Bought this one today, and just had a couple. It’s a 3.8 abv saison, and I am a big fan. Peppery with a nice earthy aroma. Could use a little more carbonation. Really tasty though. I will be buying this again. Also, I need to make a nice session saison. Talk about the ideal lawn mower beer.
Sounds great . I agree on the perfect lawnmower beer. I want to work on a good session saison. Mine are usually 1.048 +.
I was planning on doing a good post-yardwork beer next. Care to share a recipe for your 1.048 Saison?
Sure. It’s fairly standard, but good.
75% Belgian Pils
20% Vienna OR Rye OR Munich - all are good.
5% Wheat malt
Mash 147F for 90 minutes
Boil 90 minutes
25 IBU Hallertau - 60 mins
Optional - late/dry hop with hops that complement the tart saison yeast character - I like Sorachi Ace (lemony), Nelson Sauvin (white grape), Lemon Drop (obvious), Hallertau Blanc (white grape) among others.
Wyeast 3711 - pitch @ 64F, hold for 48-72 hours, then ramp up 2 degrees F/day up to 80F. Hold until FG reached.
There you go !
Thank you!
Except for one thing - I boil this 90 minutes since I’m using pils malt, to be sure to drive off all DMS. Will edit the recipe.
I really like rye in a saison. Perhaps unfortunately, I find saisons to be sessionable at any gravity. I will be making lots of saisons and patersbier for summer.
Yeah, they’re all pretty sessionable to me, too. ;) And patersbier makes a great summer beer, too.
Yea Spencer Abbey Ale is a great unusual summer beer but at $16 per 4 pack I’m going to take another stab at making it.
What recipe have you been using, and how close have you come to the original? The BYO recipe is pretty good. It’s not spot on, but it is a pretty tasty patersbier.
What’s a White Labs equivalent of that yeast? My LHBS only carries White Labs and I like to get it there because I know it’ll be fresh.
I used the BYO recipe also but harvested the yeast from a bottle. Unfortunately I think I didn’t pitch a healthy enough and/or big enough starter and it pooped out and I had to pitch a huge starter of a neutral yeast to get the last ten points. I’ll try again now that I have more knowledge about harvesting yeast. Long story short I get a lot of clove in SA and didn’t get enough in mine. As I recall the recipes out there call for the chimay strain but my brother works at the Abbey and is pretty confident they use the Rochfort strain. The Abbey will only say its a " family strain" and since Chimay worked closely with St Joseph’s I think people assumed Chimay and so that’s out there. I thought the BYO recipe was solid on the grain bill and hopping although I seem to recall a color difference but my notes are missing so I don’t remember if it was lighter or darker. So I will use that recipe again but play with yeast and possibly a ferulic acid rest. I need to taste Spencer, Chimay, and Rochfort side by side. Do you know if Rochfort throws more clove than Chimay?
To my knowledge, there is no WL equivalent. If you’d rather not order it online (I often don’t), you could use Danstar Belle Saison dry yeast which a lot of LHBS carry. My understanding is that it’s likely the same strain.
Doing some reading on the White Labs webpage. Found they have 3-4 different saison yeasts. Not all are available year round though. I like the sound of this one:
WLP585 Belgian Saison yeast III; Produces beer with a high fruit ester characteristic, as well as some slight tartness. Finishes slightly malty, which balances out the esters. Also produces low levels of clovey phenolics. Great yeast choice for a summer Saison that is light and easy-drinking.
Sounds exactly like what I was going for. Only problem is I don’t think it’s available year round. They have a couple others that might work though. Have to put a little thought into it and also check with my LHBS and see what they have or can get. Being close to San Diego the shop gets fresh yeast in every Thursday.
Ask your shop if they will order it. Shops being loyal to one brand over the other is becoming less common from what I’ve seen.
I hear you. White Labs 565 might be a good option - it’s one of the Dupont strains and is year round, I believe. And it’s easier to use (less prone to stalling) than WY3724, which is tricky. I don’t suggest it often, but I’d try to ferment it at the high end of it’s suggested temp range for 2-3 days, then slowly ramp up (2 degrees/day) to the low 80s until FG. This one makes a great beer. Again, Belle Saison dry is a good, easy option, too.
EDIT - For saisons, especially with the Dupont strains, you’ll have better results with extra oxygenation and extra yeast nutrient by a lot of accounts. Works for me.
According to their website (Yeast and Fermentation | White Labs) this strain is available July-September.
I was looking to try this in my next saison, which will have to wait until later this summer.