Best Practices 

Saison Solutions
Saison (French for “season”) is a beer style originating
from Wallonia, Belgium, originally produced to provide Quick facts Strain Comparison Chart
beer to workers during the farming season. Traditional
Saison beers are refreshingly dry with notes of fruit and
spice.
The Saison beer style is defined by the yeast strain.
Traditional Saison yeast (i.e. LalBrew Belle Saison™) is
capable of fermenting larger sugars (starch and
dextrins) and producing fruity esters and phenolic AT T E N UAT I O N AT T E N UAT I O N AT T E N UAT I O N
compounds that impart the characteristic pepper and High Very high High
clove flavors.
S TA1 G E N E S TA1 G E N E S TA1 G E N E

The high attenuation of traditional Saison yeast is Negative Positive Negative

achieved by the expression of a glucoamylase enzyme S U G A R S M E TA B O L I Z E D S U G A R S M E TA B O L I Z E D S U G A R S M E TA B O L I Z E D
expressed by the STA1 gene. Saccharomyces yeasts that Glucose, maltose, maltotriose Glucose, maltose, maltotriose, Glucose, maltose, maltotriose
possess the STA1 gene and express a glucoamylase Dextrins
enzyme are referred to as diastaticus variants due to FLO CC U L AT I O N FLO CC U L AT I O N FLO CC U L AT I O N

their increased diastatic potential (Saccharomyces Low Low Medium to high

cerevisiae var. diastaticus). FE R M E N TAT I O N R A N G E FE R M E N TAT I O N R A N G E FE R M E N TAT I O N R A N G E

Special attention needs to be paid when 20 - 30°C (68 - 86°F) 15 - 35°C (59 - 95°F) 17 - 25°C (63 - 77°F)
using diastaticus yeast strains. If any A LCO H O L TO L E R A N C E A LCO H O L TO L E R A N C E A LCO H O L TO L E R A N C E

dextrins are present in the finished 13% ABV 15% ABV 14% ABV
product, the yeast may continue to
ferment these sugars resulting in Flavor & Aroma
overcarbonation, higher alcohol
TROPIC TROPIC TROPIC
content and altered flavor profile. Sanita- RE
DA
PP LE AL
FR
UI RE
DA
PP LE AL
FR
UI RE
DA
PP LE AL
FR
UI
T T T

tion best practices must be followed to avoid cross

L

L
BA

BA

BA
RA

RA

RA
NA

NA

NA
contamination of diastaticus strains in the brewery.
UT

UT

UT
NA

NA

NA
NE

NE

NE

To avoid potential cross-contamination, some brewers

G REEN APP

G REEN APP

G REEN APP
OHOLIC

OHOLIC

OHOLIC

choose to use other non-diastaticus yeast strains to

ALC

ALC

ALC
LE

LE

LE
produce “Saison-like” beers. Abbaye ale strains (i.e.
LalBrew Abbaye™) produce fruity esters and spicy
C

C
R

E LO E LO E LO
PP VE PP VE PP VE
PE PE PE

phenols, but have lower attenuation than traditional ACI D ACI D ACI D

Saison strains since they do not metabolize dextrins. Clove, pepper, fruit notes Citrus, pepper Spicy, fruity, tropical, banana
Recently, selective breeding methods (non-GMO) have
been used to isolate a non-diastaticus Saison hybrid:
LalBrew Farmhouse™. This new hybrid strain does not
possess the STA1 gene while conserving greater than FIG.1: Belle Saison V Abbaye V Farmhouse Saison, 20°C, 100 g/hl
70% of the genome of the traditional Saison parental LalBrew Belle Saison™ LalBrew Abbaye™ LalBrew Farmhouse™
strain. 12

Beer fermented with LalBrew Farmhouse™ presents 10

flavor and aroma characteristics of traditional Saison

Density (°P)

8
beer styles without the over-attenuation and contami-
6
nation risk of a diastaticus yeast.
4
For more information on how to brew with diastaticus
strains and detect potential diastaticus cross contamina- 2

tion please refer to our Best Practices - Diastaticus 0

0 50 100 150 200 250
document or contact our technical team at Time (h)
brewing@lallemand.com

www.lallemandbrewing.com
 Best Practices 

saison Solutions
FIG.2: Apparent attenuation & Relative flocculation Flavor Control: Esters and Phenolics
of Belgian yeast strains The yeast-derived flavor profile of each yeast strain is influenced by
many factors. In general, higher levels of esters are achieved by pitching
AT T E N UAT I O N FLO CC U L AT I O N
less yeast, fermenting at a higher temperature or addition of adjunct
100%
90% sugars. Higher levels of phenolic compounds such as 4-vinyl-guaiacol
80% (4VG) can normally be achieved by using a combination of barley and
70%
60%
wheat malts and performing a ferulic acid rest (~45°C) during the mash.
50% Fusel alcohol levels tend to be positively correlated with fermentation
40%
temperature. We have provided below a snapshot of the flavor
30%
20% compounds produced by LalBrew Belle Saison™, LalBrew Abbaye™
10% and LalBrew Farmhouse™ in laboratory fermentations using a standard
0%
LalBrew Belle Saison™ LalBrew Abbaye™ LalBrew Farmhouse™ wort. Flavor development is complex and there are exceptions to these
general rules, so brewing trials are recommended in order to optimize
Fermentations were performed using a standard pale 12°P wort prepared from malt extract,
pitched with 100g/hL of yeast and fermented at 20°C. Relative flocculation was measured the recipe and brewing process to achieve the desired flavor profile.
according to ASBC method Yeast-11 (Helm assay).

FIG.3: Relative concentration of acetate esters, fusel alcohols and 4-vinyl guaiacol
AC E TAT E E S T E R S FU S E L A LCO H O L S 4VG

21°C 24°C 27°C

Rela�ve concentra�on

LalBrew LalBrew LalBrew LalBrew LalBrew LalBrew LalBrew LalBrew LalBrew

Belle Saison™ Abbaye™ Farmhouse™ Belle Saison™ Abbaye™ Farmhouse™ Belle Saison™ Abbaye™ Farmhouse™

Fermentations were performed using an all-malt standard pale 12°P wort pitched with a liquid yeast propagation at a rate of 9 million viable cells/ml and fermented at 21, 24 and 27°C. Relative
concentrations were calculated separately for each class of compounds and comparisons should not be made between different compound classes.

BELLE SAISON

FA R M H O U S E

Attenuation Control for non-Diastaticus strains Yeast Strain by Beer Strains BY

A B B AY E

Despite the inability to metabolize dextrins, it is possible to achieve greater Style Chart BEER STYLE
attenuation with non-diastaticus yeast strains in order to better mimic the A traditional Saison yeast strain BELGIAN BLOND ALE
performance of a traditional diastaticus Saison strain. The goal is to increase such as LalBrew Belle Saison™ is BELGIAN DARK STRONG ALE
wort fermentability using one or more of the following methods: used to produce dry Belgian beer BELGIAN GOLDEN STRONG ALE

- Lower the mash temperature styles, whereas non-diastaticus B E L G I A N PA L E A L E

Belgian yeast such as LalBrew
- Add sugars or other adjuncts B E L G I A N QUA D
Abbaye™ are used to produce
BELGIAN TRIPEL
- Decrease the amount of special malts malty, full-bodied Belgian ales.
BERLINER WEISS
- Avoid the use of unmalted grains When using a modifed process
and recipe as described above, BIÈRE DE GARDE
- Add chemically pure glucoamylase enzyme such as ABV
LalBrew Farmhouse™ and FA R M H O U S E A L E
Glucoamylase 400 to the mash and/or pre boil wort (the enzyme will
LalBrew Abbaye™ can be used to GOSE
be denatured in the boil, so it is not active in the packaged beer)
produce beer styles normally SAISON
produced only by traditional WITBIER
Saison yeast.

For more information, you can reach us via email at  www.lallemandbrewing.com
brewing@lallemand.com