Brainstorming - Apple and Pear Saison

[TasunkaWitko]

I'll check the recipe files later, when I have access to an actual computer rather than a phone with a tiny screen and keyboard; however, I wanted to open the topic and hopefully get the conversation started.

The Beautiful Mrs. Tas suggested that I brew a beer with apples and pears. We are in the middle of a heat wave, and I have no temperature control. I can't babysit a swamp cooler because I work half an hour from home, so a saison came to mind.

I've only brewed one saison, a jalapeno saison from a pre-mixed package, so I don't know an awful lot about the style. Some preliminary reading, however, was encouraging, especially the way words such as "spicy," "fruity notes," "refreshing" and "crisp" get thrown around. I'll post some additional thoughts on that when I can.

Some information:

It would be a 1-gallon, all-grain batch

It would lean towards malty rather than hoppy, but hopefully in a good way that allows for a dry, crisp ale

S33 is the most likely candidate for yeast, but that is not written in stone

So, what day the knights of the round table? I'll have more thoughts as this develops, but figure that we at least have a starting point.

Thanks in advance for any input -

Ron

 

[saltymirv]

S-33 isn't a saison yeast. It appears Belgian, but then it says it has a neutral flavor?? I would skip that for sure and get a real saison yeast. Wyeast 3711 and 3724 are popular choice. If you like dry yeast there is Belle Saison, which is fairly similar to 3711.

Since you are looking to add apple/pear, I would keep the malt bill simple and let those flavors shine. Something like 90% pilsner, 10% wheat would be perfect. As far as how much fruit to add, I haven't worked with either of those. I think about 1lb of fruit per gallon is reasonable though

 

[thehaze]

For those who are not yet aware of this, Fermentis has released a Saison dry yeast, namely SafAle BE-134.

Read more on it here: http://www.fermentis.com/brewing/homebrewing/product-range/

I was not able to find it anywhere, but I also have not looked for it.

The attenuation is a whopping 90%. There are no details on what yeast this might be.

There is also a thread here, with some early impressions: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=632340

 

[rhys333]

I agree with saltymirv's comments. Also, if it were me, I might go with either apple or pear instead of both. Pear is really subtle and might get lost in the mix. As for the apple, maybe a tart granny smith would work well? The tart flavor might work well in a saison.

 

[madscientist451]

I make a batch of pear cider every fall and have run several yeast trials with apple cider and different strains of Saison yeast. My conclusion is that I don't care for the Saison character in cider. It just doesn't go with it.
The pear cider doesn't taste anything like pears, except maybe a faint hint of flavor. I mostly use the pear cider for blending with apple cider that has too much of an acid note.
My go-to cider yeast is Brewer's best cider house select, but you can also use a white wine yeast like 71-b or Q-23.
Note that pressing the juice out of pears is a total PITA, really ripe pears turn into mush and won't press. I found an Amish farm that sells pear cider and I'll probably press my own as well, but I press them before they are fully ripe.
You can brew a beer with added apple and/or pear juice, but getting the flavor combination you are looking for will be very difficult.
A better practice is to make the cider and beer separately and then blend to taste when they are both done.
If you are brewing 1 gallon batches, you can get temperature control really cheap by using a cardboard box and frozen water bottles. Add some 1" foam insulation or use whatever you can round up to insulate, like bubble wrap, or a box within a box and foam peanuts in between. You can easily maintain 10 degrees below ambient temp. You just change the frozen water bottles twice a day. There are several you tube videos showing how to do this, but its easy to figure out your own way as well.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Hi, guys - and thanks for weighing in on this - I greatly appreciate the input. I really like the information about temperature control, too.

I'll see what I can come up with. I am most familiar with dry yeast, but I am not averse to using liquid, at all. It sounds like any pear that I might use would be subtle indeed, so I'll have to weigh that against the fact that this is a request from SWMBO; keeping that in mind, I'll most likely give it a shot anyway, but maybe we can work it in a way to maximize what we're doing. With the possibility of some fair temperature control, perhaps I might branch the concept out into other styles.

 

[thehaze]

Hi, guys - and thanks for weighing in on this - I greatly appreciate the input. I really like the information about temperature control, too.

I'll see what I can come up with. I am most familiar with dry yeast, but I am not averse to using liquid, at all. It sounds like any pear that I might use would be subtle indeed, so I'll have to weigh that against the fact that this is a request from SWMBO; keeping that in mind, I'll most likely give it a shot anyway, but maybe we can work it in a way to maximize what we're doing. With the possibility of some fair temperature control, perhaps I might branch the concept out into other styles.

SafAle BE-134 now in stock from brewuk.co.uk: https://www.brewuk.co.uk/safale-be134-yeast.html

Quite possibly it has already reached the majority of big/bigger retailers.