Trying a new beer this weekend - Saison

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EdWort

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I'm giving this a try. 10 gallon batch based on a recipe called Saison Du Mont.

14# Belgian Pale Malt 67%
4# Vienna 19%
1# Flaked Wheat 4.7%
1# Flaked Oats 4.7%
1# Texas Wild Flower Honey 4.7%

Mash 1.25 qts. per pound at 153 degrees for 1 hour.

Sparge with 173 water.

.5 oz Domestic Kent Goldings 6.2% 90 minutes
.5 oz Tettnanger 4.2% 15 Min
.5 oz Tettnanger 4.2% at flameout

Spices & Honey at flame out.

1 oz. crushed coriander
1 tsp. grain of paradise
1/2 oz. Curaco orange peel
1/2 oz. Valencia orange peel

yeast is White Labs Belgian Saison WLP565

Ferment at 76 degrees.
 
I am not an expert and have not yet brewed a Saison, but I would mash lower. Like around 147F. Dry, baby, dry!
 
Yeah, but that's what the recipe called for. This also comes in lower in gravity too, but I have tasted this beer, and it was good. I figure I'd try it first before making adjustments.
 
Yeah, but that's what the recipe called for. This also comes in lower in gravity too, but I have tasted this beer, and it was good. I figure I'd try it first before making adjustments.

Good call. That is a good amount of honey too, so that should drive down the FG.
 
Thanks, but they are going to be tossed in at flame out in a nylon bag. Should make a bit compared to 10 minutes in the boil.
 
Might want to bump the honey up to at least 10%, that strain of yeast is known to give people hell, I have used it and had to pitch some other yeast to get it to dry out, and this was with a ton of simple sugars and a low mash temp with a 2 hour mash.
 
Well, this is what I went with.

14# Belgian Pale Malt 67%
5# Vienna 19%
1# Flaked Wheat 4.7%
1# Flaked Oats 4.7%
1# Texas Wild Flower Honey 4.7%

Mash 1.25 qts. per pound at 153 degrees for 1 hour.

Sparge with 173 water.

.75 oz Domestic Kent Goldings 6.2% 90 minutes
.5 oz Tettnanger 4.2% 15 Min
.5 oz Tettnanger 4.2% at flameout

Spices & Honey at flame out.

1 oz. crushed coriander
1 tsp. grain of paradise
1/2 oz. Curaco orange peel
1/2 oz. Valencia orange peel

yeast is White Labs Belgian Saison WLP565

I got great efficiency today with my adjusted Barley Crusher. O.G. is 1.063

Loaded the fermenter and a stepped up starter and put it upstairs where it is in the 80's during the day.

10GallonFermenter.jpg


Plenty of head room, so no need for a blow off. I have rum in the air lock so I can see it from downstairs. 10 days from now, I'll siphon it into two kegs. Hydrometer jar was pretty tasty.
 
If you cannot run your ferment at 90 with the Dupont strain, then plan on a very long and drawn out primary (weeks to a couple of months). If you can ferment at 90, then it will finish (and finish very complete) within days. A 75 degree F ferment could take a couple of months.

The key is to ferment at 90 from the start. Starting cool and then having to heat the brew later on to keep the ferment from slowing can have adverse effects on the beer. Prolonged fermentation at high temps can lead to oxidation and off flavors.

Jess Caudill
Brewer/Microbiologist
Wyeast Laboratories


Just an FYI.
 
Looks good, Ed.... I do agree with the lower mash temps mentioned earlier (a friend made one last weekend), but what's done is done, eh?

So what is that monster fermentor thing you've got going on there?
 
Looks good, Ed.... I do agree with the lower mash temps mentioned earlier (a friend made one last weekend), but what's done is done, eh?

So what is that monster fermentor thing you've got going on there?

I figured I would try the recipe first and see what happens. This is a 15 gallon polyethylene barrel that was full of bulk LME. I cleaned it out, sanitized it and put a #5 rubber stopper in the small hole. I got it up stairs by carrying it by the handle. I have two of them that I will be using in the Brewhaus, but I wanted to give it a whirl with a Saison upstairs where the temps are perfect for it.

US Plastics sell them new for $28.
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/pr...e=USPlastic&category_name=25&product_id=14608
 
Originally posted by PseudoChef
Next time I would also try it without the spices. The Saison character is strictly yeast driven, including spices and all.

I completely agree. My last Saison was brewed without any spices and fermented around the 85 degree range. Plenty of spice character from the yeast and hands down the best Saison I've ever brewed.
 
It's a recipe I tweaked from Ballast Point Brewing in San Diego. They had it on tap and it was very tasty, thus my desire to make it.

Really? I didn't even know they had it! well I better check the samples board when I get over there again. They run my LHBS right next to the brewery.
 
Really? I didn't even know they had it! well I better check the samples board when I get over there again. They run my LHBS right next to the brewery.

Yep. It's the Saison that is the fund raiser for a brewer that passed away recently. BP is donating all the revenue from that batch to his family.
 
Kegged my Saison du Mont this morning. It did come in high on the F.G. as everyone predicted. 1.021 for a 5.6% ABV.

10GallonFermenterRacking.jpg


The 10 gallon fermenter worked out fine and the big AutoSiphon made short work of it.

While it is not as dry as the style predicts, it is a pretty darn tasty beer. I'm thinking about leaving it as is rather than to dry it out and kick up the ABV close to 7%.
 
That's quote a large auto siphon you've got there. :D

Where did you get that thing?

That's the Fermtech 1/2" AutoSiphon. You can get it at Austin Homebrew or Northern Brewer. I use 1/2" silicone hose cause it hangs down nice and straight and has very little memory like vinyl hose.

The siphon cranked though 10 gallons like it was nothing.
 
This recipe tastes pretty much like Don De Deiu from Quebec, but at 5.6%, is lacking some of the alcohol warmth that the 9% real thing has.

dondedieu-medaillon.gif


The WLP565 did not attenuate like it needs for a true Saison, so it ended up with a little sweetness, which is just like this Don De Dieu.

I'll be making it again as it was a hit at a party.
 
It's similar to my first recipe, a 5 gal PM I'm planing to brewing next week,

1.00 lb Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 10.00 %
6.00 lb Pilsner Liquid Extract (3.5 SRM) Extract 60.00 %
1.00 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 10.00 %
1.00 lb Wheat, Torrified (1.7 SRM) Grain 10.00 % (steped at 120f)
1.00 oz Select Spalt [4.75 %] (70 min) Hops 10.5 IBU
1.00 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (70 min) Hops 8.9 IBU
0.50 oz Strisslespalt [4.00 %] (30 min) Hops 3.3 BU
0.50 oz Strisslespalt [3.00 %] (10 min) Hops 1.2 IBU
1.00 lb Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 10.00 % (or should I use honey?)
1 Pkgs Belgian Saison (Wyeast Labs #3724) Yeast-Ale (may do better?)
I was thinking a pinch of coriander and a small piece of orange peel because I'm not big on those.

I hope it's good. If not a master like you I would hope would say so.:eek:
 
Just follow the directions and make sure your stuff is clean and sanitized and it will be good. That's all I ever do.

Mine turned out sweet because of the WLP565 yeast did not fully attenuate like folks here pointed out. The end result was tasty nonetheless.
 
I just had some good results with the WLP566 - Saison Blend. Pitch warm and ferment warm, too - I pitched at 84 and fermented around 80 and it brought 1.057 down to 1.010. I did the same thing (split batch) with harvested Fantome yeast and it attenuated down to 1.013. That'll get some bugs anyway for extended aging, so it should eventually get down t 1.006-1.008.
 
Wow, that's great attenuation. Mine went to 1.022 and made a different beer.

I'll do a Saison again with different yeast next time.
 
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