I hate to say it, but as a carbed sample last night, I wasn't really happy with it. I think it is an abbey style yeast, not a saison...my problem really is with its use for a Belgian Golden. The Beer had Belgian sugar at high Krausen or just past that point. The flavor is somewhat Trappist-like, but kinda "flat", without much in the way of esters, other than a subtle pear note. I am going to let one warm up quite a bit and see if that has any effect. All things considered, I would say that the flavor profile lacks the complexity that I have come to taste with the liquid yeasts that are Trappist originated. My recipe was basically Pilsner 8 lbs, Wheat 2 pounds, lightly hopped with Hallertauer and Hallertauer Mittelfruh, but I don't recall the specifics on that presently. I may try it in a Dubbel to see if there is any better result.
I tried in a dubbel. I don't like it. It's just not a nice blend of flavors. There's too many sharp edges with this yeast. It's just odd. I remember Fermentis trying to call that S-33 yeast a "belgian yeast" too. It wasn't. This, Abbaye yeast, doesn't have any qualities that I would even begin to say are "Belgian." I tried it in the recommended range, at about 68, and finally ramping up to 72F at the end.
This isn't the most helpful description of it, but I just don't know what to say about it other than it's just odd. If you've tried that T-58 yeast, you'll get it. That's another weirdo yeast. Sour, pepper, weird. Abbaye isn't like T58 in any way, except both are weird.
For some reason I am the eternal optimist with these dry yeasts and I am continually disappointed. Of all the ones I tried, and I have tried tons of them, the ones that I like the best are the least marketed and least popular.
Safale K-97 for instance. Fantastic alt yeast. Really awesome. Clean, crisp, malty. Everything you want in an alt yeast. I would use it for a cream ale, maybe a festbier, biere de garde, dry stout maybe, kolsch. Very nice yeast.
Not to get too far off the mark here since we're talking about the Fermentis Abbaye, but they make good products, but they insist on selling the good yeasts like S-189, K-97 in 500g bricks only. I heard that K-97 is coming out in homebrew sachets someday soon, but for how many years have people been buying the half kilo bricks and repacking it? At least a decade. As a business, take a hint!