Belgian Strong Ale - critique needed stat!

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BaronVonMeisterburger

BaronVonMeisterburger

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Location
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Recipe Specifications

Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.070 SG
Estimated Color: 18.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 32.1 IBUs


Ingredients:
Code: 
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU         
8.0 oz                Caravienne Malt (22.0 SRM)               Grain         1        4.9 %         
4.0 oz                Special B Malt (180.0 SRM)               Grain         2        2.4 %         
8 lbs                 Munich LME (14.0 SRM)                    Extract       3        78.0 %        
8.0 oz                Candi Sugar, Clear (0.5 SRM)             Sugar         4        4.9 %         
1.00 oz               Challenger [7.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min      Hop           5        23.4 IBUs     
1.00 oz               Saaz [2.40 %] - Boil 20.0 min            Hop           6        4.3 IBUs      
1.00 oz               Hallertauer [4.10 %] - Boil 10.0 min     Hop           7        4.4 IBUs      
1 lbs                 Candi Syrup, Amber d-45 [Boil for 10 min Sugar         8        9.8 %         
0.75 oz               Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 mins)           Spice         9        -             
0.50 oz               Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 5.0 mins)       Spice         10       -             
2.0 pkg               Belgian Strong Ale (Wyeast Labs #1388) [ Yeast         11       -


I'd appreciate your comments, suggestions or even pot shots on this recipe that I am brewing tomorrow after work. :ban:
 
Should be decent, but....

I would double the special b ( I like special b)

Ditch the clear candi sugar and double the amber. Clear candi is a rip off in my opinion. If you don't want extra color by using amber or dark, just use table sugar. In my experiments clear candi sugar provided no discernible taste benefits. If you already have it... Well just chuck it in :)

I would lose the corriander and orange peel. You would need a lot to stand out in this one. I have found that both spices better suit light colored Belgian beers

I've never used that yeast for this dark a beer (ie only golden Or blonde ones) but I would strongly advise keeping the fermentation temps down for the first couple of days. Around 65 to 68ish should do the trick. Then you can slowly raise it
 
Thanks for your reply.

I can add more special B. I've never used it, but it sounds like I'll like it. It will make it a brownish ale. I was going for Amberish, but I'm not too concerned about the color.

The clear candi sugar is just something I have to use this time and have since learned about alternatives.

I'll probably still use the orange peel and corriander. I've had it in some darker ales and it tastes pretty good. Ommegang Adoration comes to mind.

Thanks for the tip on fermentation temp. Luckily, the one you suggested is my default.

How long should I age this one?
 
Kinda depends. You bottling or kegging?

I'm not a super patient dude, and I only have two fermenters. I usually let it ferment to my target fg and leave it another week. If I'm bottling I I'll bottle and leave it three weeks to carb up and condition for a Bit.

If I'm kegging I'd leave it cold in the keg for a week or two

After that it's anyone's guess. It's a darker beer so age might improve it. However the spices will fade over time
 
It's in the primary.

changes to the original recipe: 8oz of special B and 1 oz of orange peel.

The OG was right were it was supposed to be at 1.070. The color changed to 23.1 SRM. It's a dark amber.

Should be 7.8% ABV.
 
I'm bottling. I pretty patient. I'll probably let this one sit a while.

I lost the forum "quote post" and "edit post" buttons. That's weird.
 
I think with that recipe you essentially have a dubbel.

I'd crack one open every week and see how it develops. I freakin love special b. it gives that raisony, dark fruit taste. If you dig belgians you'll know the one i'm talking about.

Currently fermenting the popular westy12 clone (the pious) that can be found in the recipes. I cant wait for that to be ready. the hydro samples taste amazing.

Also have an american brown fermenting. I chucked a bit of special b in there too. should be tasty
 
Yep, I love the raisin note found in many commercial Belgian ales. Special B didn't smell like raisins when I brewed with it. It smelled good, but not raisiny at all. I imagine it takes a while for the raisin note to develop after it's brewed.
 
Making Belgian ales seems like the fastest way to recoup my beer gear investment. Most of them are $3-$7 per 12oz at the store. This batch cost me about $1 per 12oz.
 
Not sure about those spices id say. Yeast should fulfill spice notes
 
The airlock bubbled frequently for three days. On the fourth day it is one small bubble per minute.

Sound normal for Wyeast 1388 ?

the ambient temperature is 67.
 
sounds normal for all yeast. Check the gravity after 2 weeks with your hydrometer
 
It's my second batch of beer.

I had about a week of frequent airlock activity before it started to calm down with my first beer using s-05 yeast.

I understand it's a variable. It just seemed like this batch with 1388 could have stalled a little too soon since I don't have much experience.
 
I haven't checked the gravity yet since it's only been in the primary for five days.

I'll raise the temps and give it a swirl.
 
I guess all I had to do was think about it. It's bubbling once every 20 seconds or so again. When I looked at it this morning it wasn't nearly as active.

I'll raise the temp and give it a little swirl anyhoo.
 
RJS said:
what he said
Click to expand...

Belgian yeast tend to benefit from raised temps as fermentation slows down. They quite often drop out and go to sleep too early if you have a temp drop as it slows. if you don't control your fermentation temps carefully, this will happen naturally as the temperature increase created by the fermentation processes will drop when fermentation subsides.
 
My re-quote lacked meaning perhaps. Theres too much bubble counting, which means very little. Yes, you could ramp it up, but the OP doesnt even know where the fermentation is at. Everyone is happy with the help given, i am not seeing any.

Also, swirling, not worth the risk.

Often people will totally disregard advice given, they want the easy way, or, they want justification for a decision already made.

Dont get me wrong, i see you asked for the gravity as well, thats great. All your wonderful belgian yeast knowledge is superb, but your explaining something someone wrote down and you memorized. First take a gravity reading, than see if you need to mess with the beer. Would you swirl and ramp up after you hit your target F.G.?

Also...We see here the ambient temp is 67F, that means fermentation was probably peaking at 74-75F, ramping up makes sense if you fermented lower than the desired ramp.
 
By the way, If you could see my face and here my voice, you would know i mean no disrespect. Just trying to help.
 
Pfft, takes more than words to get me stirred up :)

Clearly the OP is new and has a lot to learn. ALWAYS check gravity if you are concerned. Check fermentation temps NOT ambient. etc etc

RJS said:
Dont get me wrong, i see you asked for the gravity as well, thats great. All your wonderful belgian yeast knowledge is superb, but your explaining something someone wrote down and you memorized.
Click to expand...

Actually.... I have done close to 50 Belgian beers so i believe i am qualified to offer an opinion on Belgian yeast. Having experienced many of the pitfalls, I have had to learn many lessons the hard way, etc etc
 
I didn't see the need to check gravity since the airlock was bubbling steadily again. I raised the temp by 5 degrees, moved the bucket around a little bit and activity increased for a day. It has slowed down to one bubble per minute this morning.

It has been fermenting for a week now. I may take a gravity reading later today for the sake of curiosity, but i think everything is proceeding just fine and thanks for your help.
 
Transferred to a secondary after 2.5weeks. I think I'm going to let it age for 2-4 weeks in the secondary before bottling.

FG was 1.012. ABV 7.5%

It smelled great. Pears from the yeast, floral hops, raisin and caramel.

It tasted pretty good too. I think this will be a good beer eventually.
 
This turned out to be pretty darn good. I'm trying my first bottle today and I'm very pleased with the result. I'd make it again and wouldn't change much. Maybe a little more hops and specialty grains, but not much.

The special B wasn't as prominent as I thought it was going to be. The amber candi syrup is delicious, but I may try to make my own next time.
 

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