I was thinking about using open fermentation with a Saison in June. The main reason for using open fermentation is that it increases esters and phenols correct? Can anyone think of any reason that open fermenting a Saison would be undesireable?
As long as you are working in a clean area, there’s no reason not to go for it.
Why would you think that an open fermentation would promote esters and phenols? I’m thinking it would only do two things, first there would be no head pressure from the activity which wouldn’t make much difference on a homebrew scale and second it would make the wort more susceptible to contamination.
Or am I missing something?
He may be referencing a BrewingTV where they did a side by side of an ale (a wheat? can’t remember for sure) that was open fermented and one with a lid. In their tasting notes, they seemed to believe that the open fermented one was more estery/phenolic.
I was slightly skeptical, but haven’t tried side by side.
I recently brewed a Saison using Wyeast 3724 and my understanding was if you boost the fermenting temp that would boost the Esters and phenols. I built a cardboard box, put a small electric heater in front of it and raised and held the temp at right around 85°F - 90°F. I know this seems stupid high but the beer turned out excellent. This was all done in a 6.5 Gal Carboy with a blowoff tube.
This is not ‘stupid high’ for saison yeast. They need the high temps to perform well.
What sort of attenuation did you get at that temp?
I have a very hard time getting this yeast to fully attenuate even when I raise the temp into the 70s. I’m actually thinking about not using this yeast again, just cuz it was such a pain.
Mine finished around 1.008 from what I remember (I don’t have access to my notes at the moment). The higher temp seemed to work out just fine. I was very hesitant to run it at that temp (I usually ferment at around 65°F) but I was very happy with the results. We’ll see what the judges think (I sent a bottle to the NHC). I read that that yeast like to stop before it is complete but that certainly wasn’t my experience.
I do it because it’s easier. But, it’s just laying the lid on the bucket during the attenuative phase. Once that is past I’ll snap the lid down if not transferring immediately to some other vessel. With a carboy one could just cover the mouth and neck with a piece of foil.
As a caveat, you don’t want to leave your fermenter “uncovered” generally. I ferment in chambers so the buckets are still protected from ambient air movement. Leaving one out with the lid off will almost certainly result in contamination.
I read years ago about pressure affecting the esters and whatnot. Doesn’t seem to matter at the homebrew level, though had a saison’s krausen drop immediately one time when I pressed hard on the lid of the fermenter. Despite that the beer was fine.
Boy, not that I noticed the few times I tried it. I’m hard pressed to think of a reason why it would.
It could because of the reduced pressure and the extra O2 would allow more yeast growth, giving more byproducts. It seems unlikely to be a noticeable effect though.
You can also manipulate the ester profile using fermenter geometry. Fermenting in something shallow will give more esters. Works for the Belgians…
Or, if you believe Clayton Cone, more yeast growth will give you less esters.
Gordon, any idea why it works like that?
Lower hydrostatic pressure is the typical explanation.
I listed to the Anchor interview on TBN from a few weeks back recently. It is sort of amazing that they ferment Steam in fermentors 12-18" deep. That is less deep than a carboy.
I’ve been trying for at least the last 10 years to get data on that. It was one of the things I asked Stan to ask brewers about while he was researching BLAM. I remember asking about it at a Spirit of Belgium in DC a long time ago. I’ve brought it up with several professional brewers. I don’t think there is much research on it, so all I have is experimental results. I’m guessing it’s something akin to the open fermenter concept, in that there is less pressure on the yeast. That doesn’t explain what’s happening on a biological level, obviously. I should check and see if there’s anything on it in the new yeast book.
But it’s something that you’ve personally experimented with and confirmed the results?
Personally run the experiments? No. Personally tasted the results of someone else’s experiments? Yes.
Good enough. Thanks. If I had an easy way to test the theory, I would. Guess it’s time to put my thinking cap on.
The person running the experiments worked in the food industry, so he had access to some large shallow food-grade bins. If you don’t want to use those as open fermenters, put some saran wrap over them.