If you are familiar at all with the Saison style of beer, you know that one of its very critical characteristics is that it should finish very dry. From the great Brewing Classic Styles, "the most common mistake for this style is not getting a dry enough finish. In order to get the beer to finish dry, the recipe must have a considerable amount of simple sugars."
One of the reasons that it took me so long to brew a Saison is that I have heard that many of the Saison yeasts available for homebrewers are very finicky and often stall way before they fully attenuate.
Last summer, though, I came across the article Billy Brew's Summer Saison . He mentioned what a work horse that the WYeast 3711 French Saison Yeast was. In fact, Billy's brew finished below 1.000.
Based on Billy's recommendation, I used this yeast in my Arctic Vortex Winter Saison. Then, I used it again for Hail Storm Summer Saison.
I didn't get the extreme attenuation that Billy got, but the beers that use this yeast absolutely have way higher attenuation than any of my other beers. This awesome attenuation was accomplished with no simple sugars and I really didn't have to do anything above and beyond to drive the attenuation.
As far as I am concerned, this is a super yeast.
I have not had Hail Storm yet, but the samples have tasted exactly what I think a Saison should taste like. Arctic Vortex Winter Saison had a wonderfully complex flavor that I really loved.
I will let you know how this summer Saison turns out once it is carbonated.
3711 is an awesome yeast!
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