Saison - Keg or Bottle?

[Oneflewover]

Hope everyone has had a great weekend. I've got a saison in the FV and I'm turning my thoughts to packaging it. I'm leaning towards bottling due the use of diastaticus yeast potentially hanging around in the keg and because I like a well-carbonated saison. So far I've only used the cornies for beers with low / moderate carbonation. Any thoughts?

 

[Leon103]

Hope everyone has had a great weekend. I've got a saison in the FV and I'm turning my thoughts to packaging it. I'm leaning towards bottling due the use of diastaticus yeast potentially hanging around in the keg and because I like a well-carbonated saison. So far I've only used the cornies for beers with low / moderate carbonation. Any thoughts?

I keg mine. Not issues with the reusing the keg. Plus I carbed higher and able to have it sit at normal serving temps without it dropping.

 

[phettebs]

I've done both. I keg all my Belgian beers at a higher carb level and they work just fine. I'm lazy and don't want to ever go back to bottling so I make it work for whatever style of beer I brew.

 

[AnimatedGIF]

Hope everyone has had a great weekend. I've got a saison in the FV and I'm turning my thoughts to packaging it. I'm leaning towards bottling due the use of diastaticus yeast potentially hanging around in the keg and because I like a well-carbonated saison. So far I've only used the cornies for beers with low / moderate carbonation. Any thoughts?

Hi @Oneflewover - did you bottle or keg in the end? I have a saison in my FV and cannot decide whether to bottle or keg.

 

[samale]

Hi @Oneflewover - did you bottle or keg in the end? I have a saison in my FV and cannot decide whether to bottle or keg.

My advice would be to bottle, it's very hard to achieve the correct carbonation in the keg. I have tried both methods and much prefer bottle conditioned.

 

[AnimatedGIF]

Thanks Samale, sounds good to me.
I was just reading a thread on an American forum where the conclusion was the same. That lead me to the question - can bottles hold 2.8 - 3.5 volumes of CO2? If so, do they not foam up when uncapping?

 

[samale]

Thanks Samale, sounds good to me.
I was just reading a thread on an American forum where the conclusion was the same. That lead me to the question - can bottles hold 2.8 - 3.5 volumes of CO2? If so, do they not foam up when uncapping?

I normally go 2.5 Vols, I also prefer Belgian beers to be in 330ml if possible.

 

[samale]

What yeast did you use

 

[AnimatedGIF]

What yeast did you use

I used Mangrove Jacks M29 French Saison yeast. 2.5 volumes sounds good, and I have plenty of solid 330ml bottles available.
Thanks!

 

[sifty]

I've carbed 500ml bottles to 3.2 CO2 and they handled it no bother. Well chilled before opening and no foam until you pour, where a lush head appeared as desired...

[Edit] ensuring fermentation is complete before bottling, of course...

 

[dave_77]

I prefer Belgians that are bottled conditioned..whenever I have a commercial canned saison it's never carbonated higher enough as too much carbonation is lost in canning or it's too hard to package at the correct pressure. As a homebrewer this isn't a problem unless entering comps. Quality and consistency of carbonation is better when bottle conditioning but not a big deal if your not sharing or entering comps.

In the past I have bottled half a 19l batch for sharing and comps and used my 9 litre keg for the other half.

 

[obscure]

I do sometimes keg my Saisons in the summer, but on the whole I lean towards bottling, primarily as I prefer not to tie up my kegs for extended periods, and while they can be very drinkable after only three or four weeks to condition, after trying some of the ones that I have left for six months or more I have come to the view that I prefer them after fairly extensive conditioning.

 

[AnimatedGIF]

All good to know, thanks.

In the past I have bottled half a 19l batch for sharing and comps and used my 9 litre keg for the other half.

I have considered doing this. I'll either keg 9L and bottle the rest, or just bottle the lot.

 

[Oneflewover]

Hi @Oneflewover - did you bottle or keg in the end? I have a saison in my FV and cannot decide whether to bottle or keg.

Evening mate. I kegged it, and it was absolutely fine, no problem at all. In fact I must've kegged another since as I've got a keg with saison on (can't be the same one, must learn to keep better records! )

 

[AnimatedGIF]

Evening mate. I kegged it, and it was absolutely fine, no problem at all. In fact I must've kegged another since as I've got a keg with saison on (can't be the same one, must learn to keep better records! )

Nice one.
I find it's hard to keep records when you're enjoying the end result

 

[hoppyscotty]

I've done it both ways and had no issues either way. Seem to achieve a better 'quality' head when bottle conditioned for some reason even compared to long method for force carbonation vs fast carbonation. Have messed around with a carb stone in a keg but not yet drilled in that process to get a feel for it.

Bottling is a PITA though and I tend to keg and bottle what I need from the keg so that favours force carbonation, though I've never tried conditioning in a keg...not sure if this is a thing? I would expect you need a floating dip tube and to manage your headspace well but in principle I can't see any reason why it wouldn't work.