# Saison season is here. What's your best recipe?



## shacked (1/12/16)

First day of summer! I'm looking forward to brewing a few saisons over the next few months. Does anyone have a killer recipe they want to share?

I've made Tony's motueka saison from the recipe DB; It was a cracker!


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## SBOB (1/12/16)

watching this for ideas...packet of wlp566 in the fridge waiting


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## madpierre06 (1/12/16)

Did the one at this link, very tasty.

http://www.craftedpours.com/homebrew-recipe/azacca-hopped-session-saison-homebrew-recipe


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## manticle (1/12/16)

Simple.

Mostly pils, touch of wheat to anywhere between 1.035 and 1.050. Bigger if you like big saison - I like the session/refreshin' from slightly more historically aligned (although even mine is stronger).

Noble hop, hall mit preferred, to around 30 ibu.

Step mash with 15 mins at 62, 40 odd at 68-70.

Ferment with 3711 (or the belgian or farmhouse -all 3 wyeast are great but french is my favourite), starting at reasonable ale temps but allowing to rise to ambient summer temps within 48 hrs. Ferment to fg, condition, then cold condition


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## peekaboo_jones (1/12/16)

Yeeha! Bring it on.
I've just shifted to all grain but my favourite quick kit is: -

Coopers Canadian blonde/Euro lager/pilsner can 
-500g dry wheat malt
-200g white sugar
-30g Saaz hops @ 5 mins
made to 23L with Belle Saison yeast.


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## Batz (1/12/16)

Should I tell you guys?


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## shacked (1/12/16)

Batz said:


> Should I tell you guys?


Please do!


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## peekaboo_jones (1/12/16)

Please do


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## Danscraftbeer (1/12/16)

WLP590 French Saison yeast with my Spiced Pale Ale recipe.


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## bevan (1/12/16)

Danscraftbeer said:


> WLP590 French Saison yeast with my Spiced Pale Ale recipe.


You can't leave us hanging with just that, recipe please! Pretty please?!


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## Dae Tripper (1/12/16)

This my go to base for wheat, sasion and sour. It is a wheat beer but it tases awesome with other yeasts too.





Opps it is no chill so those hop AAs are off


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## Brewman_ (1/12/16)

I will get a couple off Brewbuilder


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## Brewman_ (1/12/16)

The Benchmark.


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## Dae Tripper (1/12/16)

Brewman_ said:


> I will get a couple off Brewbuilder


Mine is a slightly modded brewbuilder one lol. Just a bit less acidulated malt


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## Brewman_ (1/12/16)

View attachment 93377
Try load the Benchmark again.


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## Dae Tripper (1/12/16)

Mine is the heffie I think.


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## Brewman_ (1/12/16)

Yeah a lot wheat.

My image looks fuzzy will try to do that again


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## Brewman_ (1/12/16)

Easier to read version.


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## contrarian (2/12/16)

The trick with a good saison is to let the malt and hops form a background for the yeast to shine. 

I normally use mainly pils with some wheat. Occasionally a bit of Munich for colour. I've used hallertau, styrian goldings and a few others with good success with IBUs light and a small 15 minute addition. 20-30 IBUs total is about right. 

Mash long and low. I biab and normally mash at least 90 minutes at 63C because you want it to finish dry. 

Farmhouse ale is a good yeast for a creamier finish. Yeast bay saison blend is a much crisper and tart finish. Very different but both fantastic in their own way. 

If you are inclined that way any of the Brett saison blends work well to bring some more funk. 

I normally ferment at ambient and hope for some hot days which is why it is a great summer beer. The yeast can easily tolerate 30C or more and it helps bring out the character of the yeast. 

Mine tend to finish about 1.002 so a relatively low OG is fine if you want to make a summer quaffer. 

I think this is he perfect beer for the Australian summer and try to keep one on tap through the whole season!


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## Ferg (2/12/16)

I've brewed and enjoyed this one. Not 100% to style but delicious nonetheless. 

View attachment Electric India.pdf


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## _Mick_ (2/12/16)

85% Pills
15% Wheat
Mash @62c
EKG to around 20IBUs
Bell Saison @ 25c

Simple and DELICIOUS!!!

I brew this every summer and it never fails to impress.
Bell Saison is a monster too, FG usually sits around 1.004, so dry and thirst quenching.


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## shacked (2/12/16)

_Mick_ said:


> 85% Pills
> 15% Wheat
> Mash @62c
> EKG to around 20IBUs
> ...


Sounds great! What's your OG?


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## sp0rk (2/12/16)

This is my house Saison, the same base beer for my Hibiscus Saison (just add 50-80g of hibiscus tea @ 10)
Will be swapping to BB Pils for the base malt now
Until now I've used Belle Saison, but after some comments at a few different comps about very little typical Saison character, I'm switching to recultured yeast from a few bottles of Bridge Road Chevalier Saison
Also doing a few batches with Wyeast Saison Brett blend


21L No Chill BIAB
1.038 OG
25 IBU
2.8kg ale malt
800g wheat malt
150g carapils

20g 7.1AA Perle @45
15g 4.6AA EKG @5
15g 3.6AA Hallertau in cube

mash in at 52C for 10, raise to 63C for 45, raise to 71C for 15 then mash out at 75C for 10


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## _Mick_ (2/12/16)

shacked said:


> Sounds great! What's your OG?


Try to aim for around 1.040.


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## crowmanz (2/12/16)

My current favourite saison is a Sorachi Ace Saison, the citrus/lemon flavours go well with the spicy/peppery notes from the yeast. The yeast I use is a 3rd or 4th gen blend of mangrove jacks M27, M41, and dregs a couple of commercial saisons including la sirene. 

1.050 OG
~58% wheat malt
~40% ale malt
~2% munich 1

19 IBUs sorachi ace at 40mins
4 IBUs sorachi ace at 20mins
same amount from 20mins at flame out

Yeast pitched at 20-22C then let self rise to around 30C


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## nosco (2/12/16)

Any one use a bit of gypsum in thier saison?


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## sp0rk (2/12/16)

nosco said:


> Any one use a bit of gypsum in thier saison?


This is another change I'm planning on making to my Saisons
I'm now brewing on tank water, so not entirely sure what I'll be doing with brewing salts :/


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## contrarian (2/12/16)

I should also add that all of my lighter beers get 2-3% acidulated malt which seems to help with efficiency. There's other ways to do it but that works for me.


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## Rod (2/12/16)

Simple recipe

works for me

add 6 litres water to pot
add 1200 g dried light malt extract 
add 550 g dried wheat extract
bring to boil 
set timer to 60 g min
add 60 saaz
at 30 minutes
add 20 g saaz
at flame out
add 
20 g saaz
1200 g dried light malt extract
cool
add Danstar Belle saison

after fermentation 180 g dextrose


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## mstrelan (2/12/16)

Ferg said:


> I've brewed and enjoyed this one. Not 100% to style but delicious nonetheless.


Nice, I have this in the fermenter right now.


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## manticle (2/12/16)

nosco said:


> Any one use a bit of gypsum in thier saison?



Lactic and cal chloride for me.


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## sp0rk (2/12/16)

manticle said:


> Lactic and cal chloride for me.


town water or rain water?


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## manticle (2/12/16)

Tap water but it's very soft.


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## nosco (2/12/16)

nosco said:


> Any one use a bit of gypsum in thier saison?


I should have explained more. Melbourne west water. My one and only saison was nice but not as dry as i have heard the style called. Well attenuated. Of the 6 or so Duponts plus other commercials ive had few of them have had been dry as i thought. Some have not travelled well i think.

I normally use cal chloride for ph and gypsum in hoppy beers. Sometimes phosphoric.


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## mofox1 (2/12/16)

I've done a rhubarb saison before. Bloody be-u-di-ful... keg only blew this week, good run for a double no-chill batch brewed March last year!!

Most of the recipe is here:
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/19438-whats-in-the-glass/page-383#entry1371206

Can dig around for more infoz if wanted.


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## Phoney (2/12/16)

Personally I find the traditional / simple saisons can be a bit boring. 

I brewed this 'Merican - Hoppy Funk Saison earlier this week. It's already dropped to FG! Used Wyeast 3031 - PC

http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2014/07/saison-merican-hoppy-funk.html

Now it's time to age it for a couple of months for the funk to develop.


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## PoN (2/12/16)

I have made 2 saisons. I honestly dont like them. Probabloy my least favoured beer. Just do not enjoy all those esters that the yeast put off.

Thats all I have to say about that.


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## Danscraftbeer (2/12/16)

bevan said:


> You can't leave us hanging with just that, recipe please! Pretty please?!


Ha, well it may not appeal to everyone but it does to my palate.

This I usually do with Ale yeast like Coopers Cultured or US-05 but I'm sure its going to make the best Saison I've ever made anyway.

Spiced Saison 21 litres. (Cubed)
OG = 1.047
FG = 1.008 or less
IBU = 33.6
EBC = 8
ABV = 5%
3.7kg Pale Malt
0.2kg Wheat Malt
0.2kg Cara Pils
0.1kg Acidulated
Esky mash technique: 1st infusion - 62c for 90min. 2nd infusion 70c for 20min. Batch sparges with 72c water.
Bring each batch addition to boil. Final run off gravity as low as 1.010. By then Pre boil = ~30lt. 90 minute boil.
Hops: One bittering addition only for this beer.
24g Magnum (Any neutral style bittering hop will do)
Spices: (All put into cube)
90g Ginger (fresh grated)
1 Habanero (deseeded, chopped)
1 Large Mayan lemon (juice and rind)
7 Whole Cloves
3 Bay Leaves
WLP590 French Saison
I may dry hop the keg with Galaxy flowers for Passionfruity aroma.


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## drunken_snail (3/12/16)

I've brewed about 6 different versions of saisons over 12 saison brews.

My favorite very easy recipe is a DME one.

Called Old Salty 

Extract
OG: 1.048 
FG: 1.002
ABV: 6.1%
20 litres

1kg DME @ 60mins
1kg DME @ 15mins
750g Dextrose @ 15 mins
Rock Salt 17g @ 15 mins

35g Centennial Hops @ 40 mins
10g Centennial Hops @ 15 mins


This recipe can be found in the Summer edition of Beer and Brewer. 
I brewed this beer for the pairing dinner at ANHC in Adelaide.

The salt level is from a BYO gose recipe. 

The original version of this beer was a quickly thrown together brew with left over hops and the idea of putting some salt in. What resulted was a beer I really loved and thankfully was able to recreate it for ANHC.


I like the Belle Saison yeast, but will be trying white labs yeast when I get back to brewing Saisons.


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## shacked (3/12/16)

Thanks for the input guys.

I have this halfway through a long 63C mash:

82% Castle Pils
12% JW Wheat
6% Torrified Wheat (Bairds I think)

With some acid malt and a little cal chloride. 

Aiming for an OG of 1.040 but I might add a little dermerara sugar.

Hops EKG at FWH for 20 IBU and Styrians at whirlpool for another 5 IBU - no chill. Ferment with belle saison.


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## contrarian (3/12/16)

I was tossing up between a hefe or a saison this weekend but now I am thinking if I make a wheaty wort I can ferment half with a saison yeast and the other half with a hefe yeast and have he best of both worlds!


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## pablo_h (4/12/16)

peekaboo_jones said:


> Yeeha! Bring it on.
> I've just shifted to all grain but my favourite quick kit is: -
> 
> Coopers Canadian blonde/Euro lager/pilsner can
> ...


How long did you age it?
Just bottled a kit one with 500g LDME, 400g wheat malt, 300g sugar, 100g cara munich, 20g EKG, belle saison yeast.
Fermented down to 1004. It's as sour, tart, dry, winey as hell. E: Obviously I expected some of these qualities, but not to the level I got.
Either I stuffed something up or going to have to wait until march to drink it...


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## peekaboo_jones (5/12/16)

Hmm sounds fine. What temp was it fermented at?
mine are generally at their best at 4 weeks but we're fermented at a controlled 20C for the duration. 
Last year I made one in the shed over summer at ambient temps and it pushed belle saison too much. Very winey and had some phenolic attributes. I tipped it out


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## bevan (5/12/16)

Danscraftbeer said:


> Ha, well it may not appeal to everyone but it does to my palate.
> 
> This I usually do with Ale yeast like Coopers Cultured or US-05 but I'm sure its going to make the best Saison I've ever made anyway.
> 
> ...


That looks great. You will have to let us know how it drinks. Thanks for sharing it!


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## pablo_h (5/12/16)

peekaboo_jones said:


> Hmm sounds fine. What temp was it fermented at?
> mine are generally at their best at 4 weeks but we're fermented at a controlled 20C for the duration.
> Last year I made one in the shed over summer at ambient temps and it pushed belle saison too much. Very winey and had some phenolic attributes. I tipped it out


Didn't get too high in temp, started at 21C, raised to only 24C due to cool weather. (Decided to brew one because of the heatwave that hit perth 2-3 weeks ago, but it was kept cool with the other fementers doing IPA and APA for the first few days).
But soon after doing the brew the ambient in perth dropped, so never even got it above 25C.


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## peekaboo_jones (5/12/16)

Give it some time and when it's carbonated well try and store it cold for a few weeks. It should mellow. I've just put one on too and the samples also taste very sour, I hope it's not an infection. Belle usually isn't like this


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## mofox1 (5/12/16)

contrarian said:


> I was tossing up between a hefe or a saison this weekend but now I am thinking if I make a wheaty wort I can ferment half with a saison yeast and the other half with a hefe yeast and have he best of both worlds!


Yep - great way to do it.

The saison can get a ferment addition cane sugar to make up ~10% fermentables, and dilute back to target OG for a very fermentable wort.


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## shacked (7/12/16)

Just took a sample of my simple saison. Went from 1.043 to 1.002 in 4 days. Dry and delicious. Will leave it for a few more days, cold crash and keg


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## shacked (7/12/16)

Just took a sample of my simple saison. Went from 1.043 to 1.002 in 4 days. Dry and delicious. Will leave it for a few more days, cold crash and keg


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## contrarian (7/12/16)

No need to cold crash! Nothing wrong with a cloudy saison


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## shacked (15/12/16)

And there she is! Poured my first glass today; nice and carbonated thanks to my new double regulator set up.

Already planning another one for the yeast cake.


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## Bob_Loblaw (15/12/16)

I'm going to try the following next weekend:

80% Pils
20% Wheat Malt

30g Mt Hood @ 60min for 21 IBU
30g Mosaic @flameout
30g Mosaic dry hopped
400g Passion Fruit pulp in secondary


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## contrarian (15/12/16)

Put one down a few weeks ago that was about 50% pils, 37% wheat, 10% Vienna and 3% acidulated. 

Hallertau and saaz @ 60 and 15. To about 25 IBU 

Had a jar of trub of the yeast bay saison blend from early in the year in the fridge that still smelled and tasted good so started it with a week wort and then stepped it up to about 2L added to about 20L and added another 25L once that had kicked off and it went off like a bomb. 

Will have a couple of kegs for Christmas which is just perfect!


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## SBOB (15/12/16)

good thread

Have some WLP566, so a saison brew is on the cards for this weekend.... just need to piece together a recipe


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## nosco (16/12/16)

I got lazy and got a fresh wort saison from GnG . Using 3724 and using some orange peel (bitter) for the first time. Im going to add it to the ferm after the 2nd krausen dies down. 10g to start with.


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## SBOB (16/12/16)

Anyone got any feedback on the idea of using orange peel and grapefruit peel in a saison...


Good idea/bad idea?
Quantities?
Bother using the juice/flesh also, or just the peel...


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## shacked (16/12/16)

SBOB said:


> Anyone got any feedback on the idea of using orange peel and grapefruit peel in a saison...
> 
> 
> Good idea/bad idea?
> ...


I was going to add some ruby red grapefruit peel to my next saison. In brewing classic styles it has 42g of orange peel at 5mins for the wit bier. I'm going to start with about that. 

On another note, I pitched another Belgian brew today that had 10g of coriander seed in the whirlpool. Tastes pretty good. Might also work in a saison or maybe some pepper.


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## SBOB (16/12/16)

shacked said:


> I was going to add some ruby red grapefruit peel to my next saison. In brewing classic styles it has 42g of orange peel at 5mins for the wit bier. I'm going to start with about that.
> 
> On another note, I pitched another Belgian brew today that had 10g of coriander seed in the whirlpool. Tastes pretty good. Might also work in a saison or maybe some pepper.


threw together a recipe and its going to be the peel from one orange and one grapefruit...
its going to turn into beer either way


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## Danscraftbeer (16/12/16)

SBOB said:


> Anyone got any feedback on the idea of using orange peel and grapefruit peel in a saison...
> 
> 
> Good idea/bad idea?
> ...


Never used Grapefruit. Orange and Lemon I have. I like the idea of fresh over any packet stuff but you have to be careful with fresh rind in beer. Its easy to get that peel pith bitterness instead of that nice flavour your looking for. I tried it in the cube and it got too much bitterness. So back to the old recommendations of the late boil being better.
The Saison recipe I posted previously I substituted fresh lemon with that brewing stuff Sweet Orange Peel packet stuff I payed for and I have to say on tatse testing it neer finished and warm its a much nicer result. 
Saisons are also better for aging I feel. I have some that's been in th e back of the fridge for years because its been a pretty harsh dry drink. Then after a year! it seems to mellow?
Its all experimental.


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## shacked (16/12/16)

SBOB said:


> its going to turn into beer either way


Beer is good!!


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## nosco (16/12/16)

Is 10g of the powdered orange peel a bit too conservative?


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## Danscraftbeer (16/12/16)

(Checks latest records) I used 15g powdered Orange Peel for a 20lt batch. It seems a conservative amount, but noticeably nice.


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## Benn (17/12/16)

I had a 'Hawkers Saison' (first ever saison for me) on the way home Friday arvo and loved it, wish I had have bought a slab. Definitely a style I'll be brewing soon, ..Probly my next brew the more I think about it.


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## nosco (17/12/16)

Danscraftbeer said:


> (Checks latest records) I used 15g powdered Orange Peel for a 20lt batch. It seems a conservative amount, but noticeably nice.


Sounds perfect. Thankyou.


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## nosco (20/12/16)

My ferment stalled just as every one says. Its picked up a bit but not a lot. Reading https://www.maltosefalcons.com/tech/guide-saisons-and-saison-yeasts]here[/URL] about the Belgian strain stalling. Apparently its because its pressure sensitive. Open ferment atops the stall.


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## Markbeer (20/12/16)

I found with saisons they like a hight temp to finish. Late 20s.


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## Bob_Loblaw (21/12/16)

Here's the recipe I'm going to try for a Peach Saison:

21 Litre batch

4kg Belgian Pilsner
1kg Belgian Wheat

30g Mt Hood @60min
30g Mosaic @0min
30g Mosaic dry hopped after primary fermentation
1kg Peach Flesh in secondary

Belle Saison yeast starting out at 18deg and ramping up to 25-26 near the end of fermentation.


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## reardo (12/2/17)

Bob_Loblaw said:


> Here's the recipe I'm going to try for a Peach Saison:
> 
> 21 Litre batch
> 
> ...


How did your peach saison end up mate? I'm unsure how much to use (peach) in fermentation


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## shacked (12/2/17)

reardo said:


> How did your peach saison end up mate? I'm unsure how much to use (peach) in fermentation


From what I read, roughly 1/2 to 1 kg to 4L is about the ratio that is recommended (1 to 2 pounds per gallon) to get it peach forward.

I've got a peach beer in secondary right now. I used 3kg of pitted peaches to 20L of beer. I fermented the beer down to terminal (Wallonian Farmhouse from the yeast bay), then racked onto the peaches.

To prep: I washed the peaches, cored them and cut them into very small pieces (glass carboy). I then froze them, let them thaw, then froze the again; this was to break up the fibres.

Mine will sit in secondary for 6 to 8 weeks before I bottle. I also added brett c at the same time as the peaches. 

I'm planning on racking a maple syrup dubbel onto the peaches to use them for a second time.


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## Benn (12/2/17)

Just pitched wlp590 onto my first Saison. 
Looking forward to trying something different than the pale ales I've mostly been brewing.
I'm planning on following the white labs instructions- pitch at between 20-22deg. until krausen forms then reduce temp to 18/19deg. until fermentation is complete. Sound about right?


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## sp0rk (12/2/17)

Just pitched in a 2 litre starter of WY3031-PC into a cube of my hibiscus saison
I used 70g of hibiscus & rosella tea compared to my usual 50g, upon having a sniff I think this may be a little too much, will wait and see
Another thing is this time I've used Pale Malt, which I think is far too light for my usual recipe
Will add some crystal or a few grams of roast malt next time


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## shacked (12/2/17)

I would ramp up as fermentation proceeds. I pitch mine in at 22 - 24 and go north from there


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## Benn (12/2/17)

Thanks Shacked, I might give that a go instead. I was a bit worried about it turning out too estery/phenolicy but it seems to be the norm from what I've read.


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## bevan (12/2/17)

First saison I did I pitched at 18 and keep it at 18. Had a nice spiceness/fruity taste to it. I've got one fermenting now, pitched at 18 and after 48 hours raised to 25. The smell coming out of this one is amazingly spicy and fruity! So much more that the first one. Wyeast 3711 for both, though this one is the 3rd pitch of the first one. Can't wait to taste this one!
Did the same process with the second brew (18 for 48 hours then up to 25) and it's now aging with wyeast 5526 Brett lambric, looking forward to trying this one in a couple of month.


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## shacked (12/2/17)

Benn said:


> Thanks Shacked, I might give that a go instead. I was a bit worried about it turning out too estery/phenolicy but it seems to be the norm from what I've read.


You could keep it on the low side and see how it turns out then repitch into another batch and push the temp then compare!


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## Phoney (12/2/17)

Phoney said:


> Personally I find the traditional / simple saisons can be a bit boring.
> 
> I brewed this 'Merican - Hoppy Funk Saison earlier this week. It's already dropped to FG! Used Wyeast 3031 - PC
> 
> ...



I've had this one sitting in the shed (with the aim of maturing Brett) since December, and now as any of you on the East Coast would know, we've had a record hot summer. In early January when I racked it to secondary it was tasting delicious. Since then it's quite probable that this beer reached the mid-thirty degrees on more than one occasion. Now the Brett _has _accentuated (I can taste sweaty horse blanket!) but to my taste I think it has also developed a hot fusel alcohol taste. Actually more so the smell, it has a whiff of metho. SWMBO agrees. The taste is quite mild but you do get a very small hot spike up the nose like you do when sipping spirits. 

My questions are, is it even possible for a beer to develop fusel alcohol long after reaching FG? Are fusels likely to fade over time? (I've read conflicting reports). Is it even fusel I'm sensing or is it funky brett? (it's the first time I've brewed with Brett)

I'm about to dry hop it with 112g of hops, hopefully that will do something good, right?


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## rude (13/2/17)

I did a Kolsch pressure fermented so upped the ferment temp to 20c supposed to be clean still this way

The pressure never held ( gasket ) 

I ended up with slight hot fusels kept keg for ages 3 months but it never went away

Ended up tipping have a new gasket so need to redeem myself

Just my observations though so someone more astute than me hopefully will chime in here


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## yurgy (13/2/17)

brett will mellow in time. dry hoping now probably not the go. my 100% brett fermented triple had the hot alcohol which has mellowed but it was 12 abv.


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## Phoney (13/2/17)

OK thanks. I havent dry hopped yet, but have crash chilled. Wondering if I should pull it out and give it another month or three?


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## technobabble66 (13/2/17)

Anyone done a saison with oats?
In particular, one with oats and no wheat?


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## Bridges (13/2/17)

No I always use wheat. I generally try to use all weyermann malts too.

73% Pilsner
24.5% Wheat malt
2.5% Acidulated malt

I'm not sure the oats would work, I like my saison to be dry and a bit crisp or tart not sure what the right word is but the mouth feel from oats may not work that well with a saison.
My 2cents only... I've never tried it but if you do, I'd love to know how it goes.


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## technobabble66 (13/2/17)

Yeah, I wasn't 100% sure on the effect but I've done some research on the version of AIPAs that use oats, then a (newish) version of American saison that uses oats. Apparently without the darker malts the effect is a bit different to the full, slick oaty element in an oatmeal stout; to the extent that a saison that's mashed a bit low doesn't have the same oat element at all (which then begs the question of what impact does it have? [emoji57] there's a lack of description from this point onwards!). 
Unfortunately there's only a few examples of oats in saisons that I could find a discussion on, and none that don't use wheat in equal or greater amounts. 

I need to do a "starter" batch for a WLP-530 yeast cake to do a Westy 12 clone, and this seemed a good excuse to test out a Belgian oat thing. So I s'pose given I'm using WLP-530, it's probably more correct to say Belgian Ale. 

Fwiw, the plan was 10% oats, 85% pils, 5% Aromatic (plus a bit of acidulated). Mash low, something like 55/63/66/72/78 for 5/30/30/20/5. Ferment at 18, then climb a bit by day 3-4.


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## shacked (13/2/17)

technobabble66 said:


> Anyone done a saison with oats?
> In particular, one with oats and no wheat?


I did one with golden naked oats and used the rare barrel golden recipe. It did lack a bit of the crispness of a straight pils/wheat saison and despite finishing at 1.005 it had quite a bit of body and a little background sweetness.

It was 70% castle pils, 12% wheat then 6% each of naked oats, spelt and vienna. 30 IBU of motueka and the yeast bay wallonian farmhouse. I ended up blending it with some very dry and acidic sour beer and it turned out great!

If you do one with just pale/pils malt and wheat, I'd also be interested in the results.


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## Bob_Loblaw (15/2/17)

reardo said:


> How did your peach saison end up mate? I'm unsure how much to use (peach) in fermentation


I used just under 4kg of peaches for a 20L batch. The peach flavour is incredible and spot on IMO. What lets this Saison down a little is I probably used too much grain. It fermented out to 0.997 and 7.8%!!! Too much alcohol and it really overpowered the peach flavour at first. It has mellowed down to a nice drop flavour wise now but just too alcoholic.


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## sp0rk (15/2/17)

sp0rk said:


> Just pitched in a 2 litre starter of WY3031-PC into a cube of my hibiscus saison
> I used 70g of hibiscus & rosella tea compared to my usual 50g, upon having a sniff I think this may be a little too much, will wait and see
> Another thing is this time I've used Pale Malt, which I think is far too light for my usual recipe
> Will add some crystal or a few grams of roast malt next time


Had a taste this morning and the Brett is just right up in front and rather strong
Really hoping it mellows out, otherwise I might make a little 5L batch of a fairly malty belgian ale and blend it in, as I didn't really account for changing from ale malt to pale malt and I think it's lacking a little backbone


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## droid (15/2/17)

Ive got 44ltrs approaching terminal gravity - it's my third version on the same yeast.
V2 keg is about to blow - but it's just been an absolute cracker of a beer.

Here is the recipe;

Title: Saison v2

Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: Saison
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 44 liters (ending kettle volume)
Boil Size: 50 liters
Boil Gravity: 1.044
Efficiency: 67.5% (ending kettle)


STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.050
Final Gravity: 1.011
ABV (standard): 5.08%
IBU (tinseth): 22.34
SRM (morey): 4.59

FERMENTABLES:
6.42 kg - German - Pilsner (61.6%)
3.5 kg - American - Wheat (33.6%)
0.25 kg - German - CaraMunich I (2.4%)
0.25 kg - German - *Acidulated Malt (2.4%)

HOPS:
18.33 g - Magnum, Type: Pellet, AA: 11.7, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 13.03
55 g - Mt Hood, Type: Pellet, AA: 4.6, Use: Boil for 20 min, IBU: 9.31

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Sparge, Temp: 64 C, Time: 90 min, Amount: 30 L
Starting Mash Thickness: 3 L/kg

2.5kgs of mango after primary for 10days (dropped temp to 14degC) before pulling fruit and cold crashing
*acidulated added after conversion
Fermentation Temp: 28 C
WLP590/648Blend (yeast cake)


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## petesbrew (15/2/17)

Look up Tony's Bullshead Summer Saison in the recipeDB.
It's been my summer seasonal recipe for about 4 years now.

Seriously it's fantastic!


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## shacked (15/2/17)

petesbrew said:


> Look up Tony's Bullshead Summer Saison in the recipeDB.
> It's been my summer seasonal recipe for about 4 years now.
> 
> Seriously it's fantastic!


Agree with that. His motueka saison is also a top drop!


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## peekaboo_jones (16/2/17)

A made a kit saison a few weeks ago, coopers Canadian blonde, 300g white sugar, 25g hallertau steeped, 10g rock salt, yeast recultured from belle saison home brew, bridge rd Chevalier saison and also boat rocker Epice saison. Went from 1025 OG to 0995 over about 6 days.
Tastes salty as **** out of the hydro sample but amazing once carbonated and cold


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## Benn (16/2/17)

First ever Saison is fermenting away nicely at 23c.
3 days in gravity has dropped from 1:051 to 1:020 and the worty sweetness is giving way to some nice esters from the WLP590

On another topic, I just had these, my 2nd & 3rd ever sours.



Both were quite nice, the wife & kids preferred the red (cherry) their eyes watered upon tasting the other. 
Thursday night beer appreciation, always a hoot


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## shacked (16/2/17)

Benn said:


> First ever Saison is fermenting away nicely at 23c.
> 3 days in gravity has dropped from 1:051 to 1:020 and the worty sweetness is giving way to some nice esters from the WLP590
> 
> On another topic, I just had these, my 2nd & 3rd ever sours.
> ...


Nice on both fronts! You could always just throw the dregs into your saison and make your own sours (several months later)... h34r:


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## Benn (16/2/17)

Dude! I used everything I could muster to stop myself from dregging the Saison  
Me: "For god sake just leave it alone man! It's your first Saison and it's tasting good. Just close the Ferm fridge and walk away!"
Other Me: Yeah but this could make it better.."
Me: "we've been here before, ...remember.."
Other Me: "Yeah whatever, ...the Cats need feeding anyway so I'll do that, have fun with your shit beer"


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## Ferg (17/2/17)

Bob_Loblaw said:


> I'm going to try the following next weekend:
> 
> 80% Pils
> 20% Wheat Malt
> ...


I was thinking of splitting a batch half onto passion fruit pulp and dry hopped with mosiac, the other half standard.
How did this one turn out?


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## shacked (17/2/17)

Benn said:


> Dude! I used everything I could muster to stop myself from dregging the Saison
> Me: "For god sake just leave it alone man! It's your first Saison and it's tasting good. Just close the Ferm fridge and walk away!"
> Other Me: Yeah but this could make it better.."
> Me: "we've been here before, ...remember.."
> Other Me: "Yeah whatever, ...the Cats need feeding anyway so I'll do that, have fun with your shit beer"


Just get one of these going. I filled it with fermented saison and added dregs from Fantome, Nomad, Lindemans, Almanac etc. I'll use it for another brew post primary.


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## Benn (17/2/17)

Demijohn, hadn't thought of that. Too easy


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## Benn (10/3/17)

Pretty happy with this for a first attempt at a Saison. Such an easy beer to brew. 
Been in the keg for a week, no gelatine no nothing, just keg & carb. 
Getting some pepper & passion fruit coming through which is nice. I'm keen on brewing this again and bottling it for drinking next spring.


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## shacked (11/3/17)

Benn said:


> Pretty happy with this for a first attempt at a Saison. Such an easy beer to brew.
> Been in the keg for a week, no gelatine no nothing, just keg & carb.
> Getting some pepper & passion fruit coming through which is nice. I'm keen on brewing this again and bottling it for drinking next spring.
> 
> ...


Looks like a cracker mate.


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## Bob_Loblaw (13/3/17)

Ferg said:


> I was thinking of splitting a batch half onto passion fruit pulp and dry hopped with mosiac, the other half standard.
> How did this one turn out?



I ended up going with Peaches for this one. It turned out a little to heavy (7.8%) for the style but absolutely delicious. It's still on tap now and my only complaint is that I can't drink much of it without getting too drunk!

I got the recipe from Mary Izett and she mentions that she did split the batch but found that blending them back together made it even better. The passion fruit will compliment the Mosaic really well.

I will try this again with passion fruit but will make it much more sessionable (say 4.5%) and refreshing. I may even do it next given were experiencing an extended summer in QLD.


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## Coodgee (13/3/17)

Do you have a good source of cheap passionfruit? They are $1.50 each at coles! I was thinking of trying a red plumb saison as they are about $3.50 a kilo and that red flesh should come out really nice in the beer


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## Bob_Loblaw (13/3/17)

Coodgee said:


> Do you have a good source of cheap passionfruit? They are $1.50 each at coles! I was thinking of trying a red plumb saison as they are about $3.50 a kilo and that red flesh should come out really nice in the beer



I was going to buy some passionfruit pulp for this one. Not the sweetened canned crap but there is an online store that sells the puree frozen. From memory it was reasonably priced.


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## bevan (13/3/17)

Bob_Loblaw said:


> I was going to buy some passionfruit pulp for this one. Not the sweetened canned crap but there is an online store that sells the puree frozen. From memory it was reasonably priced.


What quality of passion fruit pulp would you add to a 20L batch?


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## shacked (14/3/17)

bevan said:


> What quality of passion fruit pulp would you add to a 20L batch?


This is a pretty good guide on fruit dosage and contact times: http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Soured_Fruit_Beer#Usage_Suggestions


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## Bob_Loblaw (14/3/17)

bevan said:


> What quality of passion fruit pulp would you add to a 20L batch?



I assume you mean quantity? The recipe uses 400g. 

Here's the link:

http://mylifeoncraft.com/?p=2672


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## Ferg (16/3/17)

I gave it a shot with the passion fruit in a can plus a dry hop of citra, mosaic & galaxy. It is delicious and unsurprisingly bursting with passionfruit aroma & taste. The sourness you get from a passion fruit works well with a saison but it also effects the mouthfeel somewhat. It's kind of got a more oily feel now but nothing off putting. I would definitely do it again however I would make sure to do it with fresh fruit rather than canned. I used 4 x 120g cans for a keg sized batch & about 100g of hops.

Edit: 4.5% & wlp590


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## Benn (16/3/17)

Sounds mad Ferg, 
There's an old farm house that's covered in blackberries near my parents farm. Im hoping to pick a shitload this weekend and use them in a Saison.


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## yurgy (16/3/17)

pacific gem and blackberries is awesome! :icon_drool2:


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## Coodgee (16/3/17)

Ferg said:


> I gave it a shot with the passion fruit in a can plus a dry hop of citra, mosaic & galaxy. It is delicious and unsurprisingly bursting with passionfruit aroma & taste. The sourness you get from a passion fruit works well with a saison but it also effects the mouthfeel somewhat. It's kind of got a more oily feel now but nothing off putting. I would definitely do it again however I would make sure to do it with fresh fruit rather than canned. I used 4 x 120g cans for a keg sized batch & about 100g of hops.
> 
> Edit: 4.5% & wlp590


Did the hops dominate the passionfruit or visa versa? Can you describe the combo a bit more?

Are you my old dj acquaintance Fergus?


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## seehuusen (16/3/17)

Batz said:


> Should I tell you guys?


I can't believe you made me scroll through six pages of suspense and then didn't come through...


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## shacked (1/12/17)

And we're back on for saison season 17/18!!! I actually ended up brewing half a dozen saisons over winter! I'll be making up a triple batch this weekend and will do a side by side of du pont, 3711 and belle. Castle Pils, Vienna (10%) and flaked wheat (10%). Anyone else brewing saisons?


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## Benn (1/12/17)

Yes! I've got a Saison wort cooling in the kettle right now, I'm going to kettle sour it with WLP-672 then Ferment it out with belle on top of a kilo or 2 of fresh cherries, I picked up 5kg on the way home from work the other day.
I've got an eye on the blackberry bushes on M&D's farm for a subsequent batch. 
Also going to brew another batch of a Citra Saison I made last year based on cobbled together pieces of recipes from this thread.
Saison Fever!


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## Hambone (1/12/17)

250g Caramalt Grain Pack
2.5kg Light Liquid Malt Extract
1kg Wheat Liquid Malt Extract
30g Northern Brewer (8.5% AA) – 60min boil
15g Northern Brewer (8.5% AA) – 30min boil
15g Northern Brewer (8.5% AA) – 15min boil
Festivus Ale
18g Orange Peel, – 5min boil
10g Coriander Seed – 5min Boil
2x Cinnamon sticks - 5min Boil
10 cloves - 5 min Boil
WY3724 Belgian Saison or Belle Saison Yeast

Extract brew but it's drinking very nicely.


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## Hambone (1/12/17)

View attachment 110111


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## Benn (1/12/17)

Simple BIAB recipe mashed at 63deg for 2hrs, turned out very nice for a quick & easy house Saison. Wouldn't really change anything.


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## seamad (1/12/17)

Raspberry Saison for Xmas
OG 1.040
Weyermann : Pale Pilsner 62%
Pale Wheat 25%
Acid Malt 3%
Simpsons: Golden Naked Oats 10%
Ca ( chloride and gypsum mash only) to 100ppm
Mash : 54/10;62/30;70/30;76/15
Boil 70min
Calypso to 12 ibu @60 min
Wyeast 3711
Raspberries 1kg/10l for a couple of days secondary.


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## peekaboo_jones (2/12/17)

Seamad that sounds stunning!
I've got some grains milled ready to go but lacking the time to do AG right now.




Will Hop with magnum and hallertau mitt to about 30 ibu and a 4% abv.
In the original non pump robobrew.

In the meantime I slapped this together this morning before wife went to work

21L batch
Coopers Pilsner kit
500g light dry malt
20g sweet orange peel powder
40g Santiam hops steeped with residual malt and hot water in the empty kit can!
Pitched Belle Saison yeast at 25C and set it to 26C


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## goatchop41 (2/12/17)

Hambone said:


> 18g Orange Peel, – 5min boil
> 10g Coriander Seed – 5min Boil
> 2x Cinnamon sticks - 5min Boil
> 10 cloves - 5 min Boil



What on earth are these doing in a saison?! We from the mighty Church of Saison might have to burn you at the stake for heresy!

Save the orange peel and coriander seed for the witbiers...
10 cloves...does the beer just taste like clove juice? That's _a lot_ of cloves


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## Hambone (4/12/17)

goatchop41 said:


> What on earth are these doing in a saison?! We from the mighty Church of Saison might have to burn you at the stake for heresy!
> 
> Save the orange peel and coriander seed for the witbiers...
> 10 cloves...does the beer just taste like clove juice? That's _a lot_ of cloves


Saison (French, "season," Frenchpronunciation: [sɛ.zɔ̃]) is a pale ale that is highly carbonated, fruity, spicy, and often bottle conditioned
the flavor profile of a saison comes not from hops or malt but from yeast. so they taste yeasty. usually this is in the fruity / estery range or in the spicy / clovey range. it is helpful to warn unfamiliar beer drinkers before they take a drink so that they can adjust their expectations somewhat.

The recipe is from a Farmhouse Saison recipe and I added the cinnamon and crushed cloves as an experiment. I reckon it tastes great. But I've never tasted a Saison before.


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## paulyman (4/12/17)

I also had saisons going all winter. 

One batch had a simple grist of:

60% pils
35% wheat
5% golden naked oats

20ish IBU of hallertau.

Fermented with Wyeast 3724 DuPont strain until 1.020 then split into two secondaries. One got a bottle of 7 year old semillion, the dregs the from 6 bottles of Fantome saisons and Belgian sour mix. The second got the dregs of both mine and shacked Brett saisons and the dregs of various bruery terreux sours and a bottle of 12 year old Shiraz. The second batch still wasn’t quite where I wanted it so I added 1g of saffron and 2kg of sour cherries.

Both bottled in champagne bottles and been ageing for nearly two months now.

Both taste great but the Saffron Saison is the standout, slightly tart and the saffron does wonders to both the colour and flavour, wonderfully earthy and spicy, slightly tannic which will also come from the wine.

On tap I have a small batch of turbid mashed wort fermented with my current house culture, which is made up of DuPont, Thiriez and Blaugies strains. Added some guava nectar to it. Bone dry but still has a nice medium full mouth feel so it doesn’t feel watery.


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## Garfield (4/12/17)

I'm thinking of trying oats in this years batch. How does this sound:

70% Golden Promise
10% rolled oats
10% cane sugar
5% vienna
5% melaniodan
25IBU huell melon
5%abv
WL monastery ale or Saison 2


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## pcqypcqy (4/12/17)

I've done a few recently that have gone alright.

The first one was basically a mosaic pale ale, but fermented with Wyeast 3711 French Saison. 99.x% gladfield ale, handful of choc wheat, some magnum for bittering and then 100g late mosaic in the kettle. Entered it as a Beligan IPA and placed at QABC which was a surprise, was pretty happy with that. Was around 5.5% ABV from memory.

One I did more recently was an American wheat base, fermented with Wyeat 3726 Farmhouse Ale. 50-50 gladfield wheat and ale malt, about 25 IBU bittering with magnum. Fermented cool at 18°C, then added a syrup of home made mulberries and some de-seeded chilli. I added some of the seeds back in, but only a little. De-seeding it lets you get a lot of the chilli fruit flavour without being excessively hot, which worked quite well. It's a good warm weather quaffer. The base beer was about 4% ABV, and I probably added around 1.5% with the syrup.


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## goatchop41 (5/12/17)

Hambone said:


> But I've never tasted a Saison before.



A good thing to do in those cases (when you haven't had the base style), is to just make a basic version of the beer, then make changes/experiment with other recipes from there.
If you've never had a saison before, then unfortunately your recipe won't give you a good idea of what they taste like either. All of those other additives will overwhelm and detract from the yeast character.
Like I said, the coriander and orange are classically suited to a witbier, not a saison. Not to say that you can't do it, but they're not really something that you see added in to a saison.
As your quote stated, the primary characters come from the yeast, you need to let that shine, and not muddy it with other spices. Where did you get that particular recipe from?

Have a crack at one of the simple recipes in this thread (50/50 pils/wheat; 50/40/10 pils/wheat/vienna; either with just a noble hop @ 60mins for 15-20 IBU), that will give you a true idea of what a saison is.


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## EalingDrop (5/12/17)

goatchop41 said:


> A good thing to do in those cases (when you haven't had the base style), is to just make a basic version of the beer, then make changes/experiment with other recipes from there.
> If you've never had a saison before, then unfortunately your recipe won't give you a good idea of what they taste like either. All of those other additives will overwhelm and detract from the yeast character.
> Like I said, the coriander and orange are classically suited to a witbier, not a saison. Not to say that you can't do it, but they're not really something that you see added in to a saison.
> As your quote stated, the primary characters come from the yeast, you need to let that shine, and not muddy it with other spices. Where did you get that particular recipe from?
> ...


Agree. 

And adding to this, Fermentation temp. Aim between 20-25c.


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## shacked (5/12/17)

EalingDrop said:


> Agree.
> 
> And adding to this, Fermentation temp. Aim between 20-25c.



I like to ferment hotter. My ESB Comp saison was basically 70% castle pils / 20% flaked wheat / 10% cane sugar with a handful of Belgian aromatic. 8% ABV. 

Fermented it at 32C with fourth generation belle saison. Judges liked it as it came in first in category.


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## goatchop41 (6/12/17)

shacked said:


> Fermented it at 32C with fourth generation belle saison. Judges liked it as it came in first in category.



Depends on the yeast, really.
It's terrifying to let it be that high, but Belle Saison can handle it without undesirables poking their head out. MJ's French Saison yeast certainly doesn't like to go above 30oC (from my experience, anyhow)


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## Phoney (6/12/17)

Anyone had experience with Wyeast 3031 PC Saison-Brett Blend?

I pitched a full pack into a batch last summer, left it sitting for 3 months. It possibly got too hot in that time and in the end it tasted like acetone (nail polish remover) so I chucked it on the lawn.

I'd be keen to give it another bash with the right recipe + care. Maybe this: https://www.themadfermentationist.com/2011/03/rye-saison-with-brett.html


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## shacked (6/12/17)

goatchop41 said:


> Depends on the yeast, really.
> It's terrifying to let it be that high, but Belle Saison can handle it without undesirables poking their head out. MJ's French Saison yeast certainly doesn't like to go above 30oC (from my experience, anyhow)



And this was in the absence of a thermowell, so in reality it was probably closer to 35C. I've pushed MJFS that high too and it was awesome. Loads of pear esters.


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