Techniques for brewing The Perfect Saison

[flatsix]

We're approaching May. The weather has warmed a bit. For the drinker in me, this is Saison Season.

I have been brewing off and on for a while, and have brewed many "normal" beers. However, I am now planning to brew my first saison. As an aside, let me define "The Perfect Saison" as something around the vicinity of Saison Dupont or Hennepin - spicy, yeasty, DRY, lots of carbonation/head, flavorful yet balanced, a bit of barnyard, a bit of pear and apple....

In my reading, it seems that brewing this style is different in some ways vs. aforementioned "normal" beers. For example: higher fermentation temp, finnecky yeast, etc.

Before brewing this saison, I would like to assemble a "knowledgebase thread" of sorts for my own use and for the use of others. Please share your tips and tricks for brewing the perfect saison - temperatures, favorite yeasts (wine yeasts???), techniques, etc etc.

Thanks!!

 

[broadbill]

Do yourself a favor and download Jamil's Show podcast on how to brew Saisons. All of the information you need is in that podcast. Good luck!

 

[swankyswede]

I just kegged a saison I made with Wyeast 3711 - French Saison. I started at 1.054 and ended up at a bone-dry 1.000.

 

[Homercidal]

I got some info from John Haggerty from New Holland and he came just short of giving the recipe for their Golden Cap Saison. Some points of interest:

Mash LOW, like 146-148 IIRC
Ferment HIGH: like 95-100F
He recommends a PH of around 5.2

And he did mention the yeast can take some time even with the higher temps. He says it's not uncommon to have it working for 6-8 weeks.

This is on my to-do list as well, although the spring and summer projects seem to be piling up again. Not sure if anyone puts any citrus in their Saison. I think I'll leave it out this time and go au natural.

 

[dwarven_stout]

Mash LOW, like 146-148 IIRC
Ferment HIGH: like 95-100F
He recommends a PH of around 5.2

+1 to this. I mash at 148 for 90 minutes before I even think about checking it. Most beers I move along as soon as the iodine test comes back negative, but saisons I baby.

For a recipe I stay simple... 90% pils, 10% munich and corn sugar. Saaz for flavor and aroma.

 

[Malticulous]

That's hot. I wonder if he's talking about 7 barrels or more? Those higher pressure temps don't translate well to five gallon batches. Still 100F? Yeast in a hot tub.

 

[swankyswede]

That's realllly high for a fermentation, I did mine at about 70 - ambient for my kitchen - for 2 weeks and it bottomed out at 1.000 FG. I doubt the yeast would survive at 100 degF!

 

[springer]

On mine I mash low as said I used the dregs from Saison Dupont and Hennipen and just kept stepping up the starter . Started fermentation at 80° then ramped it up a few degrees a day till it was close to 90° . Came out great. Here is the thread from 2008 saisonthread

 

[Powers]

On mine I mash low as said I used the dregs from Saison Dupont and Hennipen and just kept stepping up the starter .

what did you add to get the yeast going again in the starter? some sort of sugary concoction?

 

[boxcar]

if you want barnyard you're gonna need brett, and you're gonna need some time for it to do its thing.

 

[moti_mo]

To add to swankyswede's post, if you want to ease into the saison thing, use Wyeast 3711 - French saison. You don't need to baby it (if babying means being brutal as hell to it by pushing the temps into the 90's to get it to dry out).

I used 3711 for my recent 1.050 saison, that fermented at ~70 degrees for two weeks and was down to 1.008. Its really tasty, not as spicy as some of the higher temp yeasts from what I've heard, but really delicious none-the-less.

 

[springer]

what did you add to get the yeast going again in the starter? some sort of sugary concoction?

DME . I started it at 1.010 then as I stepped up the starter I raised the gravity to 1.040 so not to stress the yeast out. Worked rather well

 

[Homercidal]

That's hot. I wonder if he's talking about 7 barrels or more? Those higher pressure temps don't translate well to five gallon batches. Still 100F? Yeast in a hot tub.

It's possible, although I assume he realized I was making 5 or 10 Gallon batches. I mentioned I didn't have temp control and he said just chill to about 90 and pitch the yeast. They will maintain for a while.

 

[swankyswede]

I just kegged a saison I made with Wyeast 3711 - French Saison. I started at 1.054 and ended up at a bone-dry 1.000.

Just tapped the keg, and I have to say I really enjoy the ambrosia coming out of the tap. I'll reproduce my recipe below:

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Exported from Beer Alchemy

Recipe: Saison
Style: 16C-Belgian And French Ale-Saison

Recipe Overview

Wort Volume Before Boil: 6.25 US gals
Wort Volume After Boil: 5.25 US gals
Volume Transferred: 5.10 US gals
Water Added: 0.00 US gals
Volume At Pitching: 5.10 US gals
Final Batch Volume: 5.00 US gals
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.038 SG
Expected OG: 1.054 SG
Expected FG: 1.007 SG
Expected ABV: 6.3 %
Expected ABW: 5.0 %
Expected IBU (using Rager): 29.0
Expected Color: 6.1 SRM
Apparent Attenuation: 87.0 %
Mash Efficiency: 75.0 %
Boil Duration: 90.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 70 degF

Fermentables
German Pilsner Malt 7.00 lb (73.6 %) In Mash/Steeped
German Wheat Malt 0.50 lb (5.3 %) In Mash/Steeped
German Munich Malt 0.50 lb (5.3 %) In Mash/Steeped
German CaraMunich III 0.50 lb (5.3 %) In Mash/Steeped
Sugar - White Sugar/Sucrose 1.00 lb (10.5 %) Start Of Boil

Hops
German Hallertauer Hersbrucker (3.0 % alpha) 2.00 oz Loose Pellet Hops used 60 Min From End
German Hallertauer Hersbrucker (3.0 % alpha) 1.00 oz Loose Pellet Hops used At turn off

Other Ingredients

Yeast: Wyeast 3711-French Saison

Mash Schedule
Mash Type: Full Mash
Schedule Name:Single Step Infusion (64C/147F 90mins)
Step: Rest at 147 degF for 60 mins
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If you like a super-dry saison, Wyeast 3711 is your friend.