Has anyone reused/harvested the yeast from Boulevard Brewing, specifically Tank 7 or Saison Brett? If so, what kind of results did you have?
IIRC, they bottle everything they make with T-58.
The bottle condition Saison Brett with Brett as well as their normal bottle conditioning yeast.
I’m trying to culture yeast/bacteria from Love Child #2, but just from the look/smell of it, I may just be getting T-58. Not sure if they filter primary yeast out first.
EDIT: It says on the website that it changes as it ages, so I assume all yeasty beasties from the barrel are still present.
I went to a seminar with the person responsible for bottling there and she made the T58 reference.
I harvested yeast from Saison Brett recently, and am about to keg my saison that I brewed with it. It’s supposedly fermented with the French Saison strain (3711) with Brett added to bottle condition. Now it sounds like T-58 could be in there too. So I probably started with a mixed culture of all three. I’ll let you know how it turns out in a week or so. I’m thinking I might actually bottle this batch to see how it develops long-term.
I look forward to your results as Saison Brett is the one I am most curious about. Unfortunately, I live in England right now so access to Boulevard beers comes when ever I am in the states for vacation (like I am now). I may swap out one of the other beers I am taking back and pick up another Saison Brett.
I’ve really enjoyed Tank 7. Selfishly, as it tastes almost exactly like the saison I’ve made myself.
If they use T-58, that saves me from dealing with the Wyeast Belgian Saison finickiness.
Which is nice.
The explanation was that T58 forms a very tight, compact sediment on the bottom if the bottle. There’s so little fermentation going on for carbonation that is really doesn’t impart any flavors.
Of course, I completely overlooked the “bottle condition with T-58” part of this…
Dang. I suppose I’ll stick with the Belgian Saison yeast. I’ve really found it to be a PITA, though.
Great beer, but lots of TLC.
Living in the boonies, I use a lot of dry yeast. T-58 makes a fine saison. I did a back-to-back (T-58 vs 3711) about a year ago, and while it’s not as complex as 3711, it hits most of the same flavor notes. The difference becomes much less apparent if you do anything to layer flavor, like dry-hopping, spices, or Brett.
T-58 does have a pretty narrow range in which I like it. I usually start fermentation at 60* and it’ll peak around 64*. As you get closer to 70* it gets a lot more peppery/spicy, but it starts getting pretty fusel-y too. Over 70* and it’s a fusel bomb (IMO).
It’s that need to keep 371124 warm and happy that kills me. I prefer to ferment cooler than it likes, and it stalls, and then I need to warm it, and then it just becomes irritating.
I’ve actually not brewed a saison in some time because I just don’t want to deal with that yeast. But I do have some T-58 so maybe I’ll take a run at it.
EDIT: because I’m careless.
T-58 is only a moderate attenuator, so if you want light and dry you’ll need to use more sugar than usual. I’ve gone up to 30% cane sugar, and 50% honey. I thought the 50% honey was the best, but was pretty “brut.”
How cool do you ferment? I do WY3711 at about 68 and it turns out great. I’ve never used the Dupont strain cause I’ve heard it’s hard to work with but this is the French Saison and it really seems to work for me at any reasonable temp.
My error. I’ve been using the Dupont strain (3724). Not 3711.
I keep my cool room at 60, too cool for 3724. The basement in the summer is too warm (68-ish). The basement in the winter probably hovers in the mid-60s and I’ve had that yeast stall out. It’s a bear raising the temp as I’d have to heat the whole basement or bring the carboy upstairs where the kids run around. I’ve put it by a heating vent, but then you get fluctuating temps. I have not tried a brew belt or heating pad, but that’s moving into PITA territory.
Try the 3711 and see what you think. I love it and it Attenuates like crazy.
I’ll do that. I have some T-58 and some Sorachi Ace so I’ll likely combine those in a saison first, though.
When I went to Boulevard a few months ago and a brewer said they bottle conditioned with the same yeast used for fermentation. I asked a general question, I wasn’t specifically asking about Tank 7 and haven’t tried harvesting yeast from it. The brewer did say that when harvesting such a small amount of yeast from the bottle, the flavor profile can easily change by the time you get it built up for homebrewing.
Interesting. I’ll have to see if I can dig up the presentation I saw and double check what I recall.
So this morning I kegged my saison that I fermented with harvested yeast from Saison Brett. It finished at 1.012 and has dropped clear. There is definitely a peppery spiciness to it, but is missing the depth of yeast flavors I typically get in my saison. With this exact same grain bill, using 3711 or 3724 gets me in the low single digits for FG. There is no Brett character at all yet. My taste perception may change once it’s carbonated, so I’ll wait a bit before making any conclusions. At this point though, I’d have to guess that they either filter before reyeasting for bottle conditioning, or primary ferment with a non-saison strain (T-58?) . My plan is to bottle a good chunk of this batch and see how the Brett character develops over time.
That’s where I’d expect T-58 to end up. I wouldn’t be shocked if they were reyeasting, and maybe pasteurizing before bottling? I’m not sure they’d want to get Brett into their bottling line.