Keith the Beer Guy
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- 30/1/06
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I have just used the French Saison 3711VSS seasonal release from Wyeast.
In fact, I have just bottled two brews made using the yeast.
The grist and hopping was pretty much the same each time around.
Setting the scene
The grist:
~60% pilsner malt
~25% wheat malt
~15% white sugar
Hops:
bittered with saaz to about 13 IBU and another addition of saaz late for flavour and ~6 IBU
Brew #1
The Pitch
The first batch was brewed at an ambient temperature of 28C. (But what the heck this is supposed to be a funky style saison right?) I prepared a two and a half litre starter using two smack packs of the 3711VSS to ferment my well aerated 1085 OG, 24 L wort.
The Ferment
This baby went off. It was fermented in a glass carbuoy, on the kitchen bench, in the home of my very understanding parents. Now my parents are quite used to my brewing related activities and they are very helpful. The fermenter needs an air-lock, they both know this. So when 30 minutes after pitching the yeast, it blew out, they cheerful popped it back in. Thirty minutes later when the bung shot out and beer painted the ceiling, walls and floor the bung was again replaced, apparently with much less cheeriness. (I had important TV watching to do and so was ignoring the sounds coming from the land-line and mobile at my place.) Two hours later the bung was not replaced when yet more beer was spread around the kitchen.
Unlike other saison yeasts that I'm familiar with this one brewed fast and hard. The numbers told me I had an apparent attenuation of 97.5% within a week. After five weeks I have just shy of 100% attentuation.
The Flavour
Surprise, surprise, surprise - plenty of fusels up front. Nasty rough burning alcohol aromas. (Mea culpa.) In addition there was this weird aroma that I only smelt at a distance from the glass, once I was tasting the beer I couldn't pick it up at all, it took me a while to identify the aroma, but it reminded me of Natto (a Japanese food made from fermented beans), Natto is sometimes described as an acquired taste, not one you forget in a hurry. (An infection in the offing perhaps?) But, as I already mentioned I couldn't smell the aroma once the glass was in my hands.
When I was able to get past the alcohol I was pleasantly surprised. Initially the flavour had light apple and pear character, followed by a strong pineapple flavour, an orange citrusy character lingers in your mouth after swallowing. The beer was quite dry and there was a very pleasing silkiness as the beer washed over my tongue. Surprisingly drinkable for an 11% beer. (One that was making my eyes water when I first sniffed it.)
Brew #2
For some strange reason, even though I had originally started with enough beer to fill the demands of a christmas case swap, I now observed there would be a shortage of beer.
The Pitch
Same brew. OG a little lower at 1075. This time there was no aeration, no starter, and I used one smack pack smacked on brew day, also managed to organise ambient weather to be a little cooler at 24C.
The Ferment
Still very hard and fast. There were no bungs firing around my folks' kitchen, nor beer dripping from the ceiling, but there were signs of activity with two hours of pitching and an apparent attenuation of 97.5% after one week. The numbers on this baby tell me that after four weeks I have an apparent attenuation of 100%
The Flavour
This batch had plenty of aclohol in the aroma, but no where near as nasty as the first batch, still a little hot, but not hideously so. And no 'natto' aroma this time around.
Apart from that the flavour and mouthfeel profile were pretty much identical to the first batch. The same flavours in the same spots in the same order. Fairly delicate apple and pear followed by a firm flavour of pineapple and leaving the same orangey flavour a bit later on. These fruity flavours are quite clean. The beer was a little more enjoyable because of the cooler ferment and slightly lower alcohol content (~10%)
Well thats the end of the tale for now. The beer is intended for a christmas case swap, so there should be more feedback about flavour profiles, or more likely, questions and criticisms about this brewers choice of fermentables and temperature profiles.
But, at the end of the day, its all a bit of fun.
Keith
In fact, I have just bottled two brews made using the yeast.
The grist and hopping was pretty much the same each time around.
Setting the scene
The grist:
~60% pilsner malt
~25% wheat malt
~15% white sugar
Hops:
bittered with saaz to about 13 IBU and another addition of saaz late for flavour and ~6 IBU
Brew #1
The Pitch
The first batch was brewed at an ambient temperature of 28C. (But what the heck this is supposed to be a funky style saison right?) I prepared a two and a half litre starter using two smack packs of the 3711VSS to ferment my well aerated 1085 OG, 24 L wort.
The Ferment
This baby went off. It was fermented in a glass carbuoy, on the kitchen bench, in the home of my very understanding parents. Now my parents are quite used to my brewing related activities and they are very helpful. The fermenter needs an air-lock, they both know this. So when 30 minutes after pitching the yeast, it blew out, they cheerful popped it back in. Thirty minutes later when the bung shot out and beer painted the ceiling, walls and floor the bung was again replaced, apparently with much less cheeriness. (I had important TV watching to do and so was ignoring the sounds coming from the land-line and mobile at my place.) Two hours later the bung was not replaced when yet more beer was spread around the kitchen.
Unlike other saison yeasts that I'm familiar with this one brewed fast and hard. The numbers told me I had an apparent attenuation of 97.5% within a week. After five weeks I have just shy of 100% attentuation.
The Flavour
Surprise, surprise, surprise - plenty of fusels up front. Nasty rough burning alcohol aromas. (Mea culpa.) In addition there was this weird aroma that I only smelt at a distance from the glass, once I was tasting the beer I couldn't pick it up at all, it took me a while to identify the aroma, but it reminded me of Natto (a Japanese food made from fermented beans), Natto is sometimes described as an acquired taste, not one you forget in a hurry. (An infection in the offing perhaps?) But, as I already mentioned I couldn't smell the aroma once the glass was in my hands.
When I was able to get past the alcohol I was pleasantly surprised. Initially the flavour had light apple and pear character, followed by a strong pineapple flavour, an orange citrusy character lingers in your mouth after swallowing. The beer was quite dry and there was a very pleasing silkiness as the beer washed over my tongue. Surprisingly drinkable for an 11% beer. (One that was making my eyes water when I first sniffed it.)
Brew #2
For some strange reason, even though I had originally started with enough beer to fill the demands of a christmas case swap, I now observed there would be a shortage of beer.
The Pitch
Same brew. OG a little lower at 1075. This time there was no aeration, no starter, and I used one smack pack smacked on brew day, also managed to organise ambient weather to be a little cooler at 24C.
The Ferment
Still very hard and fast. There were no bungs firing around my folks' kitchen, nor beer dripping from the ceiling, but there were signs of activity with two hours of pitching and an apparent attenuation of 97.5% after one week. The numbers on this baby tell me that after four weeks I have an apparent attenuation of 100%
The Flavour
This batch had plenty of aclohol in the aroma, but no where near as nasty as the first batch, still a little hot, but not hideously so. And no 'natto' aroma this time around.
Apart from that the flavour and mouthfeel profile were pretty much identical to the first batch. The same flavours in the same spots in the same order. Fairly delicate apple and pear followed by a firm flavour of pineapple and leaving the same orangey flavour a bit later on. These fruity flavours are quite clean. The beer was a little more enjoyable because of the cooler ferment and slightly lower alcohol content (~10%)
Well thats the end of the tale for now. The beer is intended for a christmas case swap, so there should be more feedback about flavour profiles, or more likely, questions and criticisms about this brewers choice of fermentables and temperature profiles.
But, at the end of the day, its all a bit of fun.
Keith
