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Author Topic: Belle Saison Dry Yeast  (Read 66115 times)

Offline dmtaylor

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Re: Belle Saison Dry Yeast
« Reply #60 on: July 05, 2013, 08:39:30 am »
I actually split my batch and only spiced half of it with the basil and mugwort.  Well yesterday I finally got around to tasting the first bottle of non-spiced saison with this yeast.  Man oh man, turned out so nice.  Big pilsner malt aroma and flavor, along with "that Belgian character" caused by distinctive Belgian esters, also a good bit of peppery spice, a distinctive tartness and slight lemony type citrus flavor, and the aftertaste is of honey, which, I know from experience, definitely comes from the pilsner malt.  Again, I repeat, this version was NOT spiced in any way, so these characters are predominantly from the Belle Saison yeast.  Very nice saison, very good example of the style.  It is indeed quite a bit hazy, not like a hefeweizen but enough to notice, although some of the haze also seems to dissipate as the beer warms.  The most surprising thing to me was that tartness -- it's as if I'd added a little citric acid or something like that, which I did NOT.  And I fermented in all new glass equipment so I know there ain't a Lacto infection in there.  I haven't put this beer into competition yet but I will -- as a Recognized BJCP judge, I am guessing this beer would score right around a 40, or okay let's say I'm a little biased but at least 38.  I've not tasted a saison that nails the style a lot better than this.  FG was 1.002 but it doesn't taste that low, tastes like 1.008 or something like that -- there's still plenty of body to prevent it from tasting thin or watery at all.  Bottom line is: Do not fear this yeast!
Dave

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Offline morticaixavier

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Re: Belle Saison Dry Yeast
« Reply #61 on: July 08, 2013, 11:04:27 am »
Well I made the wort yesterday. going to pitch 5 gallons with a rehydrated packet of the belle saison that was terribly mistreated and spent a week in unrefrigerated heck in my suitcase. The other 5 gallons will get my house yeast blend. 
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Offline kylekohlmorgen

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Re: Belle Saison Dry Yeast
« Reply #62 on: July 08, 2013, 12:33:30 pm »
^Stress test. Sweet.

I'm rebrewing my initial experiment - this time with about 1/2 the IBUs and cooling in around 72F.

If its not super-solventy, I'll be bottling it to test some nifty new brett strains in secondary!
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Offline chezteth

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Re: Belle Saison Dry Yeast
« Reply #63 on: July 14, 2013, 04:08:44 pm »
I just transferred a saison to secondary ( for adding some toasted pecan chips ) in which I used this yeast.  The OG was 1.044 and FG was 1.000.  I have never had a beer ferment that low.  The next lowest FG was a berliner weisse at 1.002.  I wasn't expecting that low of a FG but it tastes good and has a med-low body.  So much for a low alcohol session beer. ABV is 5.8% as calculated by Beersmith.  I didn't have any troubles with it fermenting out but I did bring it to a warm room toward the end of fermentation to be sure it would finish.  The last saison I brewed stopped at 1.030.  I didn't realize it until it was too late.  I had already added the priming sugar and started bottling.  Oh well, live & learn.

Cheers,
Brandon

Offline dmtaylor

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Re: Belle Saison Dry Yeast
« Reply #64 on: July 15, 2013, 07:37:57 am »
My homebrew club had a Saison Clone War competition last Thursday, where we faced off after all having brewed the same basic recipe but we were allowed to tweak it slightly in one small way.  One guy added raisins, another added a little black pepper, etc.  But most of us used the Danstar Belle Saison yeast.  My saison using Belle plus toasted oats scored the silver medal out of 9 entries.  Not too shabby.  And the gold medalist's secret ingredient?  An extra pound of cane sugar.  Doesn't get any simpler than that.  Anyway... just proving once again that this yeast is capable of great things.  And, simplicity is often not such a terrible thing.
Dave

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Offline chezteth

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Re: Belle Saison Dry Yeast
« Reply #65 on: July 15, 2013, 10:19:21 am »
My homebrew club had a Saison Clone War competition last Thursday, where we faced off after all having brewed the same basic recipe but we were allowed to tweak it slightly in one small way.  One guy added raisins, another added a little black pepper, etc.  But most of us used the Danstar Belle Saison yeast.  My saison using Belle plus toasted oats scored the silver medal out of 9 entries.  Not too shabby.  And the gold medalist's secret ingredient?  An extra pound of cane sugar.  Doesn't get any simpler than that.  Anyway... just proving once again that this yeast is capable of great things.  And, simplicity is often not such a terrible thing.

That's great! This is why homebrewing is such a fun hobby. You can take some basic ingredients and make minor changes to get a different beer. I'm sure I will use this yeast many more times to see what it / I can do with it.
Cheers,
Brandon

Offline euge

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Re: Belle Saison Dry Yeast
« Reply #66 on: July 16, 2013, 05:18:45 pm »
I just brewed a table-strength saison with it. Fermentation was at a steady 68F so we'll see how that affects things. Regardless of constant temp without ramping fermentation has proceeded swiftly.
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Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: Belle Saison Dry Yeast
« Reply #67 on: July 16, 2013, 05:46:35 pm »
I just brewed a table-strength saison with it. Fermentation was at a steady 68F so we'll see how that affects things. Regardless of constant temp without ramping fermentation has proceeded swiftly.
Look forward to seeing how low it goes for you without the ramp up.  I hear it's a pretty voracious eater.  I've done a couple saisons in a row to experiment with strain/temp combos, but haven't used the Belle yet.
Jon H.

Offline 1vertical

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Re: Belle Saison Dry Yeast
« Reply #68 on: July 20, 2013, 05:42:57 pm »
I have got a brew made with Belle in secondary rotation waiting for a spot in the fridge.
I liked the way it fermented and attenuation was good.  more info forthcoming soon
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Offline majorvices

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Re: Belle Saison Dry Yeast
« Reply #69 on: July 21, 2013, 01:12:02 pm »
I finally got around to brewing my saison and pitched two bricks of this yeast just yesterday. Thanks for all the feedback here. Y'all gave me courage to try it without a test batch. Otoh if it turns out for cheap I'm banning you all! Lol, just kidding. Denny would break my spleen if I did that.

Offline 1vertical

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Re: Belle Saison Dry Yeast
« Reply #70 on: July 21, 2013, 03:13:21 pm »
I finally got around to brewing my saison and pitched two bricks of this yeast just yesterday. Thanks for all the feedback here. Y'all gave me courage to try it without a test batch. Otoh if it turns out for cheap I'm banning you all! Lol, just kidding. Denny would break my spleen if I did that.

Keith I read on this strain and they said the favorable UPPER temperature range has not been located.
I let mine ramp well into the 80s.
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Offline majorvices

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Re: Belle Saison Dry Yeast
« Reply #71 on: July 21, 2013, 03:15:41 pm »
I finally got around to brewing my saison and pitched two bricks of this yeast just yesterday. Thanks for all the feedback here. Y'all gave me courage to try it without a test batch. Otoh if it turns out for cheap I'm banning you all! Lol, just kidding. Denny would break my spleen if I did that.

Keith I read on this strain and they said the favorable UPPER temperature range has not been located.
I let mine ramp well into the 80s.

Cool. I'll ramp mine up some tomorrow. Thanks for the tip.

Offline 1vertical

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Re: Belle Saison Dry Yeast
« Reply #72 on: July 21, 2013, 03:21:30 pm »
Quote from some anomoulous retailer....
"Lallemand Belle Saison Ale Yeast - For the first time in brewing history, the complexity of Saison beer meets the simplicity and reliability of brewing with dry yeast. Belle Saison is the classic Belgian Saison strain, giving brewers the ability to create Saison and "Farmhouse" style ales that offer a host of complex characteristics associated with these intriguing styles. Belle Saison is meant to be fermented at warm temperatures (around 90ºF/32ºC) toward developing a unique combination of esters and aromatic characteristics that typify the best of these styles. As with Lallemand's other dry yeast varieties, Belle Saison offers unequaled fermentation performance, allowing you to create award-winning beers time and time again."
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Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: Belle Saison Dry Yeast
« Reply #73 on: July 21, 2013, 03:50:54 pm »
Quote from some anomoulous retailer....
"Lallemand Belle Saison Ale Yeast - For the first time in brewing history, the complexity of Saison beer meets the simplicity and reliability of brewing with dry yeast. Belle Saison is the classic Belgian Saison strain, giving brewers the ability to create Saison and "Farmhouse" style ales that offer a host of complex characteristics associated with these intriguing styles. Belle Saison is meant to be fermented at warm temperatures (around 90ºF/32ºC) toward developing a unique combination of esters and aromatic characteristics that typify the best of these styles. As with Lallemand's other dry yeast varieties, Belle Saison offers unequaled fermentation performance, allowing you to create award-winning beers time and time again."
Wow, didn't know that one was recommended to ferment so warm. I just fermented a saison with WY3724 @ 90, as Wyeast recommends now to prevent the stall with that strain.  It's a really weird feeling to pitch that warm after 2 decades of pitching ~ 64.  Even for Belgians that's warm.  But the hydrometer sample was really good, so those strains evidently operate on their own set of rules.
Jon H.

Offline majorvices

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Re: Belle Saison Dry Yeast
« Reply #74 on: July 21, 2013, 06:57:11 pm »
Quote from some anomoulous retailer....
"Lallemand Belle Saison Ale Yeast - For the first time in brewing history, the complexity of Saison beer meets the simplicity and reliability of brewing with dry yeast. Belle Saison is the classic Belgian Saison strain, giving brewers the ability to create Saison and "Farmhouse" style ales that offer a host of complex characteristics associated with these intriguing styles. Belle Saison is meant to be fermented at warm temperatures (around 90ºF/32ºC) toward developing a unique combination of esters and aromatic characteristics that typify the best of these styles. As with Lallemand's other dry yeast varieties, Belle Saison offers unequaled fermentation performance, allowing you to create award-winning beers time and time again."
Wow, didn't know that one was recommended to ferment so warm. I just fermented a saison with WY3724 @ 90, as Wyeast recommends now to prevent the stall with that strain.  It's a really weird feeling to pitch that warm after 2 decades of pitching ~ 64.  Even for Belgians that's warm.  But the hydrometer sample was really good, so those strains evidently operate on their own set of rules.

 Some speculation that those strains originated from a red wine yeast which ferment really warm. But I get great results from my Saison strains pitching in the 60s, ramping into the 70s. Had great results with wlp565 way into the 90s though.