Saison Brewing Time

[tme001]

Alright guys, it's Saison time. Those of you who have done it, what're your tips for this particular style? Mainly I'm talking recommended yeasts and fermentation yeasts. I'm brewing from Brewer's Best Belgian Saison kit this weekend. Any tips on adding something to make it better?

 

[TriggerFingers]

If you are just looking for a yeast recommendation, you can't beat Wyeast 3711 French Saison yeast (also you can get some mason jars and try your hand at harvesting some of it from the bottom...once you use it you will love it!). Its a monster and will get your FG fairly low. I recently made an extract Saison with it. I had an O.G. of 1.078 and it finished at 1.008.

Another tip with this yeast is it likes to be warm. Put it in your laundry room, next to your furnace, etc. You should do just fine with it this time of year, but keep in mind that Saison is one of the styles you can brew during the late spring/late summer time when you really want to brew, but can't keep your place cool enough for most yeasts.

Good luck!

 

[tme001]

Fantastic information Trigger. Thanks for the info. I had planned on fermenting this in my Deepfreeze that I use for temp control, but I may just let this sit in my closet because it's a bit warmer. Great information to have.

 

[Calder]

3711 is a decent yeast, not my favorite, but probably the easiest to use of the Belgian/Saison yeasts. It is probably the coolest fermenting of that type of yeast. I like to run it about 75 F, but you can get decent results at 70, or even lower.