Has anyone tried it? If it turns out like the description/stats hit it may be my house saison strain. Faster fermenter like French strains, more interesting flavor profile like the Belgian strains but doesn’t stall out like those do. So I am going to give it a shot on this red saison I made 5 hrs ago.
BJCP question - if a table strength red malt forward saison has a bubblegum banana aroma and flavor does it crash land in competition based on 2 things - 1 Being red, malty, and lemony (I used lemon peel) and 2 having banana and bubblegum aromas
I just did a batch with the Saisonstein Monster. Used 1 pack for 4.5 gal. Started at 1.050 and 68 degrees (my ambient). Went up to 72 degrees by itself. Seemed to start a little slow and airlock was never bubbling super crazy. I just checked it after 10 days and gravity is 1.002. Took a taste and it is just how I thought it should be. Going to dry hop before bottling.
I have never tasted a saison with bubblegum or banana but Omega sure does describe this strain as having it. Which I don’t know I have ever heard of that as a positive aroma or flavor in a saison.
I sent them an email asking about more information on their tasting notes from this strain. As well as asking them there opinion if it matches style guidelines. That may have came across as a dickish homebrewer, but I will take my chances.
From Omega
“…I’m actually a little surprised that the guidelines don’t mention bubblegum. The Dupont strain (and the beer itself) is known to have a pronounced bubblegum character. Our hybrid strain tastes much more like the Dupont strain than the other parent, French Saison, it just performs much more reliably than Dupont. The bubblegum produced by our hybrid is definitely noticeable…”
I haven’t used it but I remember a couple brewers posting that they liked it. That bubblegum character has to be temp dependent to a big extent. Go too warm and you’re likely to get more of it. I’ll bet if you hold 67F-ish for a couple days, then let it rise slowly to the low-mid 70s, you’ll keep it in check. Saison strains (and Belgians in general) are pretty temp sensitive. I’ll be curious to see what you think.
I went too warm with 1214 the first time I used it - it had more banana than any hefe I’ve ever had, not in a remotely good way. A total banana bomb that overpowered every aspect of the beer. It’s crazy temp sensitive. Great if used right, though.
I don’t think it will be a strong lemon character. It is only 2oz of lemon peels at flameout, I don’t think that will take it to a 30A. But time will tell. I will have to taste it to make that decision. But that is a good point kramerog
Were they fresh lemon peels or the LHBS kind from the bag?
I only added the zest of 1 lemon at 5 minutes and it is fairly prominent in my saison in both aroma and flavor. Not even close to a 1/4 of an oz by far.
