Brewery Tour: A Closer Look at Brasserie Dupont's Saison Dupont Yeast and Fermentation

[@bobsylvester3190]

Green bottles for Saison! Something I’ve been preaching for almost 20 years!

[@DougPipersr]

Bob, I'll take the bait. Why is green colored glass better Saisons?

[@lArtisanBrasseur]

VERY INTERESTING! As a french brewer, I can almost hear the word he is trying to translate in his head. Very nice, it's almost a kveik temperature range. Will definetly test laying down refermentation in the future.

[@DougPipersr]

Oh really? Do you think there's a better word than my quick 'needy'?

[@vikramjitsingh4538]

love your videos Doug.....thanks for taking us to such hidden gems of Belgian beer renaissance.......

[@DougPipersr]

Olivier Dedeycker was such a wonderful host. This was during COVID and yet he still took the time to provide us with a full tour! Thanks for watching! Have you visited the Brewery?

[@vikramjitsingh4538]

@@DougPipersr not yet Doug, would love to go once, as I have heard so much about this great brewery.......very old worldly......I was surprised to know that their brewhouse is a simple piece of equipment........... I have brewed a couple of times using WLP565, that yeast is diasticatus, hence it dries the beer so much..........but a great tour of this farmhouse brewery..........cheers

[@vikramjitsingh4538]

you should make a video on Saint Somewhere Brewing co from Florida......that would be interesting I suppose........thanks lots

[@DougPipersr]

@@vikramjitsingh4538 Oh I've gotten to know Bob Sylvester. He started St. Somewhere, but sold it and moved to NC not far from my home. What would interest you about Saint Somewhere?

[@josephbalinski]

I just bought a 4 pack of Saison Dupont. Great beer, shared it with a friend.

[@DougPipersr]

Amazingly delicious beer! According to Olivier ....the 750 bottles will taste somewhat different than the cans due to the increased airspace. Olivier said he preferred the 750's vs any other packaging. Compare them sometime.

[@josephbalinski]

@@DougPipersr Will do. I've only seen the cans so far. Thanks!

[@piazzonim]

Thanks for letting us tour the brewery, and getting behind the scenes. I have a feeling his 750ml bottles will see an uptick in sales!

[@DougPipersr]

I wish we weren't wearing masks and the brewery noise wasn't so piercing! But filming during COVID has its challenges! The increased complexity in the 750's was a revelation for me, but it makes total sense. Now I want to ask him about the cans. They must be even more challenging than the small bottles!

[@AdamRossD]

Both primary and secondary fermentations occur in vessels wider than they are tall :) I'm guessing that in primary, the lower head pressure encourages yeast growth and really lets the yeast express themselves, sort of like a Yorkshire square. Laying the bottle on its side for conditioning is like a mini lagering tank - I'm sure all that extra surface area for the yeast helps crank up carbonation.

[@DougPipersr]

Yes, a maximum depth of 1.2 meters seems to be the max Olivier uses. They've probably learned that the "hard-way" as they just finished installing a bunch of new fermentation vessels and they're all shallow too. Olivier is a Master Brewer and his wife is a microbiologist. It's clear they made a huge investment in equipment in order to bottle condition on the side. He must believe it makes a huge difference. Also Oliver prefers the 750ml fermented Saison Dupont over the smaller bottles. It must have been a huge change to deal with the new 16-oz cans.

[@AdamRossD]

@@DougPipersr I imagine the move to cans was an enormous challenge. I picked up some of the first cans New Glarus released (NG is a brewery known for bottle conditioning). They tasted a little unfermented. I haven't done a side-by-side of can-vs-bottle of DuPont yet. I think I can get both in my market...

[@JeffJames1]

Great video, thank you Doug! I have tried three times to brew a beer like Dupont but have never been satisfied with the results. The first time I cultured yeast from the bottom of a Dupont bottle. The other two times I used Wyeast 3724. Experienced the stall at 1.035 except for last time, where I used foil instead of an airlock to reduce pressure in the fermenter. My fourth attempt is in the fermenter right now. I was inspired to try again after watching your interview with Bob Sylvester of Saint Somewhere. I switched up the grain bill, did away with Vienna malt and added some rye. I asked a question about yeast during the broadcast and got a suggestion from Michele Wonder in the comments to try Omega Saisonstein. The ferment is in its fifth day, going strong, and I'm cautiously optimistic!

[@DougPipersr]

Michele has some great suggestions! I hope this one goes better. Apparently Olivier's wife is in charge of the DuPont yeast and she's a trained microbiologist. That's apparently what it takes to manage this "terrible" yeast!

[@vikramjitsingh4538]

what a temperamental yeast......and the stall at 1.036, it never fails.......thanks

[@DougPipersr]

Yes, I wish we could have spent more time on the yeast, but his wife wasn't there and apparently she's the yeast expert!

[@fredcarneiro3671]

Hey Doug! Thanks for the vídeos, your channel is definitely my favourite ❤️

[@DougPipersr]

Wow Fred! What a wonderful compliment! I enjoy making them and sharing them with you! Thanks!

[@harkjohnny]

fantastic video. thanks for sharing

[@DougPipersr]

Thanks for the encouragement! There's a new one coming this week with Olivier explaining the tasting experience in the tap room.

[@smitty7592]

Overall a very excellent video of a brewery that is highly revered. Thank you for sharing this. The sound in the brewery, even with captioning, made most of the first half unintelligible. Still, visually it was quite interesting.

[@DougPipersr]

I'm working on editing the captioning. Yes, it was a noisy place. And masks made it even more challenging. Thank you for watching!

[@bronzedbrews]

Nice work Doug. I just went and laid my 1L Brett Saison bottles horizontal!

[@DougPipersr]

Peter, thank you! I want to hear more about your Brett Saisons. I'm supposed to discuss Vinnie Cilurzio's Brett and non-Brett Saisons soon.

[@tdtm82]

Keep these coming Doug! Thanks a lot.

[@DougPipersr]

Thanks for the kind words. I'm working on the edit of the history, mashing and boiling segment, followed by the tasting with Olivier.

[@tdtm82]

@@DougPipersr Looking forward to that!

[@henzik]

I wonder if they use the same yeast for the bottle conditioning? I have always struggled with the Dupont strain just pausing at 1.035 (No matter the OG), then just sit there 2 weeks, then it starts again. I think I am going to try start fermentation at 82, let it go to 95 next time. But, as he says, this yeast does not like too much pressure either. Thanks for the video! Great stuff.

[@DougPipersr]

Olivier didn't say and I didn't think to ask him! However, I will send a follow-up in a few weeks to see what he will help us with. Great question! Like you, I doubt it's the Dupont yeast in the bottle conditioning.

[@CascadesHomebrew]

@@DougPipersr Though it does sound like they use a yeast that gives complexity during the bottle fermentation. So it does not sound like they use just a generic bottling yeast.

[@bensadler7368]

I'm currently bottle carbing 2 batches of beer with this question in mind. The first I fermented with yeast I harvested from a bottle of Saison Dupont, and the other with Wyeast 3724, which is supposed to be a Dupont strain, I believe. From tasting gravity samples, the harvested Dupont yeast has more clove/banana character, while the 3724 has more bubblegum, although they're pretty similar. I'm thinking about blending the 2 yeasts for the next saison I make.

[@Poo-Finger]

@@bensadler7368 What was your harvesting process for the Dupont dregs?

[@DougPipersr]

Ben ....you're way ahead of me! I've never harvested dregs at all, but I like the question. It might be a good topic in the future.

[@Godmode_CT]

I have never had an issue with the yeast stalling, but I ferment hot and "open".

[@DougPipersr]

I believe Olivier said they basically do the same thing!

[@tobaygo11]

Drinking one now … out of a can.. wish I had a bottle !!

[@DougPipersr]

Great! Before I visited, I’d never considered the possible differences. Sierra Nevada’s are actual better in the cans, but they’ve optimized their production for that. DuPont is a tiny brewery and cans aren’t their “thing”. But for the sake of exports, they have someone can for the via kegs. Clearly the bottle is what the brewer feels best represents the best beer flavor and then only after a little aging.

[@CascadesHomebrew]

Wow! That is a treasure trove of information! I have never seen the inside of Dupont. They really start at 28C [82F] and let it rise up to 35C [95F]?? I have been pitching at 68F [20C] and capping it around 76F [24C]. I am a bit curious what type of boil kettles they use and what brand of malt. If Saison Dupont is really 100% Pilsner, they get a lot more complex grain character and color than I would get in a 100% Pils beer. I have been adding 9% Munich I to my house Saison (along with 18% Rye) to get more complexity in the grain character.

[@DougPipersr]

Thanks for watching! I'll have a video on the boil kettles soon. They're copper with a totally rounded bottom. He uses a single gas-fired burner which he says caramelizes some of the wort.

[@bensadler7368]

@@DougPipersr Looking forward to that video! Will it cover their mashing process as well? Always been curious about Dupont's mash/boil process, since they get a copper blonde color and good head retention in their saison, which I've read online is all pilsner malt. Most saison recipes I see for homebrewing seem to use a little munich/vienna/rye to get that color, but I wonder if using a little melanoidin malt in the same way brewers trying to mimic decoction brewing do might be better.

[@DougPipersr]

@@bensadler7368 Ben, great questions! I know Olivier said there was a certain amount of caramelization from the copper kettles, but we really didn't observe the mashing except for an antique they have in the entrance. Hopefully I can get Olivier to do a live stream event and answer your questions!

[@FranciscoRAN]

Hello Doug. Thank you for this video and for taking crucial information from the brewmaster 😂! In your opinion these two characteristics: larger headspace and higher temperatures can make difference in homenbrewing?

[@DougPipersr]

Yes, that was my understanding. It's apparently quite a temperamental yeast because he said it's his wife's main job to keep the yeast happy! I wanted to see the fermenters to answer that question and he was surprisingly open with sharing the details. Is that the part you enjoyed the most?

[@potato34]

I need captions. Between the mask, the noise in the brewery and the accent, I Cant understand a single word!

[@DougPipersr]

Are the KZbin captions not appearing? If not, consider clicking the CC button at the top right of the screen (mobile) of you've not done so already.

[@JZH10000]

So whats the deal with the cans? are they "can refermented"?

[@DougPipersr]

That's not my understanding. He said the cans were basically the same as the kegs they ship which I presume aren't can fermented either. He said cans were more of an experiment. I'm not sure how committed he is to cans. I guess it depends on sales. I know he doesn't have his own canning line. I know can conditioning is possible. Sierra Nevada does it every day.