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So you have temperature control? If so turn it up a notch or two. A brew belt round the FV might do the trick if you haven't.

AG44 Five Points Best Bitter brewed on 24/06/2021 AG44 Five Points Best Bitter Special/Best/Premium Bitter Recipe Specs ---------------- Batch Size (L): 25.0 Total Grain (kg): 4.280 Total Hops (g): 112.00 Original Gravity (OG): 1.041 (°P): 10.2 Final Gravity...

AG43 Wild Woods was brewed on 12/06/2021 AG43 Wild Woods American Pale Ale Recipe Specs ---------------- Batch Size (L): 26.0 Total Grain (kg): 5.240 Total Hops (g): 116.50 Original Gravity (OG): 1.046 (°P): 11.4 Final Gravity (FG): 1.007 (°P): 1.8...

If that's the case wouldn't we all end up with over-attenuated beers every time?

Oh dear, not much action here recently. I have a series of beers to write up and a couple of updates. Updates first: AG37 'Out in the fields' Saison was a good brew. Fermented long, several weeks to properly condition, kegged and drank steadily and slowly. It wasn't a "sipper" but did have...

Which yeast are you using? Some Saison yeasts can stall, that's why many advise to start fermentation at 23degC and steadily keep ramping the temperature up until done. I had a Saison stall at about 25 degC and it only kicked back into life after steadily raising to 27degC at 0.5degC per 12...

Useful info here: Decoction Mashing

It might be a crazy suggestion, how about trying a decoction as part of your mash schedule? Mash in low at about 63degC for 10 minutes (not too long, just enough to get the pH down and get the enzynes working, then take off a few litres of mash and boil for 5-10 minutes. Add back into the mash...

I recall that German brewers typically use a thinner mash. Your figure of 1.5 l per pound roughly equates to my metric brewing equivalent of roughly 2.7 l/ kg. The anecdotal figure for German brewers if I recall correctly is 5l / kg, so you have plenty to play with. Thinking that many brewers...

The numbers tell you how long the good needs to be boiled for. If a recipe says put challenger hops in at 90 minutes, then put them in at the start, i.e. when the wort starts boiling. Then after 80 minutes have elapsed, you add your 10 minute hop addition which will be boiled for... yes you've...

That's how I read it. Interesting if that is the case, good reason to ferment higher. Belle Saison pretty consistent in other attributes across all temperatures other than fusels. If it's incorrect then it makes me doubt the whole series of charts.

@stripeyjoe I have space for three kegs in my recently cobbled together keezer, but I choose to store any lower carbonated British ales outside at 14-16degC (ish) and run a line into the keezer to attach to a tap. So storing and serving can be done at any temperature if that's your preference...

I went-a-hunting today on more info regarding Diastaticus and the STA-1 gene. This document from Lallemand is worth a look as it gives a side-by-side comparison of three of their yeasts and affect on fusels, esters and phenols at three different temperatures. Interesting for me is their...

Oops, just realised my mistake. N+1 is the magic formula, so it's inevitable!

6 is the magic number. I'm testing that theory at the mo. I'll let you know when 7 is the magic number acheers.

It's always a relief to see that airlock bubbling. Especially when using out of date yeast. I've just checked on mine too. All good.

On temperature: I'm coming round to believing that pitching temperature can be almost as important as fermenting temperature. I don't fully understand the theory, but in practice I seem to get better beers when pitching yeast just below fermentation temperature, so I'd pitch at 22 degrees...

You do need to at least give it a try. It's a different taste from other Belgian yeasts, more subtle and earthy I find, but slightly peppery too. I've decided to keep one plastic FV specifically for Saison fermentation just in case. Of course!

H, you have unearthed some very interesting info here. I can't claim to understand the technical aspects of the chemistry but I do appreciate the evidence and applied science. That's intriguing about the differential effect of certain hop+yeast+hot-or-cold-side combos, such as cascade on...

The Lallemand Belle Saison yeast is definitely a diastaticus strain. I haven't checked any others.