Saison Attenuation

[Hoppy Brewah]

I just checked the gravity - still at 1.016. I added some cal ale top crop yeast from an american stout primary fermentation. The temperature is at 80 f. The beer tastes good, but is too sweet.

[glasseye]

73F is indeed pretty cold for a saison. 75F-80F is more typical.

According to Farmhouse Ales by Markowski, commercial saisons have apparent attenuations between 86% and 96%, with most lying in the 92%-93% range. Final gravity is often below 1.5 plato. Looks like you've got a ways to go with your batch.

[brewinhard]

Just blasted through a 1.062 wort with WY french saison 3711. In 8 days the yeast dropped the beer down to a 1.004. Beer smells and tastes great. Easiest saison strain I have ever worked with.

[BrewingCooper]

I had really good luck with the WY French Saison too. Didn't have any of the attenuation problems I'd get from the WL saison.

[Hoppy Brewah]

I put one keg of my Saison on tap and it tastes pretty good, but not dry enough for a Saison. I ordered some Brett C. yeast for the 2nd keg and will let it go for a couple months with some oak cubes. See related thread.

I've never used Brett before. Do I need to do a starter? Any tips on handling? The Saison is stuck at 1.016. I am hoping to dry it out and add some funkiness.

[andy77]

I had an experience like yours...the Saison yeast finished sweet, I added 001, didn't really show any drops over a week, so then I gave up and racked it to kegs. The kegs sat in the mid seventies for three months or so in my closet. I went to vent the keg pressure one day and WHoosh! massive pressure had built up in the keg. I checked gravity and it had dropped 5 points and was at my target gravity. That yeast takes time.

[brewinhard]

Brett is a great choice for finishing off a saison. A 1016 gravity will provide a lot of sugars for the brett to rage on. Simply rack the saison to a keg and carefully pour the sanitized packet of brett into the saison in the keg. Purge to seat the lid and let it sit for as long as you possibly can. For it to finish as dry as a good saison (1008-1010) it will take at LEAST 3 months at ambient temps (I have found low 60's to be the best range for aromatics/flavor and production time).

Brett C. is not typically a strong fermenting yeast like Brett B. is . But C. (IMO) is a great secondary strain with the subtle wild/earthy/funk it delivers. Just be patient. If I would you, I would let it sit until early summer before cold conditioning and drinking. I am currently drinking a 100% brett C. beer that I racked a bit too early out the carboy and it only finished at a 1016. Into the keg, I added a packet of Brett B. and let it sit for 5 months (venting the keg once a week or so) before drinking. It worked itself down to a 1010 until I said "fuck it, let's carb this thing up!"

[SacoDeToro]

You made no mention of your mash temp. In my experience, a single infusion at a low temp works well. I typically mash my saisons at 144-145F. Feel free to use a percentage of simple sugars in there as well; cane sugar, corn sugar, and honey all work well. WLP565 is a total dog of a yeast. I've not known of anyone who was able to get beyond 75% attenuation without the use of enzymes. And don't feel that you need to use a saison-specific yeast either. Most Belgian strains that lend rustic flavors and have high attenuation will work. IMO, most saisons should have a target of around 90% attenuation.