Belgian Strong Recipe Build
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Ok, so I'm commited to brewing on Saturday, but with all the craziness in my life over the last few weeks, I haven't had time to really research and develop a recipe.
So I wanted to reach out to all of you.
I'm looking to create a very clean crisp Belgian Drak Strong Ale.
My preference is to use a 2-row base malt, so if you can come up with something using 2-row it would be helpful.
Thanks for you help!The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny -
well, you have your yeast all picked out, so half the battle is done.
unfortunately, i'm not familiar with the style, so i can't give too much input on how to build one.The pinnacle of lame and awesome in one singular moment. -Lake -
FromZwolle said:
well, you have your yeast all picked out, so half the battle is done.
unfortunately, i'm not familiar with the style, so i can't give too much input on how to build one.
Yes, yeast is picked, westvleteren dregs. Now for all that grain and hops stuff.The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny -
from what little i know of the style, some munich would do well.The pinnacle of lame and awesome in one singular moment. -Lake
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Pilsner is typically used but ...... if you put in a big bunch of 2 row .... a good bit of light munich .... some caramunich .. and some special B you can get close ...mash around 149.. add between 10 and 20% sugars ...I like turbinado in em ... if you want it good and dark throw a little carafa III in there too .....Never attribute to malice, that which can adequately be explained by stupidity.
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Look at my Apocalypse Ale recipe for a little inspiration .... its not quite to style but will give you the ideaNever attribute to malice, that which can adequately be explained by stupidity.
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Good startThe only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
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I found this as part of a BYO article. Not sure if you like Westmalle? If not it might give you something to think about.
Westmalle Abbey Tripel clone
Ingredients:
5.5 lbs. pale malt
1 lb. light caramel malt (10° Lovibond)
4 lbs. unhopped extra-light dry malt extract (DME)
1 lb. clear candi sugar
3 AAU Styrian Goldings hops (1 oz. at 3% alpha acid)
3 AAU Tettnang hops (0.75 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
3 AAU Fuggle hops (0.5 oz. at 6% alpha acid)
2 AAU Saaz hops (0.5 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
Step by Step:
Heat 12 quarts water to 163° F. Crush grains and add to liquor. Hold mash at 152° F for 90 minutes. Runoff and sparge with 15 quarts water at 170° F. Add DME and candi sugar, stir well, bring to a boil. Add Styrian Goldings hops, boil 30 minutes. Add Tettnang hops, boil 30 minutes. Add Fuggle hops, boil 25 minutes. Add Saaz hops, boil 5 minutes (90 minutes total boil). Remove from heat. Add to fermenter along with enough pre-boiled and chilled water to make up 5.25 gallons (if necessary). Cool to 70° F, pitch yeast. Ferment at 68° F for two weeks, rack to secondary and condition cool (50° F) for three to four weeks. Prime with DME, bottle and age eight to ten weeks at 45° to 50° F. Will improve with more aging, up to about a year. Serve at 50° F in a wide-mouthed, stemmed chalice.
http://byo.com/belgian-strong-ale/item/1744-westmalle-abbey-tripel-clone
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Here is another...
http://www.brewlikeamonk.com/?p=35
OK, that was humbling.
Since you are at this site you probably know I wrote a book about brewing Trappist and abbey style beers. And if you read the book you know that I came back from Belgium pounding my fist – on the desk, on corked bottles, on old brewing texts, just about anywhere – about the simplicity of Trappist recipes.
And the importance of sugar.
So what was the recipe like in the beer I helped judge as the gold medal winner for Strong Belgian Ales in the 2006 National Homebrew Contest? It contained seven malts, and sugar (white, nothing dark) contributed less than 5% of the fermentables. Winner Jamil Zainasheff surely is happy I didn’t help him with this recipe.
The point, up front, is that you can brew beers like those in this family without following a Belgian blueprint; that it’s OK to take a different route when the result is a beer that tastes as good as Zainasheff’s strong dark ale.
He provided details about the recipe in an exchange of e-mails, first writing:
“It was really my first attempt at the style and more indicative of a homebrewer reading the BJCP style guide than anything else. I’m not sure I would formulate it the same way today.” He brewed the beer 11/27/2002.
The batch size was six gallons. Here’s the recipe:
15 pounds pilsener
1 pound aromatic
3 pounds Munich
1 pound caramunich
1 pound Special B
1/2 pound wheat
1/2 pound melanoidin
1 pound Cane sugar
2.2 ounces Hallertauer (4.4 AAs) for 60 minutes
Fermented with White Labs WLP570 Belgian Golden Ale, repitched from a Golden Strong Ale. The beer fermented at about 70 ºF.
Original gravity was 1.103 (24.4 ºP). The FG was 1.022 on 1/12/03. At that time it went into a keg. Zainasheff doesn’t conduct a seconday fermentation. “I don’t do them anymore except for meads and fruit beers,” he wrote. “I find healthy yeast really doesn’t break down so fast that there is a need to separate the beer quickly.”
The beer didn’t exactly hide the fact it was 10.5% or so abv, but unlike some other entries it also didn’t taste first of alcohol. Start judging Belgian Strongs at 8:30 in the morning and you won’t be volunteering for afternoon judging sessions. One of my most frequent suggestions on score sheets was that less alcohol would allow more flavor to come through.
In an exchange about the grain bill, Zainasheff wrote:
“I really tend to prefer the simpler route as well, but I keep finding examples that make me admit there are times when you can get away with insane grain bills. For example, I have a scottish ale recipe that includes all sorts of grains. I never thought it would have worked, but it really does turn out as authentic a scottish light ale as I’ve ever had. I was quite embarrassed about it at first, but then if the results are right…”
He certainly shouldn’t apologize for his Strong Dark. It wasn’t only as rich and complex as the recipe would suggest, but nicely rounded, integrating what could have been a jumble of flavors in a way others on the table didn’t. I’d be thrilled to brew a beer like his. -
Looks like a good startting point.The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
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Thanks everybodyThe only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
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The pinnacle of lame and awesome in one singular moment. -Lake
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"On it. I hate software." ~Cpt Snarklepants
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basing this off of JLW's second post
grain bill:
Pilsner Malt, Belgian 26
Carastan (Crystal), 15 2
Munich Malt (GWM) 6
Caramunich Malt 2
Special B Malt 2
Wheat Malt (GWM) 1
melanoidin 1
The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny -
EDIT: Nevermind. I stupid.
Looks good. I like that you went with pilsner instead of 2-row."On it. I hate software." ~Cpt Snarklepants -
Bought a full sack of the belgian pilsner. Yay.The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
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"On it. I hate software." ~Cpt Snarklepants
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halfway done, what's in the mix as far as hops?The pinnacle of lame and awesome in one singular moment. -Lake
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The grain bill looks great. Can't wait to try this one. ;)
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The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
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Lakewood said:
Simple. I like it. I also like Hallertuer so that works for me (as of you cared). How many IBUs does that give you?"On it. I hate software." ~Cpt Snarklepants -
I'll have to answer this in the morning when I have my laptop.The only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
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I should post my caramelized fig BDSA recipe sometime, need to dig it out of my backup files on the external drive on the desktop.Jesus didn't wear pants
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We tapped this keg while I was in Cali.
It
Is
Amazing.
"On it. I hate software." ~Cpt Snarklepants -
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HaThe only thing between me and a train wreck is blind luck..... - Kenny
