Belgian Blond Ale Revvy's Belgian Blonde (Leffe Clone)

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markjd said:
Brewing a 10L (2.5G) batch of this recipe now.

Leffe Blonde was one of my favourite beers on tap at one of the local pubs; really looking forward to see how this recipe turns out.
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Bottled this morning after one month in primary. FG was a little higher than expected at 1.016, but I think that may be due to being a little high with my mash temp.
 
markjd said:
Bottled this morning after one month in primary. FG was a little higher than expected at 1.016, but I think that may be due to being a little high with my mash temp.
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My first 29l Batch was a bit light on alcohol (i think my final gravity was about 1.020. I simply calculated how much sugar to add another 1% alcohol and allowed a second fermentation prior to bottling (tertiary) .

It was delicious, especially after about a month.

I just bottled a 2nd 29l batch about 2 weeks ago. Again the fg was a bit short and the og seemed abit light too so I added enough sugar to add a couple of % alcohol. I'm going on holiday for a week on tuesday and look forward to tasting the first bottle on my return.

good luck.
 
So after 3 weeks I still have a thick, creamy layer on my beer. I read that this was a top cropping yeast so I presume that that is what's different here.
Do I news to rack from under this layer or do i just bottle from unfer it?
What to do, what to do
 
Thanks for this recipe and all the great discussion that followed - I brewed up something close last month, kegged it yesterday, and the flat samples taste GREAT so I can't wait to tap it. Used Mangrove Jack's M27 and it definitely has that spicy twang that I wanted - a nice surprise from a dry yeast. Also dried the beer out very well, down to 1.008. :mug:
 
markjd said:
Bottled this morning after one month in primary. FG was a little higher than expected at 1.016, but I think that may be due to being a little high with my mash temp.
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This is my fear as well. The Mash temp is 158 is the recipe and the final gravity is 1.010. I just don't think it will finish that low with that high of a mash temp. I will take my first reading in the next couple days, but if I end up in your range I will consider dosing with the 3711 superyeast.
 
FWIW: I brewed this on 10/16 following the recipe as written but subbing wlp500 for 530. Mashed at 158. Held temps at 65-66 degrees (internal, not ambient) for about a week at which point SG was 1.022. Gradually raised temp to 78 and held for about 2 more weeks until FG = 1.011. Crash cooled, bottling today. Smells and tastes excellent. Lesson: don't fear the mash temp, keep your yeast happy and be patient :)
 
homebrewdad said:
Boil for 30 more minutes. Chill the beer to ~70 degrees (a bit cooler is better). Move to fermenter, aerate, pitch yeast. Leave it alone for 3-4 weeks.
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First, thanks to revvy for this awesome recipe and homebrewdad for some great insight.

I am very much a newb but am excited to try to brew this recipe. I have done a fair amount of research and watched several videos on brewing belgian ales. I feel comfortable that I can take on the recipe with the help of a friend. However, there are two things that were not clear to me:

1. When transferring from the brew pot to the fermenter, how do you typically aerate?
2. When you are ready to bottle, do you still need priming sugar (or does the sugar in the recipe count as the priming sugar)?
 
AT_II said:
First, thanks to revvy for this awesome recipe and homebrewdad for some great insight.

I am very much a newb but am excited to try to brew this recipe. I have done a fair amount of research and watched several videos on brewing belgian ales. I feel comfortable that I can take on the recipe with the help of a friend. However, there are two things that were not clear to me:

1. When transferring from the brew pot to the fermenter, how do you typically aerate?
2. When you are ready to bottle, do you still need priming sugar (or does the sugar in the recipe count as the priming sugar)?
Click to expand...

1. These days, I personally aerate with pure O2 for 60 seconds or so. If you don't have pure oxygen, simply slosh the beer back and forth in the fermenter for a minute or two. This gives you 8 PPM of dissolved O2, which is literally the most you can get from room air.

2. You always need priming sugar at bottling time (unless you bottle before fermentation is complete). Fermentation is complete because all available sugar (up to the yeast's tolerance level) has been processed. Adding priming sugar gives the yeast something else to eat, which they do to create the CO2 you need for carbonation.

Revvy has an excellent sticky on bottling - you should check it out.
 
homebrewdad said:
1. These days, I personally aerate with pure O2 for 60 seconds or so. If you don't have pure oxygen, simply slosh the beer back and forth in the fermenter for a minute or two. This gives you 8 PPM of dissolved O2, which is literally the most you can get from room air. 2. You always need priming sugar at bottling time (unless you bottle before fermentation is complete). Fermentation is complete because all available sugar (up to the yeast's tolerance level) has been processed. Adding priming sugar gives the yeast something else to eat, which they do to create the CO2 you need for carbonation. Revvy has an excellent sticky on bottling - you should check it out.
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Yeah, I finally gave up on the little soldering o2 tanks and now have a regular cylinder of oxygen an a nice SS wand/stone. Love it!!! It has a regulator so I don't have to listen to know the flow rate.

I did this recipe recently and would make one change. Go for a mash temp of 154 vs 158 degrees. Mine finished a bit high. Still a great beer, though.
 
AT_II said:
1. When transferring from the brew pot to the fermenter, how do you typically aerate?
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You could just leave your fermenter on the floor and transfer the wort by pouring it from high so it splashes alot.
With a carboy this requires some shaking if the carboy.
 
Revvy said:
Because "Belgian candy sugar" is really just whatever sugar the monks and Belgian brewers bought in bulk, then inverted and boiled down to whatever darkness they wanted in their beer. It's not a special magical sugar, grown for them by secret society of castrated elves specially for the monks to brew beer with.
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Love it! one of the funniest things I've read in the forums recently
 
Thank You for this!

Revvy said:
Category 18a Belgian Blonde.

This is MY INTERPRETATION of a clone of Leffe Blonde that I came up with for AHC big brew day in May. It was created by my usual method of looking at other Leffe Clones recipes, starting by overlapping the similarities, and tweaking til I achieved over several batches the taste profile I was looking for. It ws created by the same methods described in the Introduction to create clones/de-engineering in BYO's 150 clone brew recipes. Then repeatedly it was sampled alongside the original by several brewer friends and even a couple bjcp judges informally. All felt this final version was a tasty approximation of the original.

I find that Leffe, has a nice "graininess" that has really come out nicely in this recipe.

I just discovered 2 bottles in the back of my brew closet (5 months later) and it is delicious. Even better I think now, then when it was "fresh" That's why I have decided to actually let this recipe go, and quit tweaking it.

Revvy's Blonde
Brew Type: All Grain Date: 4/25/2010
Style: Belgian Blond Ale Brewer: Michael
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Volume: 6.41 gal
Boil Time: 90 min (Pilsner malts)


Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU
9 lbs 13.0 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 81.61 %
1 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 8.32 %
5.3 oz Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM) Grain 2.75 %
3.5 oz Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM) Grain 1.83 %

1.36 oz Styrian Goldings [5.40 %] (60 min) Hops 23.4 IBU
0.71 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (30 min) Hops 7.0 IBU

10.6 oz Sugar, Table (Last 15 minutes of boil) (1.0 SRM) Sugar 5.49 %

1 Pkgs Abbey Ale (White Labs #WLP530) Yeast-Ale

Mash In: Add 14.20 qt of water at 178.4 F
Hold mash at 158.0 F for 45 min

Sparge with 4.47 gal of 168.0 F water.

Add water to achieve boil volume of 6.41 gal

Estimated Pre-boil Gravity is: 1.058 SG with all grains/extracts added.

Note This is a great Belgian Base recipe that you can add fruit to if your are inclined. it can be a great panty dropper for anywomen who may like sweet beers.

You can rack it to a seondary with whatever fruit you like. Peaches, Mango, Strawberry, whatever works for you. You can use frozen, fresh, canned or even extract.

I've done it with frozen peaches.

If you want some extra sweetness to pep up your fruit, either add 1/2 pound (or more) of lactose in the boil, or even along with your priming sugar at bottling time. Just dillute it along with your priming sugar in 2 cups of water.

Enjoy!

:mug:

I'll try to throw a PM version of this up later.

Legal Disclaimer This is the author's interpretation of the beer, his homage, it is not an officially SANCTIONED clone recognized by the official clone sanctionaing body of beery nirvana (EAC), and shouldn't be thought of as one. It may not even use ingredients similar to the original recipe, but it will contain the following, grain, water, hops, yeast. Your Mileage may vary. All prior agreements, discussions, representations, warranties, and covenants are merged herein. There are no warranties, representations, covenants, or agreements, express or implied, between the parties except those expressly set forth in this agreement. Any amendments or modifications of this agreement shall be in writing and executed by the contracting parties. If you drink, don't drive. If you fold, spindle of mutilate this recipe, you will violate your warranty. This disclaimer does not cover misuse, accident, lightning, flood, tornado, tsunami, volcanic eruption, earthquake, hurricanes and other Acts of God, neglect, damage from improper reading, incorrect line voltage, improper or unauthorized use, broken antenna or marred cabinet, missing or altered serial numbers, removal of tag, electromagnetic radiation from nuclear blasts, sonic boom, crash, ship sinking or taking on water, motor vehicle crashing, dropping the item, falling rocks, leaky roof, broken glass, mud slides, forest fire, or projectile (which can include, but not be limited to, arrows, bullets, shot, BB’s, paintball, shrapnel, lasers, napalm, torpedoes, or emissions of X-rays, Alpha, Beta and Gamma rays, knives, stones, etc.). No license, express or implied, by estoppel or otherwise, to any Intellectual property rights are granted herein. The Brewer Revvy (TBR) disclaims all liability, including liability for infringement of any proprietary rights, relating to use of information in this specification. TBR does not warrant or represent that such use will not infringe such rights. In fact, that’s a very strong possibility.
Nothing in this document constitutes a guarantee, warranty, or license, express or implied. TBR disclaims all liability for all such guaranties, warranties, and licenses, including but not limited to: fitness for a particular purpose; merchantability; non-infringement of intellectual property or other rights of any third party or of TBR; indemnity; and all others. The reader is advised that third parties may have intellectual property rights that may be relevant to this document and the technologies discussed herein, and is advised to seek the advice of competent legal counsel, without obligation to TBR. In other words, get your own #$^%#$ lawyer before you hurt yourself. These materials are provided by TBR as a service to his friends and/or customers and may be used for informational purposes only. If you brew it you will make a beer that tastes close to the afore mentioned beer, so stfu and brew it already. This is intended for the use of the individual addressee(s) named above and may contain information that is confidential, privileged or unsuitable for overly sensitive persons with low self-esteem, no sense of humour or irrational religious beliefs. If you are not the intended recipient, any dissemination, distribution or copying of this email is not authorised (either explicitly or implicitly) and constitutes an irritating social faux pas. Unless the word absquatulation has been used in its correct context somewhere other than in this warning, it does not have any legal or grammatical use and may be ignored. No animals were harmed in the transmission of this email, although the yorkshire terriernext door is living on borrowed time, let me tell you. Those of you with an overwhelming fear of the unknown will be gratified to learn that there is no hidden message revealed by reading this warning backwards, so just ignore that Alert Notice from Microsoft: However, by pouring a complete circle of salt around yourself and your computer you can ensure that no harm befalls you and your pets. If you have
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Thanks alot for this recipe! I just tried this one yesterday as my 2nd all-grain ever and I think my efficiency is not really good.

I have quite a small setup (my biggest stainless pot can only hold about 20 qts) and I went with a modified BIAB setup.

I heated 14.5qts of water at 178F, then transferred that water to my 30L plastic primary for the mashing process. Put the +-11lbs of grain in the bag and kept in there for 50-55 minutes at temperatures between 156F-161F.
I then put the bag in a 2nd pot holding 10 qts of water at 170F for 15 minutes (kind of a sparge I guess).
I ended up with about 20L of wort but my final gravity gave me a reading of 1.050 which is quite low for this grain bill if I understand..

Considering my biggest pot cannot hold 6gal + grain bill, how would you guys brew this kind of recipe? What should I change actually?

Thanks again and congrats for the forum it is amazing!
 
Made this as my first Belgian. Has been 2 weeks in primary. The sample tests at 1.016FG.

I find the sample to taste a bit twangy and the aftertaste to have different flavours around different area of the tongue.

Any ideas as to what this might be? I'm hoping it's just too young still.
 
pokerinvite said:
Made this as my first Belgian. Has been 2 weeks in primary. The sample tests at 1.016FG.

I find the sample to taste a bit twangy and the aftertaste to have different flavours around different area of the tongue.

Any ideas as to what this might be? I'm hoping it's just too young still.
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If you ask me, your issue is that you are tasting green beer directly from the fermenter. Let FG get stable, give it at least a couple of days beyond that for the yeast to clean up off flavors (I personally don't bottle before four weeks in primary, but I recognize that is overkill), let it get fully carbed... THEN try it. You can get a lot of flavor variation from flat, green beer to finished, carbonated beer.
 
homebrewdad said:
If you ask me, your issue is that you are tasting green beer directly from the fermenter. Let FG get stable, give it at least a couple of days beyond that for the yeast to clean up off flavors (I personally don't bottle before four weeks in primary, but I recognize that is overkill), let it get fully carbed... THEN try it. You can get a lot of flavor variation from flat, green beer to finished, carbonated beer.
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I brewed this recipe on the Jan 11, bottled 4 weeks later, and let it sit in the bottle 4 weeks before opening. All of my gravity points were spot on, but I do agree that mine ended up with a twangy taste, which I suspect came from the hops. IMO the beer is still great, just a little hoppy for the style. And this taste was present (without much change) at post boil, throughout fermentation, bottling, and finished product.

Come to think of it, other times that I've brewed there was little to no hops that escape through the nylon bags. However, for this one, there was a ton...about an inch in the brew kettle leaked through the bag, there was a lot at the bottom of the fermenter, there was even a pretty thick layer on top of the krauzen. Anybody have issues like this with this variety of hops? Any thoughts on the varying strengths of hops?
 
AT_II said:
I brewed this recipe on the Jan 11, bottled 4 weeks later, and let it sit in the bottle 4 weeks before opening. All of my gravity points were spot on, but I do agree that mine ended up with a twangy taste, which I suspect came from the hops. IMO the beer is still great, just a little hoppy for the style. And this taste was present (without much change) at post boil, throughout fermentation, bottling, and finished product.

Come to think of it, other times that I've brewed there was little to no hops that escape through the nylon bags. However, for this one, there was a ton...about an inch in the brew kettle leaked through the bag, there was a lot at the bottom of the fermenter, there was even a pretty thick layer on top of the krauzen. Anybody have issues like this with this variety of hops? Any thoughts on the varying strengths of hops?
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The hop varieties for this recipe are insanely common. I've never heard of either as being referred to as "twangy".

As for your hop bag? Psh. I toss my hops directly into the boil, and a good portion of them makes it into the fermenter - I dump everything but the most solid of the green gunk from the bottom of the kettle into the carboy. It all settles out as trub, and I can't ever recall anyone pointing out a twangy taste, or suggesting that the hops caused it.

tl;dr - look somewhere else in your process.
 
g0ldo said:
Thanks alot for this recipe! I just tried this one yesterday as my 2nd all-grain ever and I think my efficiency is not really good.

I have quite a small setup (my biggest stainless pot can only hold about 20 qts) and I went with a modified BIAB setup.

I heated 14.5qts of water at 178F, then transferred that water to my 30L plastic primary for the mashing process. Put the +-11lbs of grain in the bag and kept in there for 50-55 minutes at temperatures between 156F-161F.
I then put the bag in a 2nd pot holding 10 qts of water at 170F for 15 minutes (kind of a sparge I guess).
I ended up with about 20L of wort but my final gravity gave me a reading of 1.050 which is quite low for this grain bill if I understand..

Considering my biggest pot cannot hold 6gal + grain bill, how would you guys brew this kind of recipe? What should I change actually?

Thanks again and congrats for the forum it is amazing!
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I'm kind of in your situation. What I do is figure out what size batch I can brew with my equipment and scale the recipe to fit. Right now for example, I brew 3G batches, because that fits my equipment and drinking habits. So I go into Beersmith and scale the recipes to 3G batch BIAB.

Give this a go and see how it works. There's nothing sacrosanct about the 5G batch size.

-Dan
 
Does your 20qt kettle have a spout? If it does...
I mash about 5 gallons, then I drain using the spout into a bucket. I then sparge the last 2-3 gallons over the grain, then pour the wort from the bucket back into my kettle.

You could also do smaller batches as mentioned above.

Note: it's not hard to find cheap 5-10 gallon pots if you look hard enough at places like restaurant overstock sites, etc.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Home Brew mobile app
 
Making this now. I subbed 1762 Abbey II for the yeast. Should have made a starter, but ran out of time. For this style of beer additional esters/phenols may be desirable.

Also added a tiny bit of salt and gypsum to try to line up with Belgian water profile.

Leffe is one of my favourite beers and isn't available locally any more. I will report back with my results!
 
I brewed this again on Sunday. So far, so good... had to swap out the airlock for a blowoff this morning (first time I've had to do that in a long time thanks to temperature control). Can't wait to see how this batch turns out, as this has definitely been one of the best beers I've ever brewed.
 
leffe is one of my favourite beers. Also one of the reasons I got into home brewing because its not available here anymore. I wanted to make leffe only after I learned how to brew, so I am going to be rather critical. I brewed this Mar21. Using Belgian Abbey II 1762 Yeast without a starter (normally I would make one, but I wanted to see how much ester/phenol this yeast generates when stressed)

Kraussen dropped after the first week which surprised me. Made me question not using a starter. I left it in the primary at 22 (temp controlled) for 6 weeks just to be sure.

I kegged it last week, and decided to take a sample today. I wouldn't call what I made a leffe clone. Its not bad, and tastes like any other generic "belgian ale", but doesn't have any of the wonderful fruity/clovey characteristics from leffe. It lack the residual sweetness. I also taste an *ever so slight hint* of diaceytl (buttery) probably because I didn't make a starter, but to the average person this wouldn't be noticeable. I'm guessing any trace of this will disappear in a few weeks.

I'm going to leave it 2 more weeks and see what happens, and try another glass again. I have a feeling this will change radically in about a month from now. I'm starting to think my lack of starter may have produced less than ideal results. Thoughts?


The recipe followed was:
4.00 g Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 45.0 mins Water Agent 1 -
1.60 g Salt (Mash 45.0 mins) Water Agent 2 -
10 lbs 6.0 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) Grain 3 77.6 %
1 lbs 2.0 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 4 8.4 %
8.9 oz Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 5 4.2 %
4.0 oz Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM) Grain 6 1.9 %
1.00 oz Styrian Goldings [5.40 %] - Boil 50.0 mi Hop 7 18.6 IBUs
0.60 oz Saaz [4.00 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 8 5.3 IBUs
0.30 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 9 -
1.0 pkg Belgian Abbey II (Wyeast Labs #1762) [12 Yeast 10 -
1 lbs 1.1 oz Sugar, Table (Sucrose) [Boil for 15 min] Sugar 11 8.0 %
 
Just wanted to check in. I've been brewing for two and a half years now, and this beer remains in "house beer" status for me.

Brewed it again nine weeks ago. OG 1.070, FG 1.012. Let it sit six weeks in primary, due to the fun of having six kids (four boys during baseball season, all playing). Bottled, tried the first bottle after two weeks.

Carbonation was excellent, but the flavor hadn't quite matured - I got some nice fruity notes, but almost none of the peppery/clove that I expected. One week later, it's a different beer.

Wonderful fruity aromas, which are clearly present in the flavor, as are the spicy notes I expected. Sweetness without being cloying, with just enough dryness in the finish to prompt another sip. More body than the color would suggest, without the chewiness that such a high mash temp might suggest.

Just an all around delicious beer. If you are on the fence, know that this is a superb recipe, and well worth your time.
 
Great thread, and I decided to take a stab at this recipe since I love Leffe Blonde. Unfortunately for me my HBS didn't crush the grain properly and I ended up with an OG of 1.053. I mashed at 148F and ended up with 5.5Gal in primary. I kept it in primary for 30 days before kegging, with FG at 1.009. First taste is slightly bitter and very light, but no spiciness whatsoever. Although this beer is drinkable and should have an ABV of 6.1%, it's definitely not as I expected. I'm definitely going to ensure the crush and grist is much better next time (I may even buy a mill), but shouldn't I still taste the spice flavor, considering I followed the posted recipe?
 
dvStillerFan74 said:
Great thread, and I decided to take a stab at this recipe since I love Leffe Blonde. Unfortunately for me my HBS didn't crush the grain properly and I ended up with an OG of 1.053. I mashed at 148F and ended up with 5.5Gal in primary. I kept it in primary for 30 days before kegging, with FG at 1.009. First taste is slightly bitter and very light, but no spiciness whatsoever. Although this beer is drinkable and should have an ABV of 6.1%, it's definitely not as I expected. I'm definitely going to ensure the crush and grist is much better next time (I may even buy a mill), but shouldn't I still taste the spice flavor, considering I followed the posted recipe?
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Which yeast did you use? Did you make a starter?

What were your fermentation temperatures? The flavor profile can absolutely be affected by these.
 
I used WLP530 and made a 1.5L starter with stir plate. I pitched the yeast once wort was at 68F, started fermentation at 67F, and kept that temp for 10 days. Then I increased to 70F and kept that temp for 20 days.
 
Really like this recipe. I used Fuggle to bitter and Ardennes yeast because that is what I had. I used belgian bottles so I could carbonate this beer high. Taste is very close to the original.

Thanks Revvy

ImageUploadedByHome Brew1403999367.818514.jpg



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I brewed a recipe based on this as my first ever all-grain batch (BIAB), replacing pilsner malt with UK pale malt, East Kent Goldings for Styrian Goldings, and s-33 yeast. Had multiple difficulties with mash temp and attenuation (new to the process and to the equipment). However, drinking it right now and it's come out perfectly pleasant, although I can't say it's a particularly accurate replica of the original. It's got some of the Belgian-style complexity, maybe a more pronounced maltiness, some head retention issues, and more buttery feel and less zing perhaps due to attenuation difficulties (?)... Anyway, thanks for the recipe, Revvy!
 
Just realized I never reported back on the beer I made from this recipe, tweaking the malt bill a bit and substituting Mangrove Jack's M27 yeast for the WLP530. Short answer - Great! Recognizably close to Leffe in color, flavor, and character. The M27 yeast definitely contributed the peppery-spicy character I was looking for.

This is a great base recipe to experiment with. I made one version with Victory in lieu of Biscuit, and 9 oz Honey Malt in place of the melanoidin, and EKG hops, and it was really good as well; although the mouthfeel was a little thin. I made a Strong Gold by upping the malt bill and it came out great too.

The M27 yeast is aggressive - I got 87% and 84% attenuation.
 
Hi, I'll go with the quick version.

-Decided to AG brew (past partial masher)
-Used Beer Smith for conversions / strike temps
-got confused by beer smith having never used it
-strike temp worked awesome
-used WAY too much water (about 2 gallons more than OP suggested)
-pre-boil Gravity = 1.033
-didn't want super weak Leffe Clone
-Decided to boil off some excess water
-Condensed the Wort down so it would all fit in the 8 gallon boil pot
-Boiled for 1 - 2 hours to evaporate some water off
-got everything in the pot
-started the 90 minute boil (90 start - 60/first hops - 30 second hopps - 15 massive sugar add (10.6 oz)
-Wort Cooler down to 75 degrees
-Checked gravity again (1.068)
-temps and sun heated beer back to 80 degrees
-pitched yeast (direct from vial after 3 hours out of fridge)
-put fermenter into house (average temps around 70 degrees inside in the closet.
*****Sanitized everything during/after the boil as needed********
32 hours later still no yeast action.

Anything there make sense as to why, or am I just getting overly nervous for nothing. Is there some timeline like 36 hours or 46 hours 72 hours??? When do I get really sad and have to drive an hour to get more yeast or something.
 
BrewMark-SantaBarbara said:
Hi, I'll go with the quick version.

-Decided to AG brew (past partial masher)
-Used Beer Smith for conversions / strike temps
-got confused by beer smith having never used it
-strike temp worked awesome
-used WAY too much water (about 2 gallons more than OP suggested)
-pre-boil Gravity = 1.033
-didn't want super weak Leffe Clone
-Decided to boil off some excess water
-Condensed the Wort down so it would all fit in the 8 gallon boil pot
-Boiled for 1 - 2 hours to evaporate some water off
-got everything in the pot
-started the 90 minute boil (90 start - 60/first hops - 30 second hopps - 15 massive sugar add (10.6 oz)
-Wort Cooler down to 75 degrees
-Checked gravity again (1.068)
-temps and sun heated beer back to 80 degrees
-pitched yeast (direct from vial after 3 hours out of fridge)
-put fermenter into house (average temps around 70 degrees inside in the closet.
*****Sanitized everything during/after the boil as needed********
32 hours later still no yeast action.

Anything there make sense as to why, or am I just getting overly nervous for nothing. Is there some timeline like 36 hours or 46 hours 72 hours??? When do I get really sad and have to drive an hour to get more yeast or something.
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The issue is that you pitched one vial of liquid yeast with no starter. This means that you probably pitched less than half the optimal number of cells for this beer.

Add in the fact that you pitched the cold vial into warm wort, and you probably shocked the yeast pretty nicely.

Note that fermentation can take up to 72 hours to get going, especially if you underpitch. Relax.
 
homebrewdad said:
The issue is that you pitched one vial of liquid yeast with no starter. This means that you probably pitched less than half the optimal number of cells for this beer.

Add in the fact that you pitched the cold vial into warm wort, and you probably shocked the yeast pretty nicely.

Note that fermentation can take up to 72 hours to get going, especially if you underpitch. Relax.
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Thanks Dad!

Yeast was warm, was out for 3 hours and we were passing it back and forth holding it under our arms to warm it up quicker in the beginning. But I definitely should have done a starter, just forgot to do that a day or two before the brew, couldn't put it off as it was a sunday brew. Thanks though, so if I go past 72 or 84 hours I should get a starter going and repitch I'm guessing...
 
Mash at 158F for 45 minutes...really? I'm trying to wrap my head around why this mash schedule. Don't you want a longer lower mash for more fermentable sugars?
 
Got this one in the fermenter right now! I did a PM of this (my first!) using only 1lb 13oz of Belgian Pilsner malt, and the rest of the grains, with 6lbs Pilsen DME as a late addition. Got 6 gallons with an OG of 1.062.

Also, my AAs on the hops were lower than what was listed on the recipe but it worked out perfectly to 2oz Styrian Goldings and 1oz Saaz. Will let you know how it turns out. Thanks!
 
Wow! After a violent fermentation this weekend, took a gravity reading this morning and it went from 1.062 to 1.013. This yeast is insane!
 

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