Scrappy Hound House Saison #3

Round 3!  My first and second attempts at a delicious saison went surprisingly well.  I really enjoyed each iteration and felt that there was nothing wrong with the two beers, but they could also be improved on.  In this version, I'm sticking to the same general grain bill, but with a little big more emphasis on wheat.

My big change from the past two versions is that I'm introducing a new yeast this time.  In the past I've used French Saison Wyeast 3711 and although I love how vicious that yeast rips through a beer (down to sub 1.005 in no time), the flavor profile isn't exactly what I'm looking for.  I got in touch with the 2014 saison winner and he uses a split of 3711 and the Belgian saison strain, Wyeast 3724.  I had heard stories about the Belgian strain being finnicky, so I had shied away from it, but I think that with some 3711 in there, it'll have no problem ripping through the wort.  I aimed to pitch the yeasts in a 50/50 ratio (I built up starters, and eyeballed how much I pitched), so hopefully we'll get the Belgian profile with the fermenting capabilities of the French strain (in a perfect world).  Oh, and as far as the last batch where I messed with the water profile, I'm keeping it pretty plain this batch, but I am adding some NaCl to see what that does.

Additionally, as much as I love plain saisons, my Fiance isn't the biggest fan, and since she's mainly the other one who drinks these beers, I'm going to split this batch.  I'm thinking that I'll do 1 gallon straight, 1 gallon on some fruit (she suggested Mango, might do Apricots since they're in season) and I think we're going to sour a gallon and maybe pitch some brett.  All in due time.

Scrappy Hound House Saison #3

3 gallons

74% efficiency

60 min boil

3 lb Belgian Pils (67%)

1 lb White Wheat (22%)

0.5 lb Vienna (11%)

0.75 oz Tettnang (60 min)

Wyeast 3724/Wyeast 3711 (50/50) @ 65F ambient.  Mash at 148F.

OG 1.042 | FG 1.006 | ABV 4.7% | IBU 26

Ca 41 | Mg 2 | Na 56 | Cl 87 | SO4 80 | HCO3 38

6/21/15: Brewday.  OG 1.040.  3+ gallons into fermenter.  Cooled overnight and pitched in morning.

6/22/15: Visible fermentation by night.  

7/1/15: Down to 1.001.  Temperature bumped to 70F

7/11/15: Bottled 1 gallon.  

7/19/15: Added 2 packages Goya Mango puree to 1 gallon, dry hopped another with 1 oz. Nelson.