My 10 gallon pale

Wow! I just tasted the saison yeast fermented batch of my pale ale. No matter how much I knew yeast effects the character of a beer I was still amazed. The Northwest ale 5 gallons is a good basic pale ale. Crisp and hoppy without alot of harsh bitterness. Similar to say Sierra Nevada pale ale. The Saison yeast fermented 5 gallons has that bubble gum nose with a slight peppery finish, and most suprizingly to me much less hop character. I guess the aromatics of the yeast overpower the hops. Keep in mind this was a 10 gallon boil so the batches are identicle in every way except the yeast. No one would ever guess they are the same recipie; they taste COMPLETELY different. Both are great and won’t last long! If you’ve never tried this and have a big enough kettle for a 10 gallon boil, I highly reccomend it! Next I’m thinking of a big stout, one with Irish or British yeast, one with Belgian. Any other ideas? I LOVE this hobby!!!

Which yeast and what temps? Sounds delicious.

i did a RIS with an american lager yeast, don’t do it. doesn’t have enough character.

Wyeast 1332 (Northwest ale) and 3724 (Belgian Saison) were the yeasts. It was an all grain batch:
10 # 2-row
4 # 6- row
3 # Cara Vienne
2 # flaked wheat

Hops were on the lighter side:

2/3 oz nugget(15.1%) :60
1/3 nugget, 1/2 Citra, 1 Cascade :10
1/2 Citra, 1 Cascade at flame out

OG was 1.046. I fermented the Northwest ale at about 66 and the Saison at 78. The Saison took almost 2 weeks longer to finish fermenting than the N. ale; I really should have made a starter with that one. However, patience saved the day. When I kegged the N. ale the Saison was still at 1.017 with no visible activity. I read that you can’t always see activity even when fermentation is still going so I waited. It finished at 1.008 so I’m convinced. Still waiting for it to fully carb in the keg but it’s already tasting great even flat…

To each their own is the point of this hobby, but I see your still using good percentages of six row.

Are you doing this tactic as a cost savings measure or do you actually find a gain here. This is one of the most confusing processes I have seen in a minute. I struggle to find what the benefit is, two row is perfectly balanced in almost every way, and I know I spoke to this before, but six row is much higher in protein, tannin and polyphenols and the husk to starch ratio is much higher. So you receive a lower extract also.

Thank you for your time if you will indulge me on this. Just call me ITsConfused for the minute!!

Interesting experiment. I have a couple things I want to try on a smaller scale. In the next week I am going to do a double brew day - two 6 gallon batches. Going to divide each batch into two 3 gallon ferments - so at the end of the day I will end up with four 3 gallon batches.

I am going to brew a slightly different version of Dead Ringer - same basic grain bill, slightly different hopping. Want to test the effect of mash temps and the effect of yeast.

The first batch I am going to mash at 150ish and then divide the batch and pitch 1272 in one, 1056 in the other.

The Second mash at 155ish and divide, pitch 1272 and 1056.

This should allow me to see the effect of mash temps at higher/lower ends of the range as well as the flavor profile of two different yeasts - all on beers that are otherwise the same.

Also looking to do something similar with an amber ale I brew - testing yeast (1007/1056), Maybe also the use of Munich malt in larger proportions in this brew.

Obviously, a lot can be done in the area of dry hopping.

Water/water additions would be interesting as well.

There are lots of possibilities, and I think it is something that can definitely help improve brewing knowledge.

[quote=“ITsPossible”]To each their own is the point of this hobby, but I see your still using good percentages of six row.

Are you doing this tactic as a cost savings measure or do you actually find a gain here. This is one of the most confusing processes I have seen in a minute. I struggle to find what the benefit is, two row is perfectly balanced in almost every way, and I know I spoke to this before, but six row is much higher in protein, tannin and polyphenols and the husk to starch ratio is much higher. So you receive a lower extract also.

Thank you for your time if you will indulge me on this. Just call me ITsConfused for the minute!![/quote]

I did it to make up for the lack of husk on the flaked wheat. I’ve had efficiency issues with wheat in the past but really like it in beers, so I wanted the extra husk (easier lautering) and enzyme power (conversion) that 6 row has over 2 row. I think your flavor concerns are valid, but probably wouldn’t be perceptable in my brew unless used for all of the base malt. In this particular recipie, I think I actually INCREASED efficiency with the use of 20% 6 row. At least that’s what I’ve read is a practical benefit to its use. It seemed to work; I had great efficiency and an easy sparge…

Ok, I appreciate your honesty & time in response and now stand unconfused which was my main goal. Sorry for the brief hyjack and back to brass tacks…Congrats on the gravy tasting brews.