Saison Yeast Question

[paulyman]

Hi all,

With the weather now well and truly warming up I have put a hold on brewing until an opportunity arises for a cheap fermentation fridge. I have read up on saison recipes here and found a few extract recipes that look pretty promising. I won't have trouble maintaining a fairly stable 30 degrees just can't maintain 16-18 or even 20!

A stupid question holds me back though: Is Wyeast 3724 an ale yeast, or is it a Brett strain? Also, will I need a seperate fermentor to avoid cross contamination?

 

[philmud]

It's just an ale yeast, no extra FV needed

 

[paulyman]

Excellent. Might give it a try, had my first saison on Friday, didn't mind it at all.

 

[philmud]

It's a delicious style. Be aware that 3724 has a rep for being fussy & often stalls, needing some TLC to finish. 3711 is an alternative & is pretty hassle free and makes a lovely beer. The Belle saison strain is a dry option which is easy to use too.

 

[hwall95]

I currently have a 3724 fermenting away that I put down on 28th and last I checked (3 days ago) it was sitting just above 1.02 (From 1.050) and still had a nice thick krausen on top. It was only sitting at 24-26 so I put a heat pad nearby to warm out the surrounding area so will hopefully avoid a stall and ferment out to 1.008ish. So far tasting pretty dam good - very nice saison taste

 

[mje1980]

+1000 on wy 3724. I really love it but you need patience and warmth. Wy 3726 is a farmhouse ale strain that has comparable character but finishes in a mad rush, done in a week. 3711 chews the **** out of anything in a few days but I find it a little too peppery for my taste. Similar with belle saison.

 

[mje1980]

Oh hey, you're in the gong. Are you part of the IBU's yet??


It's possible I have slurry you could use.

 

[Rod]

My saison recipe

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 and ferment @ 20 to 22
after fermentation , bulk prime ,180 g dextrose

The danstar yeast is good

 

[mofox1]

It's a Saison rush... I watched the Rhubarb Saison edition of Chop & Brew yesterday, and immediately added it it to my "planned" list.

Will probably go with the 3724, and be prepared to wait it out. If I can find a spare heat lamp then it's going in the broken bar fridge so I don't tie up my main fermenation fridge. Fairly sure I don't want to ferment a PA, or anything else really, @ 30.

 

[philmud]

3711 chews the **** out of anything in a few days but I find it a little too peppery for my taste. Similar with belle saison.

I always thought 3724 was meant to be the peppery wyeast strain, but you're right 3711 (and Belle) are voracious! I've done a few different saisons & my fave was with 3711, mostly pilsner, a bit of wheat, bittered with saaz. I got some lovely apricot flavours (fermented in the high 20s).

Worth mentioning that the yardstick commercial saisons seems to be DuPont and I believe the 3724 strain is the closest to this.

 

[paulyman]

Thanks for the info guys.

I am in the Gong. I have joined the sub forum on AHB but I guess haven't officially joined the IBU's.

Another possibly stupid question. If I could get some of that slurry or ended up buying some wyeast, am I pitching low 20's and letting it come up to the 30's or am I just pitching at 30?

 

[lukencode]

I can recommend 3711 as being a beast.

Brewed a saison that was basically 87% pils, 10% wheat and 3% brown sugar fermented with 3711 that won the saison category at the queensland comp recently. Got down to 1.001 and worked real well with saaz and summer hops.

 

[philmud]

Thanks for the info guys.

I am in the Gong. I have joined the sub forum on AHB but I guess haven't officially joined the IBU's.

Another possibly stupid question. If I could get some of that slurry or ended up buying some wyeast, am I pitching low 20's and letting it come up to the 30's or am I just pitching at 30?

I'd pitch low 20s, but the beauty of saison yeasts is that you can experiment with that kind of thing. My belief is that pitching lower will result in a cleaner (not necessarily clean) beer. But, some of the faults you get from pitching other ale yeasts at high temperatures (like fusel alcohols etc) are not as likely to occur with a saison yeast.

 

[paulyman]

Cool.

Well I might gather the ingredients for Rod's recipe above. But will try Wyeast 3724 pitched at 20-22 and left to come up to 30, hold it there until done. Happy to wait for it to do its thing. If it truly gets stuck I've read that I could add 1056 I think it was to give it a helping hand.

 

[anthonyUK]

Another option is the Mangrove Jack's M27 - http://mangrovejacks.com/collections/craft-series-yeasts/products/belgian-ale-yeast-10g
It isn't as aggresive as the Belle Saison (Dupont strains).
As PI mentioned, if you can control the fermentation temp you have an element of control on how much Belgian 'character' you get.
I like to keep it fairly low too as I prefer a lighter Saison style.

 

[paulyman]

Interesting.

I don't have a ferm fridge just yet. Hopefully by the years end I will it is priority number one. The cupboard I currently ferment in is pretty stable, not perfect obviously, but has done a good job over winter. Since its ambient though I can only currently hold a minimum of 24-26, easily higher with a heat belt. So if 3711 is happy at those ambient temps it's another option. Sounds an easier less stressful option for the first attempt.

*edit - or M27.

 

[philmud]

Saison is a great strain for ambient temps, but if you're going to struggle to get above 30, I recommend 3711 or Belle (no exp. with Mangrove Jack)

Edit: in fact, for your first attempt I'd go with a dry yeast, much less fapping around and in this case the Belle (prob Mangrove Jack too) produces a fine beer.

 

[Tex083]

Wyeast 3711 French Saison is my fav! heaps better than the Belgian strain, I didnt like the Belle saison I brewed, a bit metalic flavour, and my old man had the same with the same yeast. Im going back to 3711 and heat pad on flat out!
I love a funky saison if you dont like the farmhouse back off the temp.

 

[mje1980]

I always thought 3724 was meant to be the peppery wyeast strain, but you're right 3711 (and Belle) are voracious! I've done a few different saisons & my fave was with 3711, mostly pilsner, a bit of wheat, bittered with saaz. I got some lovely apricot flavours (fermented in the high 20s).
Worth mentioning that the yardstick commercial saisons seems to be DuPont and I believe the 3724 strain is the closest to this.

I get more fruit and less pepper with 3724. 3711 for me is too much pepper but that's just me. Yeah, I'm trying to get a dupont clone going. Last one was mashed 90mins at 62 ( ding pils ), saaz, from memory, carbed high in champagne bottles. A few months in the bottle and I do like it, though I think they really go well when they're left a while. Mine is not even close. Somehow need to dry it out even more, even though it's quite dry. Might try 3 hours at 62 haha.

Thanks for the info guys.
I am in the Gong. I have joined the sub forum on AHB but I guess haven't officially joined the IBU's.
Another possibly stupid question. If I could get some of that slurry or ended up buying some wyeast, am I pitching low 20's and letting it come up to the 30's or am I just pitching at 30?

Yeah I'd do that mate. I don't have any slurry at the moment. When I do another one I'll save some for you. Join the ibu forum. Great bunch of blokes.

 

[Kingy]

Would 3711 go well in a ginger beer. It sounds like it would.