Belgian Strong Golden Ale- any feedback would be appreciated

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: WLP570
Yeast Starter: 2 qt
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1.068
Final Gravity: 1.010
IBU: 33
Boiling Time (Minutes): 90
Color: 3.2
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 2.5 weeks @ 68F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 5 weeks @ 68F
Brewhouse Efficiency: 71.00 %

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
11.17 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (1.3 L) Grain 81.1 %
0.68 lb Flaked Soft Red Wheat (2.0 L) Grain 4.9% %
0.68 lb Carapils (1.3 L) Grain 4.9 %
1.00 oz Perle [8%] (90 min) Hops Pellets
1.00 oz Saaz [3 %] (30 min) Hops Pellets
1.00 tsp Whirlfloc (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1.00 tsp Servomyces (Boil 10 min) Misc
1.24 lb Corn Sugar/Dextrose (1.0 SRM) Sugar 9%
1 Pkgs Belgian Golden Ale (White Labs #WLP570) Yeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 13.03 lb

90 min Saccharification Rest @151

Fermentation- planning on starting at 67 and then ramping up.


Would appreciate any feedback, Thanks.

I'd be inclined to ditch the carapils and mash a bit lower to drive the attenuation.

I agree. and if you wanted to drive it down further, I would suggest a little simple sugar (1/2lb to 1lb would suffice) into the primary.

wonderbread23 said:

I'd be inclined to ditch the carapils and mash a bit lower to drive the attenuation.

Click to expand...

What you think if i got rid of the carapils and replaced it with a smaller amount of caramel 10l? I'm worried that just pilsner and wheat might not have the malt complexity that I like in belgian golden strongs. Any thoughts? I appreciate the feedback, I want it to be dry and if carapils is gonna hinder my attenuation to a substantial degree then I wanna toss it out.

If you want some complexities, a little aromatic malt and light crystal would do the trick.

For your gravity, 4-6oz of each would give you what you are looking for I think.

Thanks for the suggestion- altered the recipe to:

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: WLP570
Yeast Starter: 2 qt
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1.068
Final Gravity: 1.010
IBU: 33
Boiling Time (Minutes): 90
Color: 4.0 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 2.5 weeks @ 68F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 5 weeks @ 68F
Brewhouse Efficiency: 71.00 %

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
11.17 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (1.3 L) Grain 80.7 %
0.68 lb Flaked Soft Red Wheat (2.0 L) Grain 4.9 %
0.50 lb Caramel 10L Grain (10 L) 3.6%
0.25 lb Munich 10L Grain 10 (L) 1.8%
1.00 oz Perle [8%] (90 min) Hops Pellets
1.00 oz Saaz [3 %] (30 min) Hops Pellets
1.00 tsp Whirlfloc (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1.00 tsp Servomyces (Boil 10 min) Misc
1.24 lb Corn Sugar/Dextrose (1.0 SRM) Sugar 9%
1 Pkgs Belgian Golden Ale (White Labs #WLP570) Yeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 13.03 lb

90 min Saccharification Rest @151

Fermentation- planning on starting at 67 and then ramping up.

Try subbing plain old table sugar for the corn sugar. It is literally the exact same thing; colorless flavorless pure sucrose, except way way cheaper.

Looks good though.

wildbeers said:

What you think if i got rid of the carapils and replaced it with a smaller amount of caramel 10l? I'm worried that just pilsner and wheat might not have the malt complexity that I like in belgian golden strongs. Any thoughts? I appreciate the feedback, I want it to be dry and if carapils is gonna hinder my attenuation to a substantial degree then I wanna toss it out.

Click to expand...

Carapils won't really give you more malt complexity... it'll just give it more body which you don't really want in a golden strong. I do a golden strong that is 100% pilsner malt and sucrose. It is awesome.... you get a ton of complexity from the yeast and has a great crispness to it.

I agree, pils and sugar only. No Carapils, no crystal, nothing but the basics on a golden strong. And give yourself more time in primary. 1 month plus, then transfer to secondary for clarifying. That yeast is a terrible flocculator and will take a long time to clear and a long time to taste good. Be very patient. 6 months in the bottle is minimum before you taste it. Best wishes