I'm just a big fan of how well 3711 attenuates.

 

[chriscam]

So I just racked to 2ndry (smells/tastes great) but have about a gallons worth "left over" that I threw in a glass jug w an airlock. Didn't dry hop it...yet. Thinking I want to do something a little different with this. Suggestions. Don't dry and compare? Dry w something different? Add dome kind of spices? Oak chips? Willing to experiment even at the risk of not coming out great since I still have 4.5 gal or so of what should be great.

 

[Oceantendency]

I'm trying Nelson hops for the first time, I picked some up about a month ago when Mother Earth did a 50% sale on most of their hops. I def love the aroma of the Nelson hops, but gonna stay away from dry hopping. Probably gonna try Hallertau or Streislspalt then end with NS, my IBU's are good, but just don't want too much of the strong taste coming through, does the last 5-10 min addition contribute that much of the bitter taste to it, or mostly just the aroma and subtle taste of the Nelson hops? Curious.

 

[jhart94949]

Just went and purchased my ingredients. I went with American Farmhouse yeast and with straight Belgian pils (8lbs) and dropped the American 2-row out. Everything else is the same. Any thoughts??? Am I missing anything?

 

[jhart94949]

I entered my recipe into BrewTarget and it seems to come in "Slightly Malty" but hits the marks for a Saison. I am super excited about this. Brewing Saturday afternoon. Ohh and my LBS has tons of Nelson...Couldn't find it at all last year.

 

[jhart94949]

Brewed yesterday; went really well. I mashed for 90 min and boiled for 90 minutes. As mentioned about I used all Belgian Pils instead of American 2-row. I also used farmhouse yeast. my pre-boil gravity was 1.054. My OG came in high at 1.065. should I still add tables sugar in a few days???

 

[TMannion87]

I'm getting ready to brew this recipe this weekend. Do you think the sugar is still needed? I've read conflicting reviews of using 3711 with sugar and I don't want to dry it out too much. Any input would be appreciated!

 

[jakis]

Could anyone convert this recipe to extract for me?

Cheers,

Jake

 

[Dawkfan]

I used Wyeast 3711 & 3724, long story....... It has been in the primary for 3 weeks now, pulled a sample before dry hopping and wow is this going to be an excellent beer!!!

 

[m00ps]

I'm getting ready to brew this recipe this weekend. Do you think the sugar is still needed? I've read conflicting reviews of using 3711 with sugar and I don't want to dry it out too much. Any input would be appreciated!

My last 2 blends using 3711 ended at 1.998 and 1.001, both had more mouthfeel than any beer that dry has the right to. Keep the sugar

 

[Dawkfan]

I used Wyeast 3711 & 3724, long story....... It has been in the primary for 3 weeks now, pulled a sample before dry hopping and wow is this going to be an excellent beer!!!

Ok, I just kegged and I'm at a loss as to what happened with this beer. Like I said a week ago, my sample was fantastic. Awesome smell as I was kegging tonight, took the last little bit as a sample and now I've got lots of green apple flavor, how can this be?

Infection when I took a sample? Oxidation? It can't be that I didn't leave it long enough when my sample a week ago was great. Gravity was 1.010 last week, I never took another reading tonight. Fermented this at 68 degrees.

The only other time I've had the green apple flavor was in a Belgian triple a while back. I used 1 pound of sugar for that beer as well, but it had that taste all the way through even after aging for months.

The one other thing I'll mention is that when I smacked the 3711 some yeast blew out on the package seem. I put some plastic wrap in Star San and wrapped it right away. I would assume if this was a problem, I would of picked up on the apple flavor after 3 weeks.

Anyone have any ideas? I'll let this age in the keg for awhile for sure.

 

[NZJoe]

I brewed this about 6 weeks ago. I tweaked the recipe so much that my beer was pretty much completely different to the original- but I think it was still similar in concept. My recipe for a 20L batch is as follows:
OG:1.048
FG:1.007
IBU:22
ABV:5.38%

2080g Gladfield Pilsner
1245g Gladfield American Ale
830g Gladfield Wheat malt
103g Gladfield Dark Crystal
200g Sugar

26g Styrian Golding 5.6%AA @20min
13g Moutere 17.6% @10mins
13g Motueka 7.2% @5mins
26g Motueka 7.2% DH 7 days

1x pkt Mangrove Jacks Belgian Ale M41

I fermented it for 2 weeks (10days in primary, 4 days in secondary) - the yeast really ripped through it. I know this yeast is not technically Saison yeast (I had it lying around and wanted to use it up) and it did not impart any of that nice fruity, estery character you would find with a Saison yeast, but it still added a nice "Belgian" character to it. The hop profile is not really in-your-face, but there is a nice, subtle, skunky note there. When I tried it after two weeks in the bottle, I found it to be a bit too dry but after a month now, it has rounded out really nicely. The carbonation has given a kind of creaminess to it and the ABV makes it a great quaffing beer for these hot summer days we are having.
I think I would brew this again but stick to a Saison yeast and maybe switch up the hops a bit to something with a bit more "punch" - like say Mosaic or Citra and consider even adding a dose at flameout.

Thanks for the recipe and inspiration to brew this lovely and dynamic beer!

 

[lawsminguez]

Continuing the resurrection of this thread, I just bottled this last night... recipe as written except subbed WLP566 for the yeast and I did this no-chill with the hop additions adjusted as per the Pol’s chart. In this case, that meant .5 oz Nelson FWH, the Styrian Goldings in the cube (@180F) and 1.5 oz Nelson Dry hop. I have a sneaking suspicion this is going to be a major win once it’s had a chance to come together in the bottle. I had 1L that I force-carbed with a carbonation cap and the aroma/flavors from the Nelson hops with the bit of malt and the saison yeast are, well, slobber-producing. Thanks to the OP for sharing this!

 

[danimal92sport]

I’ve got ingredients for a slightly modified batch of this coming tomorrow. I think I’ll use some mosaic hops for late & dry hop additions but I also have galaxy and hallertau blanc. I’ve got a few days to make up my mind there, but suggestions are welcome. I didn’t order any Nelson Sauvin.

I’m curious what the special b malt adds to the beer? I do intend to use it, but was surprised and intrigued when seeing it on the original grain bill. I’m also using 8 lb of Belgian Pilsen and 2 lb wheat. Going to use 3711 and will ferment at higher temps - thinking 75F+.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[brownni5]

I’m curious what the special b malt adds to the beer?

Exactly why I'm looking at this thread. Scratch Brewing mentions Spec B in a few Saison recipes in their book, The Homebrewers Almanac. Seems slightly out of place to me, but also intriguing.

 

[lawsminguez]

I’m one of those “don’t care about style guidelines” guys (so I don’t care about “out of place”) and I’m a relative noob (12 all grain batches, 7 on my current system), AND this is the first batch I’ve made that uses Special B. All that said, this beer finished dry (1.005) as a saison should, but has a slight perceived sweetness underneath the hops that I chalk up to both the fruitiness of the yeast (I used WLP566) and the Special B maltiness. I’ve heard people describe small amounts as adding raisin or prune flavors, and if that is so I can’t say it jumped out at me. Sadly, my mother in law liked this so much that I gave her my last bottles so I can’t open one and check myself (as much as I would like to). I’ll be brewing this again this week but might tweak the hops... probably keep the hops in the boil the same but swap half an ounce of the Nelson for Vic Secret or Sabro just to try it out. If anyone has opinions on this, please let me know! I LOVED the Nelson, but would like to try layering something I have on had with it.

 

[danimal92sport]

Well I’m about to kick the keg I made from this thread, though I did not use Nelson hops. It was good, though I wish I would have let it mellow in the keg for a few weeks because the beer is coming in to its own now. 3711 is not a fast floccer, so the first week of this beer had a bitter yeast taste that is mostly gone now as it clears (though still quite cloudy). It’d be fun to try one without Special B, but I’m not sure I’d want to change anything next time besides trying Nelson hops and letting the beer age for a few weeks before tapping the keg.

Dan

 

[lawsminguez]

Danimal, definitely try Nelson if you want something different. They are unlike any hop I’ve tried and I really dig their thing. I can strongly suggest that you give this beer a few weeks. Mine was in primary for two weeks and, even though I was impatient and started trying them as soon as they were carbed (a week?) it completely came together after six weeks in the bottle/2months from brew date. Night and day, from “interesting and good”, to “damn - this is equal to/better than good commercial hoppy saisons!”. Let me know how it goes for you next round!

 

[catdaddy66]

This looks delightful

And, incredibly, I have every ingredient... What are the odds??

 

[lawsminguez]

And, incredibly, I have every ingredient... What are the odds??

The beer gods are sending you a message only slightly infringing on Nike's copyright: Just Brew It!

As it happens I brewed this again last week (biab/no chill with hop times adjusted accordingly) and I'll be pitching tomorrow night (I used WLP566 last time and it was a winner, so I'm doing that again). Only tweak to the recipe is I'm subbing out the Willamette for 2 oz of Wai-iti. This recipe is really all about the play between the Nelson and the yeast so it will be fun to see if the Wai-iti fits in there or screws it all up!

I'll report back in about 8 weeks and hope you'll do the same!