Split Batch: Classic Dupont Inspired + French Saison with Hallertau Blanc and Nelson Sauvin

The search for my ideal Saison continues.

Previous brews: Omega Saisonstein and Saison Yeast Comparison with Bootleg Biology Saison Parfait and East Coast Yeast Saison Brasserie.

I haven’t settled on a favorite saison yeast yet. My past brews have been good, but they didn’t wow me in the yeast department. This time around I’m going to try two of the classics: WY3711 French Saison, and the commercial Dupont strains WY3724 and WL565.

I would have tried Dupont sooner but I was nervous about its reputation for stalled fermentations. Drew Beechum’s Guide to Saisons suggests open fermentation is the solution to Dupont’s stalling problems, so I’ll give that a try.

Recipe

The grain bill for this recipe comes from the 2021 NHC winning saison recipe recently printed in Zymurgy. I’ll also be trying out that recipe’s fermentation temperature schedule for the Dupont half of this recipe.

For convenience, both beers will share the same mash and they’ll be kept together for the first 45 minutes of the boil. With 15 minutes left in the boil, I’m going to split the wort into two ~2.75 gallon batches.

One half I’ll keep as a pretty traditional Saison Dupont inspired beer. The other half, I’m going to make hoppier, with a large late addition of some fruity/vinous hops. I’ve heard 3711 is a good match for hoppier saisons.

I think the hoppy half might be good with some dry hops, but I decided not to do that this time around.

This is a little hard to write up clearly, but I’ll do my best:

Mash and Shared Boil

Batch size:      5.5 gallons
Target OG:       1.055
Target FG:       1.006
Calculated IBU:  ~34
Calculated SRM:  6.3

Grain bill:
7.5 lb  Pislner Malt   (71.4%)
2.0 lb  Munich Malt    (19%)
0.5 lb  Biscuit Malt   (4.8%)
0.5 lb  Flaked Oats    (4.8%)

Mash (Batch Sparge): 147 °F @ 1.5 qts/lb

Hops:
1.0 oz Kent Goldings 5.9% AA  @ 60 minutes (21 IBU)

Traditional Dupont Half

Hops:
1.0 oz Styrian Golding 3.4% AA  @ 15 minutes (12 IBU)
1.0 oz Styrian Golding 3.4% AA  @ 1 minute   (1 IBU)

Yeast:
Blend of Wyeast 3724 and White Labs 565

Open ferment first 5 days

Start fermentation at 78 °F
Increase 1 °F every 8 hours until 93 °F
Transfer to purged keg once FG is reached
Condition at room temp for two weeks before serving

Hoppy 3711 Half

Hops:
1.0 oz Hallertau Blanc @ Hopstand starting at 185°F
1.0 oz Nelson Sauvin   @ Hopstand starting at 185°F

Yeast:
Wyeast 3711 French Saison

Ferment at ~71 °F ambient temp
Transfer to purged keg once FG is reached
Condition at room temp for two weeks before serving

Notes

2021-10-09 - Brew day. Everything went smoothly. OG 1.054. The nelson/hblanc whirlpool smelled great. Starter from the dupont yeasts smelled and tasted great. Looking forward to both of these.

2021-10-15 - Added water to the dupont airlock. Hope it doesn’t stall.

2021-10-17 - Dupont at 1.005. Success.

2021-10-18 - Kegged both. Will leave at room temp for 10 days. I would leave them longer but want to make sure they’re ready for an upcoming competition.

Dupont half has the yeast character I think of when I think of Saison. Initial impressions: this is the yeast I’ve been looking for.

3711 is totally different smell and taste. Not bad but not my favorite so far. I’ve definitely tasted this yeast before in commercial beer. It’s interesting to identify it. Hop intensity seems a bit much. Wish the yeast was a little more prominent. Maybe warmer ferment next time.

Changes for next time

The dupont half was close to what I have been looking for, but I didn’t quite get the quality of flavor I was looking for. I’ll need to iterate a bit with temp schedules and open vs closed fermentation.

I managed to avoid the dreaded fermentation stall, but maybe next time I’ll try fermenting closed and adding another yeast ~5 days in if needed. I wonder if some of the off flavors I got were from leaving the fermenter open too long.

I’ll also try going a little less aggressive with the temperature schedule. Something like: Start around 70 °F, leave stable for 48 hours, then increase slowly up to ~85 °F.

In addition to the fermentation not quite being perfect, the beer came out a bit too bitter. I’ll try for more like 15-20 IBU next time.