There a lot of saisons being made out there and 3711 seems to be a pretty popular yeast. How does everyone like to manipulat 3711? To get what flavors?
I recently had a saison with 3711 fermented in the low 60s. It definitely had subdued qualities for saison and was almost pretty neautral (for that style). I think most people have good success with pitching it in the mid-upper 60s and letting the temp free rise…
The one time I used I think I kept in the upper 60s and it gave a moderate amount of spice which I like. I don’t like anything over the top. It is a beast though and will get you below 1.010 without an issue. I think my 1.056 saison finished at 1.004.
I read this as 3,711 tips and tricks (to homebrewing).
I pitch at 68, hold at 70 for two days, let free rise to 76. Normally done in 6-9 days, but can be less depending on the pitch rate. I also tend to underpitch by a bit, I find a get a lot of spice.
I have taken it to 80, it was overly spicy and a bit “fussely” in the beginning, but mellowed out in the bottle.
I start low at 62F and let free rise or add heat so it hits 74F in the first week, hold for 1week, let it sit at 68 for another week.
This is a similar ballpark to me. I start in the low-mid 60’s, let it go where it wants for the first 5 days or so, then strap on my brew belt. It tends to take its time eating down the last few points, so I let it go for a week longer than my usual for ales (about 3 weeks).
I get a bit more restrained yeast character, but still get spice, citrus and a bit of banana in the background. But all that crisp, almost juicy, acidity is there and the malt still shines through. A 3711 saison is my perfect summer beer.
I started my last 3711 Saison @ ~ 67F and ramped up slowly to near 80F. It finished @ 1.000 and had a nice blend of citrus and spice/phenol, with citrus the dominant component. Hard to think of a much better summer beer, as mentioned.
So the general consensus is to start in the mid 60s and raise up. Anyone play with pitching rates or oxygen rates?
My house saison is 1 pack into 3 gallons of 1.040 wort, FWIW.
There is one other thing I forgot to mention - I usually target a mash pH in the low end of the range (5.2-5.3) to really help drive the crisp acidity that this yeast produces.
I start off around 65F and let it free rise into the 70s then I warm it up to the upper 80s. I have been letting it get to 90F but this year I think I am going to dial it back to the mid-80s. You can a lot of flavor out of the higher temperatures but it can also take longer for the yeast to clean up after itself and smooth out, even if you give the yeast lots of oxygen and nutrients. There’s a brewery down here that used to use 3711 in all their beers and that was their temperature schedule. They would sit on their beer for 9-12 weeks to let the beer hit its prime before shipping it out.
I would have to say that’s probably a little overpitched. I like to pitch a little high and take it easy with the oxygen for the few Belgians I make.