Temperature-Insensitive Brews or Brewing for the Season

[Thunder_Chicken]

My definition of "sweet" may be the problem. Maybe a better description would be malty with banana and clove aroma. I'll check out your recommendations though - Silly Saison may not be the best representative of the type.

My wife thinks I am a sweet "supertaster". The sweetness of fruit juice is overwhelmingly disgusting to me. I'm really sensitive to unbalanced malt in a beer. Many, many beers have hints of sweetness to me.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Saisons should be really dry and usually have a pretty simple malt bill. The fruitiness should come from the yeast. Definitely try something like Hennepin or one of the more traditional Belgian brews if you can find them. Some American brewers miss the boat on their attempts because they just aren't experts in the style. Ommegang is certainly one of the many exceptions to that opinion.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

As perhaps another example - I'm drinking a Franziskaner Weissbier now, and that hits me as a pretty sweet beer. I definitely taste and smell the fruity esters in that beer, but I also taste "sweet" which really massively dominates everything else for me.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

A saison definitely should not be sweet. Grab an Ommegang Hennepin, Saison Dupont, or Pretty Things Jack D'or. 3 of my favorites.

I picked up a Saison Dupont today and put it in the fridge. I'll give it a try.

 

[zachattack]

Nice purchase! That's pretty much the textbook saison. Since you're in MA (as am I), you're lucky that you can easily get Pretty Things. Their flagship beer (Jack D'Or) is a great saison, but they have a late spring seasonal called Field Mouse's Farewell that should be coming out soon, that's my favorite beer they make. It's a super dry rustic saison.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

Nice purchase! That's pretty much the textbook saison. Since you're in MA (as am I), you're lucky that you can easily get Pretty Things. Their flagship beer (Jack D'Or) is a great saison, but they have a late spring seasonal called Field Mouse's Farewell that should be coming out soon, that's my favorite beer they make. It's a super dry rustic saison.

I'll put them on my Beer of the Week list! I've got a good liquor mart near by that stocks everything from PBR through barleywine.

Thanks for the leads. I have been a beer drinker for a while, but these threads have been pointing me to things that I have never seen or tried. Cheers to new experiences!

 

[zachattack]

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

I just poured a glass of Saison Dupont - very nice, much better than that Silly Saison. Clove and a hint of banana but not sweet. This is something I would not mind trying to replicate.

 

[lowtones84]

Yeah, Silly is one of the most malt forward. Dupont is great though sometimes it's a little too lightstruck. I will second Jack D'or from Pretty Things, but I'm personally not a fan of Hennepin. Not saying it's a bad example, just doesn't work for me.

I also second Belgian Ardennes from WYeast as being an excellent choice. If you have a way to heat it up to 70+ consistently for the last few days that may help it finish up. Good luck!

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

I worried a bit about my purchases - there isn't so much turnover on these top-shelf beers and I did encounter a lot of dusty bottles. They were stored in the shade of the shelf and the ones I picked didn't seem lightstruck.

Getting the ferment up to 70F is a breeze. My bigger problem is keeping temps in the 60s for some brews during the summers.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

Nice purchase! That's pretty much the textbook saison. Since you're in MA (as am I), you're lucky that you can easily get Pretty Things. Their flagship beer (Jack D'Or) is a great saison, but they have a late spring seasonal called Field Mouse's Farewell that should be coming out soon, that's my favorite beer they make. It's a super dry rustic saison.

Good call! Very nice taste and aroma, quite dry. It's interesting sampling different saisons (and other styles for that matter) as it helps you identify the common features that define the style. It's an interesting flavor/aroma combination. I definitely prefer drier versions of the style. If I were to make this I would mash low as all heck and try to find a nice attenuative yeast for the style.

 

[zachattack]

I definitely prefer drier versions of the style. If I were to make this I would mash low as all heck and try to find a nice attenuative yeast for the style.

I agree with everything you just said

Saison is a very broad style, so there's a ton of variety.

 

[lowtones84]

Yeah, it is a broad style but I think most examples tend to be very dry. Of course there are exceptions. I got the second saison I brewed down to 1.000 or darn close by using White Labs Saison II and some Dupont dregs, ramping up the temperature to close to 90 after the first 3 days or so of fermentation. A lot of saison yeasts will get you at least under 1.010 though.

 

[Aggie_JD]

So, are other Belgian ale yeasts and their accompanying beer styles likely to do well at higher temperatures? I need to figure out some styles that won't mind 70's and 80's if I'm going to keep brewing here through summer. I will definitely be brewing a Saison soon. May is basically the start of summer here.

 

[lowtones84]

In general yes. For many strains it is preferred to let it start kind of low (mid 60's) and then let it go up from there. So if you have a cool place or can manage a "swamp cooler" for the first couple of days it may be a good idea. Not all Belgian strains like the higher temperatures either, but several do.