Update

The SMASH It Up Simcoe Ale is now racked into a keg and is carbonating. So far it seems to be a pretty balanced ale, and without the benefit of a higher carbonation level seems a bit more like a British Real Ale. The Simcoe hops, however, prevent that initial thought from lingering too terribly long. The Simcoe is a little fruity and piney at the same time, not quite the grapefruit bomb of some other American hop varieties. Given that this has only 2-row malt and there's no other variety coming from the malt base, the WLP051 (California V) and US05 neutral yeasts allow the hops to shine in this beer.

The Saison de Perle has been a stubborn batch to be sure. I'm to blame for that having not stepped up the yeast starter a week ahead of time and instead opting for only a day or two to get the yeast going. When brewing a beer with an OG of 1.080 your yeast had better be up to the task, and mine wasn't. After stalling at 1.050 after 2 weeks in primary, I started up the yeast I harvested from the Smash It Up Simcoe and, after a day of that getting going, harvested some yeast from the conical, added it to the yeast starter and after allowing it to pick up steam, repitched it into the Saison. That gives me a total of four yeast strains (Dupont 1 and 2, California V and US05) in addition to the Brettanomyces Bruxellenis. This beer should be one to reckon with, and I plan on bottling and storing a considerable amount to age.