MY first saison

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DanielBarker
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MY first saison

Bought a pack of wyeast french saison 3711 and came up with this for it, it's fermenting well and the starter got me super excited about the yeast.  Lots of strong citrusy fruit smells:

 

7 lbs of Canadian 2-row,

5 lbs of dingemans belgian pilsen

1/2 lb of dingemans belgian wheat that I toasted in the oven for 1 hr, starting it up at 200 degrees and boosting to 325.

 

3/4 an ounce of hallertauer at 4.7 AA's and 1/5 of Centennial leafs (just what I had laying around to boost the IBUs slightly), those for 60 minutes.

 

the last 1/4 of hallertauer for the last 15 minutes of the boil.

 

Aimed to mash at 150 but hit closer to 152.

 

I meant to add in some sugar to dry it up but forgot.  I've heard 3711 is a beast of a saison yeast so hopefully I'll be ok.

 

We'll see how it turns out, has anyone else tried 3711? 

DanielBarker
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Yeah, I've read in too many

Yeah, I've read in too many places that leaving it in primary for up to 3 weeks is fine.  I think Palmer says after three you're risking it, but from the forums it seems most people don't have that  experience.  I generally just do 2 weeks as a rule and have never tasted dead yeast.

David
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The primary thing is kind of

The primary thing is kind of a debate....and/or preference thing and is up to you.  Some feel that the spent yeast imparts some different flavors.  Im generally not in that camp.  Leaving it in primary for 3 weeks in my opinion is fine.  I know a lot of people that are strongly against even using secondaries (browse the homebrewtalk.com forum and you will see that a lot of experienced brewers leave their beers in primary for 4-6 weeks and go straight to keg or bottle).  They leave their brew on the lees until it's finished fermenting as indicated by hydrometer readings.  The exception to this is when they are adding fruit or coca nibs, etc. or as a means to clarify a beer.  I've routinely left some brews on the lees for 3 or 4 weeks with no issues.  You should be fine.  Im gonna invoke the old Pappizan saying: Relax dont worry have a homebrew.

IGZ
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i too am looking forward to

i too am looking forward to your results. and hopefully a taste.

 

i never leave anything in primary for over 10 days.  always afraid of imparting off flavors from the yeast.  is leaving it there for 3 weeks ok?

 

i believe it the french saison i like over the belgian, but i truely cant remember specifics.  regardless, both i always fermented in a bucket where i threw in a fishtank heater.  this kept the temperature up and stable.  the yeast loves it.  belgian yeast is known for its high attenuation and is generally a requisite for a saison style, while other characteristics are a bit more open to interpretation.

Daniel Barker said:

Yeah dude, brewed on the 6th.  It's been sitting in primary for almost three weeks.  I haven't bothered to take a reading yet.  I'm freeing up two carboys on my next day off so I'll be able to shift it to secondary and take a reading then.  Pretty excited.

...igz...

DanielBarker
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Yeah dude, brewed on the 6th.

Yeah dude, brewed on the 6th.  It's been sitting in primary for almost three weeks.  I haven't bothered to take a reading yet.  I'm freeing up two carboys on my next day off so I'll be able to shift it to secondary and take a reading then.  Pretty excited.

David
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Yes, 3711 ripped through my

Yes, 3711 ripped through my saison...started around 1060 and finished at 1006, last time I took a reading. I find that this yeast does well when the temp is allowed to ramp up over a few days and into the low 80's.

Let me know how your saison turns out.