No clumping in the starter, in my fermentor there is quite a bit of tiny yeast balls/clumps the size of a black pepper, about. More than Ive ever seen. Sample tasted great last week.
Saison du Tracteur yeast?
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No clumping in the starter, in my fermentor there is quite a bit of tiny yeast balls/clumps the size of a black pepper, about. More than Ive ever seen. Sample tasted great last week.
OP
OP
On further inspection it's not really clumping up... more like drifting snow. Sure had a lot of yeast as of 8:00 am this morning! I need to try more bottle harvesting in future. Something about buying a couple beers for a few bucks and turning them into 40 or 50 more is quite appealing. Thinking Schneider Weisse is next on the list.
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Its probably up around 3.0, but i'm doing 2.4.
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Well, for better or worse its done. Tested the spent starter wort before pitching and this time I only got 75% attenuation. Hmmm. Hoping its down to the DME which I guess is known to finish high. Time will tell!
I'm well into my tasting session of mine and theirs. My base bitterness is harsher than theirs, not by a lot but they barely have any harsh bitterness. Color for mine is slightly lighter, so grain % is off.
As for the yeast taste, it is somehow much more present in theirs than mine. Mine is stronger on the fruitness from the hops.
I'm not very good at putting into word what I taste but these are my first impressions. Mine is still undercarbed compared to theirs and I know carbonation affects the taste.
As for the yeast taste, it is somehow much more present in theirs than mine. Mine is stronger on the fruitness from the hops.
I'm not very good at putting into word what I taste but these are my first impressions. Mine is still undercarbed compared to theirs and I know carbonation affects the taste.
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1434490692.788320.jpg
Mine on the left theirs on the right.
Mine on the left theirs on the right.
brag
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I can't say I'm really surprised. 3711 lacks the saison character if you ask me. Unless maybe they have a special fermentation schedule...
OP
OP
Colour isn't far off, but I'm not the best judge of colour. Maybe a 10-15 grams of chocolate or bp? I did that with my last saison for a little colour. How warm did you ferment btw? My last one was really citrusy early on and mellowed over time with a bit more spice coming through.
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As for my harvested strain, its not looking promising. Had a not-so-aggressive fermentation going for maybe 24 hours (at a stretch), but half a day further on and its dead. Still has a dense 1/2 inch krausen on top, but other than that, nothing. I pitched around 18C and ramped over the day up to 24C. Thinking I'll leave it another day or two and check gravity. 3711 didn't behave this way for me before, but do any of the other French Saison brands do this?
That's unfortunate to hear 
Comparing again, it seems the taste is much more present in theirs. I dont know how to explain it as mentionned before im horrible at descriptives but mine seems to be more "watery" if that makes sense? Similar flavours but mine are more subtle, their taste is up front and just... there hahaha yeah best way I can describe mine is as if it was maybe dilluted? (it wasnt)
Comparing again, it seems the taste is much more present in theirs. I dont know how to explain it as mentionned before im horrible at descriptives but mine seems to be more "watery" if that makes sense? Similar flavours but mine are more subtle, their taste is up front and just... there hahaha yeah best way I can describe mine is as if it was maybe dilluted? (it wasnt)
OP
OP
Hmm. You have a lot of rye and wheat in there right, but not a lot of munich? Perhaps if you had a higher percentage put toward the munich end, say 10%-ish? It would add a bit more colour too.
Haven't given up on mine btw. I noticed the airlock plopping away once in a while, and it does smell pretty saisony.
Haven't given up on mine btw. I noticed the airlock plopping away once in a while, and it does smell pretty saisony.
OP
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Good news on my bottle-harvested Saison du Tracteur yeast. It went from 1.046 to 1.003, or 93% attenuation. Thats better than the fresh 3711 smack pack I used last time that got 89%, taking a couple weeks to get there. I had a not-so-strong fermentation for 1.5 days then stopped dead, making me think initially it had stalled out. I must have missed the active part because it literally ripped through the sugars in no time. I'm quite surprised considering it was from one bottle-worth of stressed out yeast. Anyway, I think I can safely say at this point its bottled with the French Saison strain.
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Bottling tomorrow, though i notice its developed what looks like a mild lacto film on top. I recall S du T has a slight sourness to it, and I'm wondering if they added anything else along with the yeast. Interestingly though, last time I used 3711 the exact same conditions occurred (also the only other time this has happened for me). I wonder if Wyeast puts a little something-something in there to give it that low gravity kick. I think I'll risk it and harvest the yeast too.
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Well I'm taking the first sip of my saison made with pirated Saison du Tracteur yeast. Its only 6 days bottled but tastes good and i'm really quite pleased with the results. I'm picking up clean, subtle flavors: citrus, spice, fruity esters, but no funk. French Saison strain for sure. The possible lacto I observed before bottling should prove interesting when I reuse the harvested slurry. Fun experiment and I think I'm gonna have to try this with Dupont next. Or maybe Schneider.
83% 2 Row
10% Wheat
6.5% Light Munich
0.5% Chocolate
Warrior @ 60 + EKG @ 15 & 0 = 26 IBU
1.046/1.003 or 5.6 abv
Ca:56; Cl:25; SO4:103
View attachment 1437246850099.jpg
83% 2 Row
10% Wheat
6.5% Light Munich
0.5% Chocolate
Warrior @ 60 + EKG @ 15 & 0 = 26 IBU
1.046/1.003 or 5.6 abv
Ca:56; Cl:25; SO4:103
View attachment 1437246850099.jpg
alefort
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I wanted to add my experiment to this thread.
I just bought a case of this beer, it was bottled in August 2015, and I saved the dregs of 2 bottles to attempt to grow up the yeast that was in the bottle.
Initial step up was 200ml of 1.040 wort
2nd step up was 500ml of 1.040 wort
3rd step up was 1000ml of 1.040 wort
These three step ups took about a week to complete. Initially, the yeast smelled very much like 3711, a yeast I've used lots before and by the end of the 3rd step up, I was convinced that is what it is.
I'll be doing a side by side with 3711 and that should tell me if it is in fact 3711.
Cheers
I just bought a case of this beer, it was bottled in August 2015, and I saved the dregs of 2 bottles to attempt to grow up the yeast that was in the bottle.
Initial step up was 200ml of 1.040 wort
2nd step up was 500ml of 1.040 wort
3rd step up was 1000ml of 1.040 wort
These three step ups took about a week to complete. Initially, the yeast smelled very much like 3711, a yeast I've used lots before and by the end of the 3rd step up, I was convinced that is what it is.
I'll be doing a side by side with 3711 and that should tell me if it is in fact 3711.
Cheers
OP
OP
Good luck with the experiment. I still have this strain and its going strong months later. Just started a ginger saison with it last week. It definately is 3711 btw.
How much hops did you use? Would you change the recipe? I live 20 minutes away from that brewery and I really like that beer!
OP
OP
I didn't try to match the beer but the grain bill I used worked well. I've done a few different variations and they all turned out nice. As for the hops, if you want to clone S du T I would go with US hops and heavier on the late additions. I'm doing a hoppy Mosaic saison soon with maybe 3-4 ounces split between 10 & 0. It'll be different again from S du T though. One of the earlier posters attempted a clone and you might try contacting that person to see how it turned out. Good luck.
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