Saison this weekend

[Barley Water]

Well, summer finally came to North Texas and that means it is time for me to brew my annual Saison. The outside temperature has gotten as high as 104F which means the indoor temperature will be very close to 80F, perfect for fermenting a nice Saison. This is one of my favorite beers to brew because it is so different from anything else I do all year. I am going to try White labs new Saison yeast, this stuff is supposed to finish out quicker and dryer (we will see). The regular Saison yeast is very odd stuff, it sometimes stalls out for no reason so if the new variant works it will be an improvement. Anyway, I will keep the starting gravity at a reasonable level and try to dry it out as much as possible to keep it light tasting. Finally, rather than kegging it, I bottle the entire batch so I can naturally carbonate it and get the CO2 level really high (that also makes for a really refreshing drink and a hugh head which looks really good in the glass). Rather than capping champagne bottles this year, I may purchase a couple of cases of Belgium beer bottles along with the appropriate corks and wire cages, that should add to the presentation.

[oblivious]

I thought Brewferm Blanche yeast can give a some what similar profile to a Saison if you mash at a low temp, ie to get very fermentable wort

[Vossy1]

Enjoy BW

[steve_flack]

Funny that. I'm doing a Saison this weekend as well. I'm using the WLP-565 Dupont yeast that's supposed to be a 'mare to use. Apparently the trick is run the fermentation at above 25C (Dupont use 30C ) or to use the Dupont yeast then chuck in another yeast (US-56) to finish the job when the slacker gives up.

[oblivious]

I think there is a rumor that Dupont yeast was wine yeast or derived form one?

[steve_flack]

Apparently so. I've read it's common for red wine makers to run fermentations flat out only cooling the must to stop the yeast dying with the heat.

[steve_flack]

I'm still not sure on what recipe to go with - all I've decided is the yeast!

The classic Dupont recipe is 100% lager/pils malt and EKG/Styrians for hopping with big aroma additions. i'm thinking I might go with a more malty version with some Munich and a bit of wheat. I'm toying with a small flaked maize addition and a bit of sugar (5%) to get good attenuation. I'll stick with EKG for bittering and flavour (I have half a kilo of them) but might go mad on the aroma side. I'm weighing up Liberty, Saaz, Styrian (or EKG) or even a blend. I do REALLY like liberty hops though.

BW, what you going with?

[oblivious]

I like the ides of the wheat and adjutant grain, feels more like what ever the farmers had on hand at the time of brewing

[steve_flack]

That's what I thought - plus I like a touch of corn in my beers.

[Barley Water]

Steve, you are really going to love this. I'm going to use a base of pils plus a little Munich to get a dark golden color. Because it is supposed to be a country beer I'm adding some wheat as well as some oats (the old pitch in what you have approach like the old farmers did). I am going to mash pretty low because I want maximum attenuation plus I am going to add some jaggary just to make sure it finishes as dry as possible. I am however going to keep the original gravity pretty low so I can drink more than on pint at a time. Last time I made this beer it never did clear but what the heck, it's a country beer, I want rustic looking.

I also add alot of spices (that is what makes it really fun). Some orange zest, some grapefruit zest, some coriander and a little grains of paradise to ensure the nice pepper flavor. Not too much of any one thing though, I want folks to guess what I put in. I have not figured out what hops I want yet but I will hop it enough to make it noticably bitter (that will make it more refreshing). Maybe saaz for the spicy aspects?

Anyhow, if somebody has some interesting ideas for this I would love to hear about it.

[Barley Water]

I am not sure I would add any corn. I don't think the folks in Belgium grow the stuff so it would not be traditional plus the corn taste might get in the way of the pepper flavor you will get if you are lucky. I used WLP565 last time and you are correct, it can be funky stuff. What I did was to just let it go at room temperature (which for me was about 78F). When it came time to bottle, I just reyeasted with American ale yeast and added alot of corn sugar to get the carbonation level up. I would also suggest using grains of paradise, very neat taste in this style in my opinion.

[steve_flack]

Well...everyone grows corn now

I ended up with this recipe

Lager Malt 4kg
Munich 500g
Wheat 500g
Maize 250g
Sugar 250g

Target OG 1.054 - Mash at 64C single infusion.

Goldings (all of boil 4.2%) 70g
Goldings (last 15) 20g
Goldings (turn off) 20g
Saaz (turn off - 3.2%) 20g

Target 33 IBU

Whitelabs 565 - Dupont Saison - 1L starter.

No spices. I generally don't like them in beers. A little touch is nice but they're easy to overdo and I don't really like coriander beer.

I came in a bit under target gravity at 1.051 Pitched the yeast at 30C (yes 30C) and the heater on the fermenter has kept it >28C all night. The SG is currently 1.033 after 20hrs. Let's see if the yeast stalls....

[oblivious]

Looks good, how low do you think the F.G. will be with that yeast?

[steve_flack]

Depends what mood it's in.

If it can't be arsed 1.020-1.030 seems popular. Whitelabs claim 65-75% but they also claim the optimum temperature is 20-24C. Dupont use this yeast at 30C and get in the 90's for attenuation - as do others that use it very warm. So if I get 70% the FG is 1.013 - 85% would be 1.006 which is more what I'm aiming for.

[oblivious]

Keeps us posted