Saison D'etre

[FedoraDave]

This is only the second saison I've made, so I don't know what to expect from the style. But I enjoyed the one I made last year.

Anyway, this batch has been in the bottle for two weeks, so I figured I'd bring it upstairs, put a couple bottles in the fridge, and give 'em a taste this weekend. The sample I tasted before bottling had a slight pepper finish, but what I got mostly was a fruity, sort of apricot tinge. I'm hoping both these flavors are maintained, and even enhanced by the higher carb level. Same with the aroma.

I'm glad I sort of fell into making saisons, since it helps keep the brauhaus going during the really warm months. This probably hit a peak temp of 76 or so. If I like this batch, I'll keep it in the rotation. The only other option I've got during the summertime is lagers, but it's a pain to occupy the lager fridge for such an extended time. I do it, of course, but I'd rather not have such a long wait for my beer.

[Inkleg]

Glad you're enjoying the style Dave. I've made two Saisons also and both are completely different. The first with Belle Saison yeast has a wonderful floral nose, citrus flavor with slight pepper finish. The other with White Labs WLP565 is more towards the barnyard/hay/spicy side of the style. I have a vile of White Labs WLP670 that has Brett in it. Looking forward to brewing that one too.
I like them both, but enjoy the Belle Saison one more.

[mashani]

I like Bella/French Saison (3711) the best myself. It has nice tart/citrus/peppery notes and although it ferments bone dry still somehow maintains a nice silky mouth feel. I get all the barnyard/hay I need from my random house brett infections. 5 gallons of saison is next in my brew list. I think I'm going to put a little bit of juniper in it. Juniper and Styrian Goldings. I think it will be yummy.

[FedoraDave]

I used Danstar yeast. This was a 2.5 gallon batch, and I'm tending toward using dry yeast on batches of that size. As I recall, the fermentation was pretty vigorous, and the attenuation was higher than I expected, although that's been happening a lot with my beer. I calculated the Saison D'etre to finish out at around 6.7% or so, but it was actually 7.8%

I'm becoming curious as to why, since up until this year I would usually finish within 0.04+/- of my projected FG. The only difference I can account for is that I changed LHBS, and maybe my grains are fresher.

[Inkleg]

I'm becoming curious as to why,

Because that Danstar Belle Saison yeast would ferment out an old dirty sock. It'll chew through anything.

[BigPapaG]

I'm becoming curious as to why,

Because that Danstar Belle Saison yeast would ferment out an old dirty sock. It'll chew through anything.

Yes... ^^^^This^^^^

[FedoraDave]

Okay, but it's not just the Saison this happened with. It's been a number of beers I've brewed this year, with different yeasts, both dry and liquid.