BeerBorg

BlackDuck wrote:Thanks guys for the input. Never thought of the Carapils as part of the issue. But Mashani, I used Wyeast 3711 French Saison and not Belle Saison yeast, not sure if that matters much.

Bella is so similar to 3711, if not the same yeast except in dry form, that I've stopped using 3711 and just use Bella now because I don't need to mess with a starter.

BlackDuck wrote:Awesome...glad everything went well for you Jim. You might end up with a pretty high ABV Saison in the end.

says expected is 7.9%. we'll see in 2 weeks and 3 days, expected bottling day. (barring Murphy)

jimjohson wrote:

BlackDuck wrote:Awesome...glad everything went well for you Jim. You might end up with a pretty high ABV Saison in the end.

says expected is 7.9%. we'll see in 2 weeks and 3 days, expected bottling day. (barring Murphy)

Might be a little higher than that JJ... Maybe 8.2 or better I'm thinking...

Just took another gravity reading. This time it was temperature corrected to 1.007. Last time it was 1.008. This is an apparent attenuation of 88.6% according to BeerSmith. I'm guessing this thing is pretty much done, even though I'm still getting some slight bubbling in the airlock. I also added the dry hops. The aroma was a bit spicy, not to overwhelming, just spicy. I was hoping for a little more of the lemon charactertic and I'm just not getting it. But that's not a huge deal. The flavor was very mild. I think this will be quite an easy drinking beer when it's all finished. And at 7.6% ABV, one that will sneak up on me if I'm not careful.

Saison ... "sayzawn" is French for season
I like to go in a fancy beer store and tell them im looking for a good "season" beer
"Ya'll got anya them season beers?"

You would think the guys at a couple of these fine establishments were the "prissy little French men"

been 9 days and no discernible air lock activity. looks like I'll be dry hopping on schedule.

Good for you. I finally cold crashed mine last night. My FG ended at 1.005. Looks like I will bottle on Thursday night after work.

Have you done a taste test yet?

no only 9 days in the fermenter I won't take a sample till next Tuesday. first fg reading 2 days before the expected bottling day. if I was still having airlock activity I'd pull a sample now, but as it is I see no need. couple extra samples = 1 bottle, and I'm greedy.

Just finished bottling this one up. I got 50 full bottles and 3/4 of another, which I decided to pour into a glass and drink while cleaning up. This is a pretty good beer. The color was nice, a dark straw yellow with a tough of orangeness to it. The aroma is slightly spicy, not much lemon in it though, which is what I was trying to get. No biggie though.

I am getting a little banana flavor in it, kind of the same flavor that's in my Belgian Wit. Is that a characteristic that I would get from the French Saison yeast I used? This is the first Saison I've brewed, so I'm not totally positive of what I should be looking for.

Sounds a lot like the flavor I got from Ommegang's Hennepin. I'm down!

French Saison tends to be tart even citrusy, spicy/peppery notes, but not usually much banana or bubblegum especially compared to wheat beer yeast or Belgian Saison strain, or even T-58 which is the other peppery yeast I use.

But it's possible that you are more of a super taster of that and the little bit that I wouldn't notice so much seems more up front to you, and what your tasting now might be gone by the time you drink it conditioned from. Or maybe the yeast was under pitched a bit or something and threw some more esters. Did you make a starter or just pitch the smack pack?

If you want to rock the bubblegum like Dupont then you need to use Belgian Saison and ferment at 80-90 degrees.

BlackDuck wrote: I am getting a little banana flavor in it, kind of the same flavor that's in my Belgian Wit. Is that a characteristic that I would get from the French Saison yeast I used? This is the first Saison I've brewed, so I'm not totally positive of what I should be looking for.

I have seen this before Chris, and I'm afraid it's not good.

Your batch has been infected with e.bananium spores... Unfortunately while rare, it tends to happen more often when there is no airlock activity at day 9...

It's very much like Clostridium but instead of a buttery diacytal taste, you get the banana notes.

The bad news is it starts out slow and then accelerates rapidly, and it is extremely toxic in small doses.

You need to immediately quarantine the batch and ship it off to Dave and I for proper disposal.

We have the proper equipment to handle large batches of it...

Ship it here immediately so you can insure your continued health.

BigPapaG wrote: e.bananium spores...
You need to immediately quarantine the batch and ship it off to Dave and I for proper disposal...
We have the proper equipment to handle large batches of it...

Yeah, I have the intestinal fortitude to deal with a.bananium...

I just hope it doesn't get into my AC.

It's new and improved......e.bananium spores.......now with Brett C.

You guys are hilarious. e.bananium spores

Thanks Phil for pointing out that Hennepin has this characteristic, that makes me feel better.

Mashani, I did not make a starter, but I did pitch two smack packs to make sure I had a substantial yeast count.

I will say that this was not a flavor I was shooting for. Oh well, it's in there, and it still tastes pretty good. So I'll drink them when ready. And who knows, it may end up being very subtle after they condition.