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newbrewr4fun · 09-01-2009, 06:06 AM

I just finished a belgian ale Saturday and it has been ferementing now for a couple days. It has a very high OG of 1.160. Should I just do the normal 6 week routine? Or should I let it age a while. It is supposed to finish somewhere between 10 and 15% ABV.

Here is the recipe.
.5lb Belgian cavamunich?
.5 lb Belgian special B
.5lb of something I can't recall. Sorry.

7 lbs pale LME

1 lb Pale DME
1lb belgian candy sugar.
2 0z brewcraft at 60 min
2 oz brewcraft nz at 5 min
Wyeast activator smack pack.

Thanks!

carnevoodoo · 09-01-2009, 07:32 AM

I'm confused where you got 1.160 from that recipe? Are you only doing 2.5 gallons? At 5 gallons, that should be somewhere around 1.074.

newbrewr4fun · 09-01-2009, 08:38 AM

No I am doing a 5 gallon batch. Maybe I misread the hydrometer. I saw it went past the 1.00 mark high up on the hydrometer and went to 1.016. Which I thought meant 1.160. Maybe I am doing something wrong, but I presumed it was correct because when we went into the brew shop we asked for high ABV belgian and he said this should finish somewhere between 10 and 15%ABV

MMW · 09-01-2009, 01:17 PM

1.016 will probably be about your FG. Did you do a partial boil and measure gravity before you topped off? 3 gallons shows a calculated OG of 1.120 for me... (maybe a mixing problem?)

Anyway...what's done is done, your beer is going to be great (even if it doesn't make 10% ABV). I'd Leave it in primary for 4-5 weeks and don't touch a bottle for 4. Then try 1.

**petep1980** · 09-01-2009, 01:26 PM

1.074 or 1.160 either way it'll be a lot of alcohol. You'll want to age it a nice long time.

newbrewr4fun · 09-01-2009, 07:49 PM

I will try to convince my brewing partner to wait that long. We'll see.
Thanks.

Schnitzengiggle · 09-01-2009, 07:54 PM

FYI, I have been sampling a few dubbels I made over the last couple months, it had an OG 1.074 and they are just now satrting to barely tast decent (it doesn't help that I over-carbed the sh!t outta them), at any rate I would age about 3 months to start, and definitely save a sixer for 6-12 months down the road. Also, take notes on your samplings so you can compare them from your earlier tastings.

IMHO, higher grav belgians definitley benefit from longer aging periods, allows the complex flavors to meld and mature.

Good luck!

Adam78K · 09-01-2009, 10:48 PM

you must of misread your hydrometer, there is no way with that amount of fermentable would yield a 1.160 gravity.

**humann_brewing** · 09-01-2009, 11:07 PM

ok, so we have some wacky numbers here but at any rate if you are doing a high gravity brew and it is not a hop bomb, you should age it for a while (3 months - 3 years) But try for 6 - 12 months if you have a 10+ % beer.

The best advice we can give is get a quicker brew going that you can drink in a month or so that way you won't drink all your high gravity brew before it is in prime condition.

cuinrearview · 09-02-2009, 01:14 AM

Similar to the dubbel that I made this spring. It'll taste pretty good right off, but oh.....soooo......gooooooodddd over time. I still have half of the batch in a friend's basement and it kills me to only grab one bottle when I'm over that way.

Drink it when it tastes good to you. Let your buddy slurp his down and tease him in six months

.

With the recipe provided your beer will be around 7% for a five gallon batch, which is perfect for a dubbel. The yeast that you used will tell if it's a dubbel or a dark strong if you care about category designation.