Citra in a saison?

[Marchborne]

Would love your opinions, please:

I recently brewed a citra-dry-hopped IPA which was a hit. Now I am heading on a work road trip, and would like to leave something in the fermenter while I am on the road. Since I won't have any way to keep up with my usual temp control method (water bath with frozen bottles), and my basement is typically 75o, I thought to maybe try a Belgian or Saison yeast with the citra, for the higher temp tolerance.

Would citra work with a saison yeast, or should I wait until I'm back home to watch the temps?

Thanks.

 

[BertusBrew]

I made a saison/ipa with citra and used Wyeast 3711 (French Saison) and it turned out great. I brought a keg of it to a party and it was a huge hit.

 

[HokieBrewer]

Recently kegged a hopbursted saison with Sorachi Ace, Amarillo, and Citra. WLP Saison II and fermented at around 73. Pretty darn tasty, but I wish I had dryhopped it. The saison esters drown out a lot of the hop aroma.

 

[Piratwolf]

I use Cascade & 3711 to maximize the citrus character, so I seen reason not to go with Citra.

 

[pjj2ba]

My house saison uses sorachi ace and citra hops. It is very nice!

 

[Coff]

Recently kegged a hopbursted saison with Sorachi Ace, Amarillo, and Citra. WLP Saison II and fermented at around 73. Pretty darn tasty, but I wish I had dryhopped it. The saison esters drown out a lot of the hop aroma.

I did a Saison with WLP Saison I hopbursted with Citra, Centennial and a very little bit of Simcoe. I too wish I would have dry hopped it bc Im expereicing the same thing you are. The peper notes can overpower the hop aroma. Its odd, sometimes I take a whiff and get pepper and Belgian esters, another time I get smacked in the face with Citra

...all that being said I love the beer. I did a 10 gallon batch, the other half got a Farmhouse Brett blend and Im really excited to see how that version turns out.

 

[FarmerTed]

I did a 3711/Brett B saison with citra; it turned out well (dry as hell), but I too wish I'd thrown in a dry-hop.

 

[Marchborne]

Thanks for all the ideas. What with the storm, I didn't get to brew this weekend, much less get online. My IPA used chinook and citra, with a dry hop-- now y'all have me thinking cascade, sorachi, etc., just not sure.

It's pretty hot in the basement, around 77 now, and that seems to be pushing it. If I get a brew in, maybe I'll try a water bath/towel without ice, just to knock the edge off the heat.

 

[smiller]

I did a Saison with WLP Saison I hopbursted with Citra, Centennial and a very little bit of Simcoe. I too wish I would have dry hopped it bc Im expereicing the same thing you are. The peper notes can overpower the hop aroma. Its odd, sometimes I take a whiff and get pepper and Belgian esters, another time I get smacked in the face with Citra

I did very similar beer to you and Hokie using Saison II, Sorachi Ace, Amarillo, and Simcoe. I dry-hopped it with 2 oz Sorachi Ace and 1 oz Simcoe for 10 days and the results are great. BIG lemon aroma with subdued pine. You can definitely still detect the peppery, fruity esters, but they don't drown out the hops by any means. It's a great balance of aroma.

 

[BrewingChemist]

aren't saison's supposed to ferment warm? 77 doesn't sound too bad! I recently did a saison that got up above 80F and it turned out amazing! i'd say try it and find out!! and then report back!

 

[beergolf]

Don't worry about the heat with a Saison yeast. 3711 works great and 3724 likes it even hotter.

Brew it up.

 

[nberna19]

FWIW I know that in Stone's book they dry hop with Citra only (0.77 oz) for 7 Days for their Saison Du Buff collaboration beer w/ Victory and Dogfish Head

 

[daksin]

Dude! Do the exact same IPA recipe, but use the saison yeast! Something a la Cali-Belgique or Le Freak (normal IPAs fermented with saison yeast). It will be awesome with the citra!

 

[Marchborne]

Just to update: I brewed the citra saison, but due to my own brew day screwups, I wound up with an OG of 1.113! Yikes. Still planning to dry hop with Citra, but now thinking about DHing with 2 oz instead of 1 oz. might as well go BIG, like the rest of this beer. BTW, I was shooting for 1.090 (big, but not crazed).

Let's hope this turns out okay.

 

[makomachine]

Let us know how it turns out! I've got some washed 3711 that I'm planning a BIPA around and have 6 oz of Citra and 5 oz of simco I'm debating on playing with in the beer. Thinking a simple malt bill 2row and a little crystal 60.

Edit: not talking about all of those hops in the beer, just what I have on hand!