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nitrousjunkie · 02-28-2008, 07:49 PM

well im gana make the jump into all grain this weekend. ive brewed two other batches, both extract kits. this all grain is also a kit.

Belgian CaraVienne 8.0 ounces
Cara Pils 8.0 ounces
Belgian Pale Malt 13.0 pounds
Candi Sugar Light 1.5 pounds
Corn Sugar (Bottling) 0.5 cups
Hallertaur (Bittering) 1.25 ounces
Saaz (Finishing) 1.0 ounces
Irish Moss 1.0 package
Wyeast #1388 Belgian Strong Ale 1.0 package

This is what all is going to be used. what do ya'll think?? im going to mash a 150* for about an hour. 1.23 quarts per pound of grain and batch sparge with the same amount. the kit is a tripple xxx belgein (sp). any reccomendations would be great to get this beer great. from what the website said....should finish out around 8-8.5%

thanx

**DeathBrewer** · 02-28-2008, 07:54 PM

i think you'll want more corn sugar for bottling...belgians are generally highly carbonated.

make a big starter for that yeast and give it plenty of time in the primary to finish (3-4 weeks)

nitrousjunkie · 02-28-2008, 11:03 PM

well i am planning on kegging, not gana force carb though...

**BierMuncher** · 02-28-2008, 11:07 PM

Good luck. Looks like a big grain bill.

You ought to figure about 1 degree temp loss at dough-in for every pound of grain. My guess is that a desired mash temp of 150 means you'll strike with about 164-166 degree water.

Might get you about 1-2 degrees higher to start, but you'll lose some temp over the 60 minutes you're mashing.

nitrousjunkie · 02-28-2008, 11:26 PM

well according to promash, strike temp is at 163*F. but most likly, i'll just get impatient and dough in a lil sooner....guess i'll just have to see how things go.

nitrousjunkie · 02-29-2008, 01:42 AM

just a quick thought. If i add a pound of corn surgar when i add the cani surger, what affect will that have on flavor? I know it'll up the percentage (by how much, im not sure), but what about flavor? Or should i not even give that a try just yet??

**justbrewit** · 02-29-2008, 01:57 AM

you would be better off getting some more candy sugar instead of corn sugar to stay true to style. just my thoughts though. you should be able to find candy sugar at any german store, you can even use Wasser Candi(same thing) thats what i use.

**FSR402** · 02-29-2008, 02:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nitrousjunkie

just a quick thought. If i add a pound of corn surgar when i add the cani surger, what affect will that have on flavor? I know it'll up the percentage (by how much, im not sure), but what about flavor? Or should i not even give that a try just yet??

Don't do it....
Stick to the recipe and then maybe next time you can "change it up" a little.

So you have 13.5 pounds of grain, you are maching with 4.15 gal with a rest of 150*. That sounds good to me.
If your tun drains 100% you should get about 2.8 gallons from the first runnings.
That is IF you can get 100% to drain.
Then you will sparge with another 4 gallons which you will get 100% of it back giving you about 6.8 gallons into the kettle.
If you are getting good efficiency (like 75+) that should be ok. But if not or you really want to make this all it can be I would sparge until I hit a gravity of 1.01 -.008 in the runnings and just boil off the extra. But that's me..

Oh and +1 on the BIG starter.. I would make a 1/2 gallon starter a week ahead of time and then 2 days ahead I would make another 1/2 gal starter and decant the 1st one off and add the yeast to the new starter (step it up) then on brew day, decant it agan and add only the yeast to the brew.

**BierMuncher** · 02-29-2008, 03:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nitrousjunkie

just a quick thought. If i add a pound of corn surgar when i add the cani surger, what affect will that have on flavor? I know it'll up the percentage (by how much, im not sure), but what about flavor? Or should i not even give that a try just yet??

Like FSR402 said. Don't dick with the recipe.

Ramping up the simple sugars just to increase the ABV is just this side of hooch making.

If you're going to brew a true-to-style beer, stick with a recipe.

**FSR402** · 02-29-2008, 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BierMuncher

Like FSR402 said. Don't dick with the recipe.

If you're going to brew a true-to-style beer, stick with a recipe.

Yeah I did that on one of my first AG's. Now I have a "brown ale" that looks like a stout. It's amazing what an extra 3/4 pounds of a grain will do to it.