BeerBorg

Hey everybody. I'm putting together my first Saison and would love some opinions on my recipe for a 2 gallon batch.

Grain
0.75 lb American - Pale 2-Row
3.25 lb German - Pilsner 38
0.5 lb American - White Wheat
0.25 lb Belgian - CaraVienne
4.75 lb Total
Hops
Amount Variety Type AA Use Time IBU
0.1 oz Falconer's Flight Pellet 10 Boil 60 min
0.25 oz Nelson Sauvin Pellet 12.5 Boil 20 min
0.25 oz Nelson Sauvin Pellet 12.5 Boil 10 min
Yeast
Danstar - Belle Saison Yeast Dry

Brewer's Friend is giving me a 6.61% ABV

I really wanted to try the Nelson Sauvin hops as they sound interesting and seem to fit the style. I threw in the Falconers Flight for bittering because I have some leftover and are slightly lower A.A. Am I on track with this one?

Looks ok, but it's kinda high on the OG...

I would remove half the CaraVienne and enough of the Pils to get the OG down to 1.050 ish...

Reason is, the yeast is a beast and will finish low...

Don't think you were intending an 8% Saison so that is why I mention it...

Other than that, hops aren't traditional but that's ok and you addressed your reasons so that's cool.

Good luck with it, let us know how it turns out!

Yep, what BPG said. You could just leave the 2-Row out and use Pilsner. Just remember with Pilsner comes a 90 minute boil, so adjust accordingly.

Oh, just half a pack of that yeast will do just fine for a 2 gallon batch. A whole pack took my 6 gallon batch to 0.998 FG.

Yes, trust what they say, your brewing software lies. Do not underestimate the power of Bella Saison. I don't think I've ever had a beer no matter what the OG, even 100% extract finish higher then 1.004 with it. So a 1.05 beer is plenty, unless you really do want an 8% abv beer.

That said, everything else about your recipe makes me think I'd be happy to drink it.

Suggestions noted, and thanks. I will tweak the grain bill to lower the og and use half the pack of Bella Saison yeast. Thanks for the heads up on that.

Yeah I can attest to the alcohol production of that yeast. I have a bunch of 10 + 11% saisons aging in the closet. It was everything I could do to make a Saison under 6% with that yeast. I think I had to set Beersmith up to treat that yeast like it attenuates at 95+% in the yeast profile for it. The stock add on with the lallemand yeasts on beersmith's site does not have the attenuation high enough. Oh also I fermented all my Saisons in the fermentation chamber set at 80F. You can go higher, but 80 worked great for me.

Monty

Hey guys, I just bottled this Saison. You were all right about the yeast. FG at 1.000 from a OG of 1.052. Crazy! How long do you recommend conditioning this? Longer than usual, or is the standard 3-4 weeks ok?

Told ya Bella was beastly. My last batch was all wheat DME and started at 1.047 or 1.048 and went down to 0.98 or there about.

I start drinking mine at 3 weeks as long as they are < 1.06. They stay nice a long time and age well, so don't feel the need to "rush". I like my hop forward versions younger like IPAs, but even those stand up well with time, they just "change" into something more like a normal saison as they age.

Now if I was brewing a 9%abv+ monster I'd let it sit but I don't generally do that. I like to drink them too much.

Yeah, the stuffs crazy man... That'll be nice and dry.

Enjoy!