Should I dryhop? - what say you?

Brewing Processes
1

Hello people, I recently brewed a Saison with this recipe that I “made”:

9# Belgian Pilsner
.5# Crystal 60L
.5# Flaked Oats
.25# Honey Malt
1.75oz Tettnang @ 45min
.75oz Styrian @ 15 min
.50oz Styrian @ 0 min
Yeast: Omega Saisonstein (Pitched at 67ish and raised to 73F naturally)
Mashed at 148F for 75 min
Boiled for 60 min
OG: 1.057
FG: 1.007 after a week. (Will rack into secondary today for 2 weeks before bottling)
ABV: 6.56%

Comments:

  • Color is awesome. Spot on with Saison Dupont. (although it is not intended to be a clone)
  • Clean, crisp aroma from the sample
  • Taste was great, crisps, complex malts, slight alcohol but not fusels extremely pleasant and drinkable for a green sample.

My questions is…

Is the hop aroma showing up later when in matures? how about the taste? Should I dryhop? Should I wait and see?

I know is uber green but I was expecting more style definition early on. I guess am wrong.

2

It’s not going to get more hoppy with time although carbonation will help bring some of that forward. You probably need to dry hop if you feel the hop character is underwhelming right now.

3

I always dry hop my saisons although I do not use much (usually about a half ounce of hops per 5 gallons) so I do not overpower the other aromas in the beer.

…Goose

4

I have a Saison batch that I split with 3 different yeasts.  It is ready to package now at 3 weeks.  I thought about dry hops.  I’m going to dry hop one @ 3grams/gallon.  I know that Blvd Tank 7 is dry hopped @ .089kg/bbl.  I’m going to follow their amounts with Mandarina.

5

Do or don’t. If you’re thinking Styrian or Tettnanger, I wouldn’t bother. I don’t think you’ll get enough out of it vs. the risk of oxidation and floaties. If you just want to use up some hops, go for it.

Speaking of not bothering - I wouldn’t rack to secondary at all, let alone after only a week.

6

I don’t think its necessary for this one.  Let the yeast character shine through once its carbed up and you will be pleased with it.  Next time, add more hops at knockout (0 min., i.e. like 1-2 oz) if you desire a bit more hop aroma.

7

Thanks guys for the comments.

So, would it get better with more maturation?

Should I leave it in primary for a little longer or should I rack to secondary now? It has been in primary for 8 days now.

At 1.007 and the fact that FG hasn’t changed in a couple days it is safe to say that fermentation is over.

8

Personally, I say don’t dry hop. I dry hop American styles pretty heavily, but I like saison traditional, ie., no dry hops. The current trend is to hop the hell out of saisons - some good, most not. I do like the dry hopped Dupont I tried, however. But I love saison yeast character with nice pils malt character and prefer the hops not to get in the way. To each his own, though.

9

Interesting.

I will let it ride primary a little more and then secondary and then bottling. I think its great as it is right now but I am confident it will get better.

10

I have a saison on tap that is pushing 3 mos in the keg and tastes fantastic.  Finished at 6.66% ABV and 2-3 of those is all I need…

11

but… did you dry hop it or just left it traditional?

How is the flavor profile?

12

secondary is not needed…you can dry hop in primary…or not dry hop in primary…

I vote no dry hop or small dry hop…it’s a Saison…

13

What do you consider to be a small dry hop? .5oz of Saaz for 5 days?

14

Not to criticize people for their drinking or brewing preferences but dry hopping is absolutely a traditional process to saison brewing. Not to the levels of American IPAs but within typical western European quantities. (See Farmhouse Ales.) Dupont Saison Vieille was dry hopped into the latter part of the twentieth century and was only dropped as Europeans lost interest in the flavor of hops, much like we had in decades prior.

15

Checked my FG readings on these 3 yeasts each @ 1.002 down from 1.065

565 -    I can’t believe how this accentuated the hops. This yeast is nice and spicy.  I don’t see   
            see any reason to dry hop this.

GY018 - This one is more fruity.  Clean on the tongue with little bitterness, sweet aroma.  I think dry hop
            will add a little complexity. 
         
530 -    I like this one too.  Even though not a traditional Saison, still really nice.  Kind of best of both       
            worlds.  I like this the way that it is.

So I’m going to dry hop the GY018.  I would be happy with any of these w/wo dry hop.  I like all three, maybe 565 wins by a small margin.  I did get quite a bit of bitterness from the the Mandarina in whirlpool.  I think I’m on the fence about dry hopping, especially if it is going to age a little.

16

Americans love to dry hop every damn thing.  I say no, don’t bother.  Style doesn’t require it.  Save a step.  But go ahead and do it if you’re a hophead.  No matter to me.

17

Weigh out need vs risk vs reward. You say you like them as is, then risk oxidation to probably lose the aroma due to age anyway, leaving you with what you started with at best… oxidation at worst.