Wyeast 3711 -- I'm officially impressed

[Montanaandy]

I just took a TG reading with my SG Refractometer - I at the 2 week point. Plugged in my numbers (Refractometer OG=1.082 TG=1.032) did the conversion and I am down to TG 1.001 & ABV 10.56%. Holy $%#@!. Had a taste and it tasted fine, dry and very strong. So should I pull this off of the yeast (and wash it) sometime this weekend and put it into a keg to condition at room temp for at least 2 weeks, perhaps longer OR should I just leave it in primary for another week or two and then keg to drink it? Montanaandy.

 

[Montanaandy]

Hope I don't double post on this (posted but it disappeared).

My TG was/is actually 1.006 and not 1.001. I accidentally plugged in the OG from the 3724 into the calculations. Caught the error and made the adjustment. Still very impressed with this yeast. Montanaandy

 

[Myke_J]

I just made my first Saison this week and started it with 3724 on Wednesday around 5PM, SG-1.066 and it was actively fermenting within 3 hours. The fermenter temp was 87F. I shut off the heating pad Friday morning when the fermentation started slowing down and let the fermenter cool to the mid 70's. Friday night around 11PM I pitched my starter of 3711, which was my plan all along to see how using these yeasts together turns out. The fermentor was around 76F and the gravity was 1.038. This morning It had a nice average krausen going again. I'm excited to see how this turns out

 

[passedpawn]

Be careful with this yeast. I just made a Belgian Tripel IPA. It's gone from 1.082 to 1.007 in 16 days.

Bottling this Houblon Chouffe clone today. Final gravity 1.004. (82-4)/82 * 100% = 95% apparent attenuation. Recipe is 11% sugar. That's insane.

 

[ThoricourtBrewing]

After much comparison I have to disagree, somewhat. 3711 is a lot easier to use, but really doesn't make a great tasting Saison. I'm very intrigued by the option of starting with 3724 and then using 3711 to polish it off, but a plain 3711 Saison has a lot of odd off-flavors and isn't what I'm looking for in the genre. It's somewhat close, though, and the version I pitched with Roeselaire turned out pretty well 4 months later.

So I certainly wouldn't recommend against this yeast, but I can't endorse it from my experience if you're looking to use it to make a straight Saison--3724 is a _ton_ more work but makes a really great-tasting final product. 3711 is much easier to use and it definitely attenuates amazingly well, and it's not bad, but it doesn't really make a great final product on its own. I am quite hopeful that a mix of 3724 as the starter and 3711 to finish up will be easy to use and give a delicious end product.

I haven't even used 3711 but honestly am not tempted. I've used 3724 several times and agree that it is indeed "moody", but the results are simply amazing. It just needs some heat, and more importantly--time. It takes a bit of planning, but for me, the results are worth the extra effort.

 

[passedpawn]

I haven't even used 3711 but honestly am not tempted. I've used 3724 several times and agree that it is indeed "moody", but the results are simply amazing. It just needs some heat, and more importantly--time. It takes a bit of planning, but for me, the results are worth the extra effort.

There was a time when you hadn't tried 3724.

Don't fear the unknown.

 

[ThoricourtBrewing]

There was a time when you hadn't tried 3724.

Don't fear the unknown.

Or....if it's not broke, don't fix it! Maybe I should split the next saison just to be sure.

 

[passedpawn]

Or....if it's not broke, don't fix it! Maybe I should split the next saison just to be sure.

Well, yes, I agree. In fact, it might be that 3724 make the best saison.

However, for me and most of the others here, this is not a job (where consistency is the rule). It's about experimentation, exploring the flavors available from just a handful of ingredients.

I almost always split my 10g batches and try variations to see where they go. It's how we grow, n'est-ce pas?

 

[ChshreCat]

I feel the same way about 3711. I love the beer it makes so much I'm not tempted to try 3724, especially after hearing all the horror stories.

 

[passedpawn]

A friend of mine came by yesterday for a jar of my 3711. His 3724 saison, with an OG of 1.065, was stuck at 1.030. Ouch. We'll see if 3711 can bring it down. He's kept the saison in his garage (in FL, that is warm!).

 

[ThoricourtBrewing]

A friend of mine came by yesterday for a jar of my 3711. His 3724 saison, with an OG of 1.065, was stuck at 1.030. Ouch. We'll see if 3711 can bring it down. He's kept the saison in his garage (in FL, that is warm!).

3724 is known to get stuck at 1.030---just needs lots of time. I've heard of several people who use 3724 and then dry it out with another strain. I've contemplated doing the same thing but honestly don't mind wait. 3724 will finish if given time and heat (and maybe a swirl every now and then).

 

[passedpawn]

3724 is known to get stuck at 1.030---just needs lots of time. I've heard of several people who use 3724 and then dry it out with another strain. I've contemplated doing the same thing but honestly don't mind wait. 3724 will finish if given time and heat (and maybe a swirl every now and then).

Yea, I think he's tired of waiting. It's been going for a while.

He added the 3711 yesterday. He emailed me this morning and said it's bubbling away again.

 

[dcHokie]

Finally took a gravity reading on my Saison last night, 3711 is a monster. It finished real, real low. The sample was tasty and reminds me a bit of Great Divide's Colette (I was shooting for a similar straw-like yellow SRM ~4). I can't wait to have this carbed up with a nice farmy head!

 

[passedpawn]

Finally took a gravity reading on my Saison last night, 3711 is a monster. It finished real, real low. The sample was tasty and reminds me a bit of Great Divide's Colette (I was shooting for a similar straw-like yellow SRM ~4). I can't wait to have this carbed up with a nice farmy head!

What is real, real low?

 

[Montanaandy]

Kegged my 3711 Saison today after 3+ weeks. Refractometer reading indicated that it got down to 1.0015 (1.001) which is amazing. Did not taste a sample but it sure smelled nice. Anxious to taste it in a week or so. Montanaandy

 

[passedpawn]

Kegged my 3711 Saison today after 3+ weeks. Refractometer reading indicated that it got down to 1.0015 (1.001) which is amazing. Did not taste a sample but it sure smelled nice. Anxious to taste it in a week or so. Montanaandy

How do you measure gravity with such precision?

 

[android]

here's a photo of my 3711 saison:

turning out to be a very nice beer. i get a slight wine note with this yeast, anyone else?

 

[dcHokie]

What is real, real low?

i think it was 1.003

 

[Jeepbrewer]

I just bottled my saison with 3711, finished at 1.004, very dry, tart and little funk. I just pitched a Belgian Strong Ale onto the cake, and in 4 hours it was off again like a rocket. First time with this yeast, so far I am impressed!
I expect many a happy night from these little guys!

 

[passedpawn]

Where do you guys get those great glasses? BTW, that looks just like mine!

 

[Montanaandy]

How do you measure gravity with such precision?

I use a specific gravity refractometer that I got from Austin Home Brewing. Montanaandy

 

[android]

Where do you guys get those great glasses? BTW, that looks just like mine!

nice! it's actually just a new belgium glass with the old logo facing outward. i got them at the brewery a while back when i was living in colorado. but i'm sure you can get them online. i have a ton of glasses and i must say i normally prefer using a NB glass for most, especially the first time i try a beer.

 

[Montanaandy]

nice! it's actually just a new belgium glass with the old logo facing outward. i got them at the brewery a while back when i was living in colorado. but i'm sure you can get them online. i have a ton of glasses and i must say i normally prefer using a NB glass for most, especially the first time i try a beer.

I too use the NB glasses. NB was practically giving them away this past Fall. If you purchased a case of NB beer you could purchase a set of 2 glasses for about $2 each by going on their website and entering the batch code which they required. I don't know if they are still running this offer. Wonderful beer glasses. I ended up purchasing 6 and these are what I use to enjoy my HB every night. Montanaandy

 

[passedpawn]

A friend of mine came by yesterday for a jar of my 3711. His 3724 saison, with an OG of 1.065, was stuck at 1.030. Ouch. We'll see if 3711 can bring it down. He's kept the saison in his garage (in FL, that is warm!).

Friend called and said the 3711 had his saison down to 1.002. He's bottling now. He used sugar in his recipe and now has jet fuel.

 

[smellysell]

Friend called and said the 3711 had his saison down to 1.002. He's bottling now. He used sugar in his recipe and now has jet fuel.

Sounds like it might be a good thing I forgot to add the sugar in mine then. It got down to 1.004 without it.

 

[ChshreCat]

I use 1 lb of sugar in mine. Last time it went from 1.067 to 1.000 and you couldn't taste any alcohol in it.

 

[smellysell]

Drinking my first saison I've made with this, and though it was a beast as advertised, it's pretty bland. I fermented it around 60 since the ferm chamber was tied up with a couple lagers, so that might be part of the reason. I'll do one more at around 70 or so and if I'm not a lot more impressed, I'll stick with 565, though I have one going with 566 right now that smells promising...

 

[ChshreCat]

Could be the low temp. Mine had always been nicely spicy.

 

[MVKTR2]

Could be the low temp. Mine had always been nicely spicy.

Chshre, maybe I missed it in an earlier post but what temp range are you fermenting at? Fwiw our heat index is still in the high 90s here most days, was 98 2 days ago, so I'm thinking of throwing mine in my fairly well insulated storage room which stays cooler than ambient during the day & warmer than ambient at night.

I'm totally unfamiliar with Saisons, having had only 1 commercial example I think. I can go to bjcp for guidelines & reference Jamil's stuff, but where are some other recipe info etc for the style? I'm probably going to use 3711 or a combo strain, not 3724 on my first attempt at the style. I'm also going to shoot for a small bier with a 1.033-1.038 OG, perhaps mash at 154-155 to try and get some body out of this beast of a yeast by hopefully having the all malt wort finish at 1.003 or 1.004. Any guidance would be appreciated!

Schlante,
Phillip

Off to the recipe database...

 

[boostsr20]

I fermented my first one in the 85 range and the second one (wheat based on the yeast cake) around 80. The higher temp did in fact bring out more spiciness and almost a funk. The first one I did was pretty close to Foret in a side by side tasting.