Just wondering why you would do a 90 minute boil? I’m brewing my first Saison and saw that many of the recipes called for 90 min boil times. I recall seeing on this board that Belgian Pils needed 90 min boils to reduce DMS. Not sure if I read that wrong or recalled that wrong. I’ve got American 2-row and using that instead of Pils for this Saison, so would a 90 min boil make any difference? Thanks.
American 2 row will give you a much different flavor than a continental pils. You can, however, get away with a shorter boil. This is due to a difference in the malting and kilning process.
I usually do about a 90min boil. I like to boil until I get hot break then start the timer and hop additions. That usually means a 20-30min boil, then 60min boil with hops.
Not necessarily for a Saison, but some brewers will go to a 90 minute boil for higher gravity beers, to boil off the extra water used to get all of the sugars out of a big mash.
I do no chill brewing. (I ferment in cornies and rack the hot wort to the keg at 185f +/-) A 90 minute boil helps to drive off the DMS.
Dave
Most saisons use a majority of pils malt. If you use pils malt you may want to do 90 min. boil to alleviate concerns of SMM which is the precursor to DMS. SMM, which is prevalent in Pils malt due to the low kilning temp., can turn to DMS aand cause vegetable flavors which are unpleasant. OTOH if you chill quickly enough it may not be a concern at all.
I personally boil all my recipes for 90+ minutes AFTER I see the hot break, which is the egg drop soup you will see in most beers, most prevalent in worts with lots of pils malt (assuming your pH is right). This is the way I personally dial in my effieciency.