Saison Yeast

[AGbrewer]

I've been avoiding this style as I don't find "Barnyard" to be palatable in anything that I'm consuming. But I finally made the jump and used WLP-568 (Belgian Saison) and it turned out awesome. So now I'm thinking about doing another one, but I want some feedback on potential yeast candidates. I'm not a fan of sour/tart, so will likely stay away from that end as well.

1. What Saison yeast strain have you had success with?
2. What pitching rate and temp did you use?
3. Open ferment or air lock/blowoff tube?
4. What did it taste like?

 

[Bubba Wade]

My favorite has been the Danstar Belle Saison dry yeast. 1 pack per 5 gallons, 70 deg F fermentation. And definitely a blow off tube.

This yeast is not as “peppery” as some, but has a nice tangy aftertaste. And it attenuates way past target.

 

[Megary]

I have had really good results with Belle Saison as well. I also like WY3711. By some accounts, they are the same yeast anyway.

I agree with @Bubba Wade, upper 60's to low 70's F work best for me. When I ran the temperatures up to 80, the Belle got a bit too phenolic for my tastes. Very aggressive fermentation, 90%+ attenuation.

**Edit** I use one pack of yeast (dry or liquid) for a 3 gallon batch.

 

[Over The Cliff Brewing]

I had good results with Lalbrew Belle Saison. I made a 1500ml starter and it took off within hours. top cropped and used it again with success.

 

[AGbrewer]

Forgot to mention that I harvested some WLP-568 yeast from the brewday yeast starter, so I could always use that yeast again.

Has anyone used it?

I fermented mine between 70 and 72 for the whole fermentation before cold crashing and packaging. Also, I didn't use an airlock, just sanitized foil over the opening of the fermenter to keep stuff out of it. I had read the Saison yeasts don't like backpressure, so I figured I would give pseudo-open fermentation a try.

 

[Steve Ruch]

I also like belle saison.

 

[hundel]

Just happened to be bottling a batch with Belle Saison to end the summer as well. I’d ordered Loral hops (primarily as it is roughly my daughter’s namesake) and after opening changed my brew-day plan because everything about them struck me as a great Saison hop to me: nuanced lemon and peppery notes, dry but with no sharp edges. This time I am fermenting warm for the first time (increased from 68F to 80F over a week then held for a week). I agree with everything above about this being a great balanced Saison yeast that provides enough interest for my end of summer Saisons without being too sour, peppery or lemony. I have not had this yeast stall in several brews over the years but would also like to try the foil method next time to loosen up this style a bit and let the microbes do their thing. Good idea and hope yours turns out great.

 

[AGbrewer]

So I just got back from the LHBS and picked up a packet of Belle. Let the adventure begin!

Thanks everyone for all the feedback, it was pretty unanimous.