Quick question

General Homebrew Discussion
1

So I’m brewing a big pale ale tomorrow with lots of Citra and Galaxy hops, Maris Otter and Crystal 60 and 80. I have my starter of California ale yeast on the stir plate, but then it occurred to me that I have 5 gallons of a Saison that has been sitting for about 5 weeks in the carboy.

What do you think if I split this 10 gallon batch and racked 5 gallons onto the yeast cake of the Saison? 
The Saison yeast I have is one I obtained from on of the local brew pubs in my town and I believe is a bit of a blend.  It produced a nice estery Saison but I didn’t use and temp control during fermentation.

Thoughts?

2

Sounds tasty, but don’t be surprised if the hop flavors overwhelm the yeast flavors. I think galaxy and citra would be nice with a saison yeast.

Also, just as a note, if you want to make another saison, you could get away with half the cake for your pale ale probably.

3

Why not? DO it.

The hops’ presence will start to fade fairly quickly bit you ought to be able to put this beer up for a while.

4

Experiment with it, but as Garc says, don’t go on the entire cake. Dump the slurry into a mason jar or two and use about 1/3rd of the slurry. This will save you some yeast for future batches and insure you are not over pitching.

5

Thanks guys!  I brewed it today and did as you guys suggested and pitched only about a third of the yeast cake from the Saison.  The other 5 gallons I pitched the starter of California Ale.  I guess I’ll know how it turns out in a few weeks.