New Danstar Belle Saison Dry Yeast?

[brewski09]

So, I'm brewing a blackcurrant saison with Belle. I made a thread with the recipe on that sub-forum.

Question:
I pitched on Saturday. Five days later, on Thursday, I took a gravity sample, and it's at about 1.005. This is from an OG of about 1.059. I had originally planned to primary for two weeks and then to rack onto fruit for two more. However, if things are stable come Sunday, perhaps I could get away with only one week in primary and then either an extra week on the fruit or else get it into bottles sooner. (Originally, I had planned on letting it sit in secondary for two weeks as well, but I could also do another week if I rack sooner.) Sound reasonable?

I'm not sure how much it needs to clean up. The sample tastes quite nice. I fermented warm, and the ester profile reminds me of a stronger version of a Hefeweizen plus some saison funkiness.

Yeah, it's done. Especially since you're doing a fruit secondary I'd just move to the next step, no real reason to wait unless you want to reuse the yeast cake and want to wait to rack the beer off.

 

[tiredofbuyingbeer]

Interesting anecdote: I drank the last bottle of that blackcurrant saison a few days ago, and I thought: "Man, I'd sure like to use this yeast again without paying for it." So I made up a starter and dumped in my flask, stuck in on the stir plate, and pitched the dregs, hoping something would come of it. 24 hours later, I started seeing krausen. 36 hours later, the 2 liter flask overflowed.

Even in the afterlife, Belle is a beast. I look forward to harvesting the yeast, storing it, and having a petit saison in a few months. Bonsoir!

 

[MarkKF]

I'm a newbie to Belle Saison but the part that baffles me is the different flavors based on fermentation temps.

 

[Rhaop]

I recently fermented a rye saison at 68*F was the warmest i could get it at the time and it was definitely too clean, next shot i will try at least 75*F

 

[BigBlueBrad]

Same here. Brewed an Apricot Saison. In fermenter at 4:30pm and fermenting away at 8pm! I had never used this one before. Used one pack on the recommendation of fellow brewer.

 

[z-bob]

I was going to brew a saison w/ Belle this weekend, but the weather turned cold and will stay cool for a while.

The whole point of buying a packet of Belle Saison was so I could brew in hot weather.

So I decided to brew a wheat beer instead; bought the ingredients and that's as far as I got. Maybe (probably) next weekend.

I did get some apple wine bottled, and started 3 gallons of Skeeter Pee.

 

[thaymond]

I have a summer Saison just finishing primary now. Simple grain bill, simple hop additions, a little lemon zest and coriander, and Belle. She's fermenting comfortably at 80 in the garage. The smell out of the airlock is pretty great. I've been tho king of trying a Saison with this at the hot high range after reading through the thread.

 

[TonyKZ1]

this sounds pretty good, I think I'm going to start brewing some of these Saison's in order to cope with the summer heat.

 

[Killshakes]

Just brewed up my first attempt at Saison using (roughly) this recipe:

60% Pilsner Malt (Belgian)
17.5% Vienna Malt
17.5% Flaked Wheat
5% Flaked Oats

Small amount of Magnum to bitter, Saaz + Willamette at 15 minutes, and another, slightly large dose of hops at 3 minutes, which was a weird--but delightful smelling--mix of leftovers: Saaz + Willamette + Styrian Goldings + Cascade. Added a bit of dried orange peel too. OG = 1.054. Best smelling wort I've ever brewed!

Added a packet of rehydrated Belle Saison and it took off like a shot. Steady bubbling at 6 hours, thick krausen and furious bubbling at 18 hours, slightly thinner krausen but still ripping when I left for work this morning. I'm going to leave it at 68 F (ambient) for one more day and then let it warm up to whatever room temp is in our apartment (I'm guessing ~75 F).

 

[Picotto]

Hello guys!!

I have the intention to mix this strain with Bavarian Wheat of Mangrove's Jack. And ferment at 30C half sachet of Bavarian Wheat and Half of Belle Saison. What do you guys think about this?

 

[sweetcell]

I have the intention to mix this strain with Bavarian Wheat of Mangrove's Jack. And ferment at 30C half sachet of Bavarian Wheat and Half of Belle Saison.

30*C seems too high to me, at least as a starting temp. personally, i wouldn't pitch any higher than 21*C, then ramp up from there over a few days to eventually hit 30*C. i would be concerned that starting at 30*C could result in fusels and other undesirables.

 

[badlee]

I have used a hef strain in the upper 20's and it was a hot banana bomb

 

[markstache]

Hello guys!!

I have the intention to mix this strain with Bavarian Wheat of Mangrove's Jack. And ferment at 30C half sachet of Bavarian Wheat and Half of Belle Saison. What do you guys think about this?

I tried something similar once. As I recall, I only got the saison characteristics. In other words, I think the Belle Saison will dominate. It might work better to start with the wheat yeast for a day or two and then add the saison. I would start this lower and then ramp up the temperature when you add the saison.

 

[Fetuccini]

At our brewery we regularly use Belle Saison for one of our main beers and find that a temperature between 24 and 26 brings out the best characteristics. Have found that going too low can leave you lacking in Saison flavour and fruitiness.

 

[Picotto]

I tried something similar once. As I recall, I only got the saison characteristics. In other words, I think the Belle Saison will dominate. It might work better to start with the wheat yeast for a day or two and then add the saison. I would start this lower and then ramp up the temperature when you add the saison.

You mean do it in steps, first the Bavarian yeast for 2 days then the Belle saison? I will try to keep it at 24c. is that lowest i can go. i don't have temperature control. Then i can go up to 30C.

Is it ok to go half sachet of Bavarian wheat and half sachet of Belle saison? Or should i go with the entire sachet?

 

[markstache]

You mean do it in steps, first the Bavarian yeast for 2 days then the Belle saison? I will try to keep it at 24c. is that lowest i can go. i don't have temperature control. Then i can go up to 30C.

Is it ok to go half sachet of Bavarian wheat and half sachet of Belle saison? Or should i go with the entire sachet?

Yes. Add on stages. In theory, this should get you more of the hefe flavor, but allow the saison yeast to finish the beer dry.

Interesting question. The danger in pitching a half packet would be that the yeast would not be able to out compete bacteria or wild yeast. Under pitching is also thought to increase yeast flavor production. Some people intentionally under pitch hefeweizens in order to get *more* clove and banana. Also, most packets of dry yeast are over pitches for moderate OG beers anyway. All said, i wouldn't do it to save money. I would only do it if I felt the potential flavor benefits were worth the risk of contamination. For me, I'd be willing to take the risk for the sake of the experiment, but I leave it to you to decide for yourself.

 

[Picotto]

Yes. Add on stages. In theory, this should get you more of the hefe flavor, but allow the saison yeast to finish the beer dry.

Interesting question. The danger in pitching a half packet would be that the yeast would not be able to out compete bacteria or wild yeast. Under pitching is also thought to increase yeast flavor production. Some people intentionally under pitch hefeweizens in order to get *more* clove and banana. Also, most packets of dry yeast are over pitches for moderate OG beers anyway. All said, i wouldn't do it to save money. I would only do it if I felt the potential flavor benefits were worth the risk of contamination. For me, I'd be willing to take the risk for the sake of the experiment, but I leave it to you to decide for yourself.

Actually my OG is pretty low: 1.035 so I think 5g of yeast is ok. Besides I will still have the other 5g of the Belle Saison. I just didn't want the Bavarian wheat to eat all the fermentables. And let some to the Belle Saison

 

[Beerswimmer]

Living in northern Michigan I had used WLP 565 and 3711 many times, but at cooler temps and wasn't too overly impressed with anything about them. I live in South Texas now. I did a few high gravity saisons for the holidays recently and checked my notes:

Beer 1- 10/30/2017 Sprinkled 1 pack dry Belle Saison to wort(1.052)
11/01/2017 1.010 added 2.5lbs sugar -----> 1.030 (new OG ~1.070)
11/05/2017 1.002 still active signs of fermentation, wow!

Beer 2- 11/01/2017 Sprinkled 1 pack Belle Saison onto wort(1.040)
11/03/2017 1.004 added 3.5lbs sugar ---->1.030 (new OG ~1.067)
11/05/2017 1.000! Still signs of active fermentation!

These are fermenting in my garage that goes between low 70's to low 90's. Both smell great, no off flavors in the warm samples that I tasted. The second beer will be getting some fruit.

 

[SoCal-Doug]

If its a real Saison strain, think hot. If you want to go 80's and even low 90's, do it. True Saisons fermented like protected and coddled American ale's are going to be boring, very lacking, or just plain wrong. They simply wont have the flavor and aroma profile they should. If its something other than the old Belgian/French farmhouse strains, best to follow their directions.

I recently split a batch between 3711 and cultured dregs from Saison Dupont. The 3711 was good, but the Dupont was far superior. Fermented in the high 80's and both ended at about 1.003 (from 1.054).