Grapefruit Flavor Saison

Gunny1775

Gunny1775

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So I just brewed my first saison on Memorial Day. It has been in the keg for this past week conditioning. Poured me a glass today for a taste and it has a very strong grapefruit/peel flavor. Is this normal? The recipe I used was a Sabotage Saison from Midwest Supplies. Any help/advise would be much appreciative.
 
What was the yeast strain? Fermentation temp?
To me saisons have a lot going on in the taste, so you may be fine.
I think this style also benefits a bit from aging, that taste may go away by the end of the month
 
When was the beer brewed, which yeast and what temps.?

As previously stated, Saisons need a bit more time than other styles. Did you dry hop the saison?
 
I'm thinking grapefruit peel as bitter sour or tart ?... 2 or 3 things can be going on here one I'm thinking of is chlorine or water issues then sour can be ph or infection, or opening the lid while aging, this can sour some

what water did you use and what temperature did you ferment at
 
The brew day was May 29th. I used the Wyeast 3711. Made a starter for it prior to pitching. Fermentation temps stayed around 74 degrees. I did not dry hop but my last hop addition was at flameout.

The water could have very well been the issue. I used the tap here on base in Yuma AZ. I haven't been able to get the exact breakdown of the water here. The only reason I used the tap was because I have a brew friend out here who uses the tap in town and his beers tast fine. Of course water break down is different between on and off base.
 
Have you used the base water in other beers?
 
I've used it in my Ale last year. It was sweeter than I wanted but that was because of the high fermentation temp. I don't think it's contaminated because it would be really foul, right?
 
If the water is good enough to drink, it's good enough for beer
What hops did you use?
 
I’ve had a bunch of funky flavors over the years and one I just couldn't figure out then finally did was poorly stored hops, the hops took on the smell from my keezer from an open bag and that’s the same as beer stink but it was so mild in the beer you couldn't pinpoint it, at the same time I'm a perfectionist so I ended up dumping 20 gallons because of it, so trying to figure this out might not be so easy unless you keep getting the same flavor ;)
 
Most likely spicy, tart contributions from the yeast along with citrus characteristics of the hops. Those hops should have more tropical/melon/berry fruit notes but there's almost always a citrus/grapefruit component. I suspect that your water profile lends itself to showing off the hops (gypsum does that, for instance) that's what you're experiencing is a relatively pronounced hop bitterness and lingering hop flavor. I'd bet that in a few weeks, that flavor will mellow and you'll get more subtle notes from the hops and yeast.

Grapefruit is good. :)
 
So I was doing some research on my hops and apparently the equinox has a distinct grape freuit flavor profile. So I'll just let it condition for another week and give it a go. Thanks y'all for the assist. Happy Independence Day
 
Brewed two beers in a row one almost exclusively with Equinox I love this hop it's a tropical fruit bomb much Similar to Galaxy plenty of pineapple or passionfruit aroma and flavours. I don't get me some grapefruit with it but that's just me I hear people not liking it because of a green pepper taste.

Like JA said it will get smoother with time.
 
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