Warm Fermented Saison with w/ Safbrew t-58

[nanop]

So I had this buried in another thread but figured that others might benefit from my experiences with Fermentis Safbrew T-58 yeast. I hadn't intended to brew this recipe with it but my starter seemed ineffective and since I had some in my fridge and really wanted to get thru the vigorous fermentation before I leave town for the weekend, I pitched it.

The recipe (as brewed):

Name: Saison Fuerte
OG: 1.058
FG: 1.016 (hopefully lower...)
ABV: 5.5%
SRM: 6 (likely darker due to starter)
IBU: 40.9
Boiling Time: 75 mins
Batch Size: 5.25 gallons
Boil Volume: 3 gallons
Yeast:
- 500mL of 1L starter from dregs of Jack D'or and Ommegang Hennepin (failed to start at 50h+ after pitch but still may impart some flavor)
- 1 packet Fermentis Safbrew T-58 (pitched 50+ hours after the above starter)

_Fermentables:
4lbs Northern Brewer Gold Malt Syrup (46%, 36PPG)
2lbs Northern Brewer Wheat Malt Syrup (23%, 36PPG)
1lb 4oz Belg. Pilsner Malt (14%, 34PPG)
10oz Table Suar (7%, 46PPG)
6oz Turbinado Sugar (4%, 44PPG)
5oz Belgian Biscuit Malt (4%, 35PPG)
2oz Oats (1%, 34PPG)
1oz Gambrinous Honey Malt (1%, 28PPG)

Minimash in 2.5qt water at 148F for 1.5hour, then 155for 15mins

_Hops:
First Wort (75+ mins): 1.125oz Chinook (13% AA)*
30 mins: 0.25oz Mt. Hood (5.5% AA)
20 mins: 0.25oz Mt. Hood (5.5% AA)
15 mins: 0.25oz Mt. Hood (5.5% AA)
15 mins: 0.25oz French Strisserspalt (2.9% AA)
10 mins: 0.25oz Cascade (7.0% AA)
05 mins: 0.50oz French Strisserspalt (2.9% AA)
01 mins: 0.25oz Mt. Hood (5.5% AA)
01 mins: 0.25oz French Strisserspalt (2.9% AA)
01 mins: 0.25oz Cascade (7.0% AA)
01 mins: 0.25oz Centennial (8.9% AA)

Note:
It took close to 30mins to bring the water to a boil so the Chinook were in for 30mins pre-boil + 75mins of boil.

---

So, I cold crashed my starter (made from the dregs of Jack D'or and Hennepin) for a day in the fridge, decanted the top 500mL, warmed to close to room temp and pitched into the 5gals of 76deg wort and shook vigorously for 5mins. I rearated a few times over the next 30hours. At 50+ hours after pitch, there was no activity.

Worried that the starter was ineffective (dormant, dead or too small), I reaerated and pitched the packet T58 (marked with an expiration date of 1/2012).
2 hours after pitch: fermentation had begun (76 deg)
4 hours: there was a lot of movement in the wort. (78 deg)
12 hours: a nice 1" krausen had formed, airlock is bubbling 2 per second! (80deg)

I think going to ride this out without controlling the temperature. Ambient right now is ~ 75deg and expected to drop tonight.

I'll report back in this thread with updates on fermentation/bottling/tasting. I've read mixed reports of using t58 in a warm ferment, so I'm interested to see what my results are.

 

[nanop]

17 hours: still about 2 bubbles per second. Carboy temp was about 84 degrees. I've wrapped a soaking wet cotton shirt around it and have a fan blowing at it. Ambient temp is 78deg.

 

[dcp27]

thats unfortunate to hear that your dreg starter potentially didnt work out. did the starter show any life? what size did you start it out at? I know the Jack dregs work cuz I just made a saison with them myself

good luck with the T-58, I'm interested to hear how it turns out

 

[nanop]

I started w/ like 100mL of cold-crashed bottle dregs in 250mL of 1.030 wort. I kept shaking it and it looked like I had significant yeast growth (but no visible activity). 2 days later I stepped up by adding ~700mL of 1.035 wort. Cold crashed in fridge for 2-days and found between 0.5 and 1.0cm of compacted sediment at the bottom of my 1L flask. I decanted 1/2 the liquid (leaving about 450mL in the flask), then shook the flask to resuspend the yeast and allowed it to come to room temp. Pitched it into 5 gallons of 76deg wort, waited about 50 hours and saw no activity at all. Maybe I should have waited longer but I was nervous and decided to pitch the T58...

I'm glad to hear that it worked for you though-- that makes me want to try again.

 

[dcp27]

weird, thats more or less what I did, except I didn't decant anything. Mine started within 24 hours and I got great attenuation out of it too (~90%), so its definitely worth another shot if you want to do it. I just put in the keg a few days ago tho so I don't really have a grasp on how good it tastes yet, plus the falconers flight hops kinda dominated the sample I had.

 

[nanop]

I'll definitely try again then! In the meantime, I get to try the t-58. I was originally planning on using it on a less 'complex' recipe but, oh well, nothing like giving it a true trial by fire....

 

[dcp27]

oh definitely. if the sample tastes good, be sure to wash some of that, you could have an interesting blend on your hands. just in case you haven't seen it: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/yeast-washing-illustrated-41768/

good luck!

 

[Guess42]

Unless I'm way off bases here I believe Jack D'Or is brewed using a mixture of yeast, one of which is T-58. So if anything you have the same blend, just with different concentrations?

 

[nanop]

Guess42, you're probably right. But given the rapid start to fermentation within hours of pitching the T58, I'm probably 98% T58.

 

[nanop]

48 hours after pitch of the t58 and bubbling has slowed to once every 2-3 seconds. Carboy temp is 76degrees (though the ambient temp has also dropped to about 72). Krausen has begun to shrink a bit and activity in the wort has decreased. The puffs from airlock smell awesome - a very floral/citrus hop aroma with belgian undertones. I'm hoping for the best.

 

[nanop]

I moved this to secondary today as I won't be able to bottle till after Halloween. It was in the primary for 21 days (though only 18 was w/ the T-58 - three were with the presumed-dead starter).

Anyways... I took a gravity reading: 1.013 @ 72deg which translates to ~1.014 (from an OG of 10.58). Not too shabby! It might get another point or two lower as it sits in the secondary for a few weeks.

I took a taste and, even drinking it at 72 degrees, I couldn't detect any fusels .... even though I fermented warm (it hit at least 80 degrees on the sticker-thermometer and I'd bet it was a few degrees warmer in the center of the carboy).

Boy, I can't wait to taste this thing cold!

 

[nate_ive]

How did this turn out? I pitched t-58 for the first time this weekend on a saison type brew with buddha's hand zest. I'm hoping the fruitiness of the yeast compliments the citrus of the zest...