I brewed a Saison on Sunday using Wyeast 3724 Belgian Saison in one of the smack packs. After removing from the fridge I gave it a wack and let it sit for the 3 hours as recommended. The pack expanded and was pitched at 78f. A few hours later the airlock was bubbling like crazy and the next morning some krausen had infiltrated the airlock. So much so that I had to remove and dump a bit out because I was afraid it would backwash. The batch rock'n rolled for about 24 hours but at ~36 hours the airlock activity had stopped. I'm only on day 3 but wondering if anyone else has used this yeast and what their experience was? I'm not too concerned yet because I know its probably still fermenting but should I expect the 10-14 days in the primary I had planned? OG: 1.055 48hr-G: 1.035
Most saison yeasts are beasts in terms of ripping through sugars. It's not surprising that it would make it through most of the fermentables in 36 hours. Those yeast strains aren't usually highly flocculant so it won't drop out and stall and it'll keep chewing on stuff until it takes the FG down close to zero, in most cases. I just did a saison with Mangrove Jack French Saison yeast and it took 9 days to go all the way but even at low temp, it did most of it's work in the first 2-3 days. I kegged it at 17 days. 10-14 days seems reasonable but when you see it start to drop and clear, it's probably about as far as it's going to go. Since it's a yeast-driven style, a lot of clean-up time wouldn't be necessary or desirable.
The krausen i the airlock is fine the kreausen insulates the beer from any infection. Saison yeast fermented warm as they are can go off like a frog in a sock! If i was you id take a gravity reading give it a few days to a week and take another if no movement and your ferm temp was kept stable and warm then she should be.good to bottle/keg. Keep it warm now to finnish it up. Cheers
Thanks for the feedback. Ill be keeping it at 72-75f no issues there, so we will see when it stalls out and bottle. Very excited about this beer!
Be careful and don't rush it if you're bottling. Saison yeasts aren't known for stalling and restarting, but some Belgian yeasts can exhibit that behavior. If it goes down to .007 and you think it's good and done, it could fire up again and go all the way to .002. Be patient.
I blew the lid across the room of my first saison starter that I put in the fridge because it never stopped chewing away at the sugars.
Just rehydrated 2 Belle Saison dry packs no starter OG was 1.048 10 gal batch split to 2 -5's Put in the frig to chill after 14 days of fermentation. Started at 64f for 5 days and when it started slowing down added fruit to one fermenter and started jacking up temp to 72 by day 10. Finished out to 1.002 with late fruit addition and without. No need to rush a Saison, it will eat it all up.
I just did a Saison with Mangrove jacks m29 french saison yeast and like JA, it went off like frog in a sock (I like that saying!). Mad bubbles in under 12 hours and bubbling was done in just shy of 72 hours. Took the beer from 1.054 down to 1.005. I let it ride for two weeks and it turned out very well. Lots of nice fruity esters with lots of spicy phenolics. It seems that most saison yeasts are absolute monsters!
Day 8 and still @ 1.022- looking like at least 14 days, who knows! The good news is it tastes really good so I am going to sit on my hands and let this yeast work. The only thing is...as soon as I tasted it I wanted to run out and buy a keg. That way I can eliminate some of the bottle conditioned variables.
True to its form the yeast has risen from its slumber! I created a make shift hot-house under a desk next to the baseboard and running at 84f pretty consistently. Bubbles (not quite krausen?) have started to form and expand on the top. I now expect at lest 2 more weeks for a total of 4 weeks (1 Primary, 3 Secondary).
Sounds like you are on the right track. There should be enough yeast in your secondary to finish it out if you are patient. Force carbed mine and it is very tasty. The white peaches in it are awesome, good aroma and just enough flavor to taste it with all that yeasty goodness.
