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We had put together a really nice saison with the SafAle BE-134 we got from the Boxing Rock Black Box challenge competition earlier this year, and we decided to try to make (almost) the same recipe using the Belle Saison yeast, which we hadn't tried. The only real big change between the two was in the hop selection... we had used Cluster and Tettnager in the original. The end result was of course completely different. Was surprised to see the super low FG. The differences in yeast strains still blow me away (and I mean, literally - had to use a blow off tube for this one).

System: Grainfather

4744 g pilsner malt
354 g wheat malt
333 g Vienna
256 g Caramunich Type II
184 g Briess Aromatic

19.35 l mash water
12 l sparge water

Mash at 152 degrees for 60 minutes
Mash out at 167 for 10 minutes

60 min boil with:

1 oz EKG @ 60 mins
20 g Centennial @ 5 mins

1 pack of Lallemand Belle Saison Yeast

ferm temp about 21-22 Celcius

1.051 OG
approx. 1.000 FG

approx. ABV 6.6%

Sounds great! That Belle Saison is a beast!

I like a good saison.

All sorts of interesting stuff going on here. Very dry, of course. Peppery and a bit hot at first. I get a pretty strong and pleasant grainy malt presence after a few seconds. There was a an interesting fruity aroma at first that I've noticed in any of the CaraMunich beers I've made. It was gone midway.

Great beer that didn't last long at all. Thanks!

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Really nice beer. Defiantly dry mouth feel, lots of peppery flavours. I get some heat as well. On the nose I get an almost fruity aroma. Get a bit of the malt flavour as I swallow. These first two days didn’t disappoint and I am getting nervous for my own!


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Another nice one. Carbonation is a bit on the low side. My sample was a tad cloudy, but I didn't leave much in the bottle. Getting a nice fruitiness in the nose. The hops take a back seat and blend in with the fermentation character which had some peppery flavours. It has got a nice malt backbone, really nice. The bitterness could be upped just a tad, but that is nitpicking. The beer is really dry, but has a really well defined body. This beer is really hitting the spot tonight (it didn't last long) and I'd buy a 6-pack of it if I could. Thanks!

I like everything about this beer. Well done.

Pretty amazing grainy sweetness coming through there. I would have guessed slightly underattenuated, but with an FG of 1.000 clearly it wasn't. Does anyone know if that's a characteristic of the Belle Saison yeast? Otherwise some nice yeasty things going on there in terms of peppery phenols. I suspect the fruity/citrus note is yeast related rather than hops, but whatever it is, it works nice. I agree with Adam that the carb is a little low and that it could support a little more bitterness, but it's pretty tasty the way it is.

Another nice beer; thanks for sharing!

mumblecrunch wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 02, 2018 6:59 pm

Pretty amazing grainy sweetness coming through there. I would have guessed slightly underattenuated, but with an FG of 1.000 clearly it wasn't. Does anyone know if that's a characteristic of the Belle Saison yeast? Otherwise some nice yeasty things going on there in terms of peppery phenols. I suspect the fruity/citrus note is yeast related rather than hops, but whatever it is, it works nice. I agree with Adam that the carb is a little low and that it could support a little more bitterness, but it's pretty tasty the way it is.

Another nice beer; thanks for sharing!

Aaron, initally I had the same thoughts as you regarding the attenuation, but then I saw the F.G and had to think about it some more. I figure it was the body coming through as perceived sweetness. After looking over the recipe and noting that there aren't too much caramel type malts I figure that the yeast has something to do with it. If it is, that yeast is pretty interesting.

Had this yesterday as I forgot to put #1 in the fridge. It hit the spot. Mor great at describing flavors especially in a beer like this but it was nice. Thanks

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Enjoyed this. Fruity welcomed saison yeast ester aroma and initial flavor. I got a bit of sweetness in spite of the low finish. Low, but easy rousable white head.

Cheers, thanks.

Nice beer, could have used a bit more carb maybe some more bitterness to balance the perceived sweetness from the malt. Honestly those two things would knock that beer out of the park for me.

Otherwise there seems to be a bit too much malt complexity or something going on. I wonder if a different water profile could have given it a little more life too? Not that it has no life. There’s great flavor.

After getting a little deeper into the glass I’m wondering if it’s a combo of that yeast strain and the malt that gives it the perceived sweetness.

I use aromatic in my Saisons as well. It too has a level of sweetness that I sometimes get sick of regardless of the attenuation. I mash at 148 for 75 mins with no mash out before lautering. Perhaps with the Vienna and caramunich in yours it’s definitely pushing that envelope a bit. For me anyway.

Thanks for the beer!

A very nice saison. Definitely get the sweetness too, but it didn't detract from the beer for me.

Was very excited to see a saison on the list - as well as the others, I found it almost sweet despite the FG. Had a great fruityness to it, and oddly enough I found mine to be overcarbed, I stirred it with a spoon to get it to where I liked it though, NBD. Great job!

Very nice saison for the fall. The malt backbone holds up well against the 1.000 FG. Thanks for the share

mumblecrunch wrote:Pretty amazing grainy sweetness coming through there. I would have guessed slightly underattenuated, but with an FG of 1.000 clearly it wasn't. Does anyone know if that's a characteristic of the Belle Saison yeast? Otherwise some nice yeasty things going on there in terms of peppery phenols. I suspect the fruity/citrus note is yeast related rather than hops, but whatever it is, it works nice. I agree with Adam that the carb is a little low and that it could support a little more bitterness, but it's pretty tasty the way it is.

Another nice beer; thanks for sharing!

Something not right there. We judged without benefit of the recipe. Underattenuated. Too sweet for style. Not a saison. More a Belgian strong. Nice beer though. Have judge sheets for the producer if they email me.


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Thanks everyone for the awesome, detailed feedback... very helpful and appreciated.

I haven't had any of your beers yet, but I will reciprocate

Not usually a fan, but this went down way too well!

Thanks.

I agree that it’s not really a saison, but it drinks well just the same, more like a Belgian amber strong ale?


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Sorry for the late feedback. I enjoyed this delightfully peppery and fruity saison. a nice warming but refreshing and flavourful beer.

Thank you!

I don’t drink too many Belgian beers, so lack insight here.
Based on taste would’ve thought there was some candi syrup in there because of the sweetness. Mine was carbed perfectly.
Thanks for sharing.


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