Belgian Slut - Belgian IPA

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Homebrewtastic

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2009
Messages
1,042
Reaction score
30
Location
San Antonio
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
WLP575 - Abbey Ale
Yeast Starter
1 Liter
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
1.065
Final Gravity
1.012
Boiling Time (Minutes)
90
IBU
59
Color
12
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
9 days @ 68
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
14 days @ 76
Tasting Notes
Delicious.
Grain Bill:
35% 4lb 0 Belgian Pils
35% 4lb 0 Munich Malt
9% 1lb 0 Wheat, Torrified
9% 1lb 0 American Crystal 60L
9% 1lb 0 Belgian Candy Sugar, Light
4% 0 8oz. Brown Sugar, Light

Hop Schedule:

USE TIME OZ VARIETY FORM AA
boil 60 mins 1.0 Warrior pellet 15.8
boil 10 mins 2.0 Amarillo pellet 8.6
boil 1 min 3.0 Willamette pellet 5.5
dry hop 7 days 2.0 Willamette pellet 5.5
dry hop 7 days 1.0 Amarillo pellet 8.6

90 minute mash at 153. Mash out at 168. Measurements and O.G. are for 72% efficiency.

I brewed this beer for my friends wedding and it was a big hit... of course free booze often is. The fruity esters and spicy phenols from the abbey yeast blend well with the amarillo and willamette hops. This brew is a touch dry for an IPA. Next time I make it I plan to mash at 155 to fill the body out a but more. You could replace the candy sugar with more base malt, but the different type of fermentable adds a touch more complexity in the alcohols.

Despite the near 60 IBUs this beer is exceptionally drinkable and refreshing. The torrified wheat does wonders for head retention.
 
I was looking for a good belgian IPA to brew as my first all-grain batch. Headed to the store now to pick up the goods to brew this baby.

Cheers.
 
Turns out I only had 4 oz of brown sugar in the house, oops. Also my home brew supplier can't seem to keep Amarillo in stock so I went with 1 oz Centennial and 1 oz Cascade for the flavor addition.

I did managed to hit 1.065 OG and I went with a Wyeast Belgian Strong. I plan on fermenting in the high 60s so my hope is that the esters don't get too crazy. Blow-off in place and ready. I will dry hop with Willamette (2 oz) and Cascade (1 oz) in 7 days.

I'll definitely post back when I drink a glass and let you know how it turned out. Thanks for the recipe.
 
Sounds great. I bet it will be great with the different hops in there. I wouldn't worry too much on the sugar. That's really just to help it dry out, but I thought it was too dry anyway. So I bet yours will be just right. I hope it works out well for you!
 
Homebrewtastic I am brewing something similar tomorrow and would like to know when you add the candi sugar and brown sugar?
 
I added the sugars right at the end of the boil. I don't think it matter as long as you don't scorch the wort.

On a side note this beer is finally bottle conditioned and it tastes awesome. I was afraid it would be way too hoppy but I actually think it is really well balanced. It's got a great caramel color and a prevalent but not overpowering hop backbone. The candi sugar adds a nice sweetness and the Belgian strong yeast that I used give it a nice banana flavor. Thanks again for the recipe. Definitely one I would brew again.

Cheers,
Patrick
 
Sorry this is a late reply but I added the sugars in during the boil. But if you haven't added them yet and your beer is already in the fermenter I would suggest just boiling the sugar in a small amount of water, chilling then adding it right in. The yeast will have no problem chewing through those simple sugars.

Patrick. Glad it turned out well for you!! :mug:
 
Homebrewtastic I am brewing something similar tomorrow and would like to know when you add the candi sugar and brown sugar?

I typically add sugars early in the boil to allow them to cook and get more complex. Just need to be careful not to let them sit on bottom and scorch.
 
I entered my version of this recipe into The Dominion Cup 2011, which was August 13th in Richmond, Virginia. I am proud to say that I received a silver medal in the Belgian and French ale category (out of 46 beers). I am still waiting on the tasting notes from the judges but I am thrilled that I placed! Only problem is I have eight bottle left and everyone wants a taste.

Cheers,
Patrick
 
Riffraff3055 said:
I entered my version of this recipe into The Dominion Cup 2011, which was August 13th in Richmond, Virginia. I am proud to say that I received a silver medal in the Belgian and French ale category (out of 46 beers). I am still waiting on the tasting notes from the judges but I am thrilled that I placed! Only problem is I have eight bottle left and everyone wants a taste.

Cheers,
Patrick

Hey I was hoping you would post the tasting notes. I'm rebrewing it soon, I've wanted to ever since the original batch and never got around to it. So I'd like to read the notes to see if there's any good info that might help me.

Also to the last poster yes. I do dry hop in secondary. For most beers I like to only primary in a carboy for a month before bottling. But for this beer I primary in a bucket for better ester production, so I then rack to secondary for dry hopping.
 
But for this beer I primary in a bucket for better ester production, so I then rack to secondary for dry hopping.

Hmm, I'm curious - can you explain what you mean by this? What about a bucket promotes esters vs. a carboy?
 
The lower pressure environment allows for more ester and phenol production. I was listening to an episode of the Jamil show where he said that at the Sierra Nevada Brewery they ferment their lagers under a couple psi of pressure so that they can ferment warmer and more quickly, but keep a very clean fermentation profile. So it stands to reason that a very loosely covered bucket will have less pressure than a glass Carboy with ab airlock.
 
Looks tasty. Hope you don't mind some questions

If I am doing brew in a bag, should I do something different?
Will it be OK to let this sit in primary for 2 weeks? I'll be leaving on vacation 7 days after making this.
 
Pixalated said:
Looks tasty. Hope you don't mind some questions

If I am doing brew in a bag, should I do something different?
Will it be OK to let this sit in primary for 2 weeks? I'll be leaving on vacation 7 days after making this.

I've only done BIAB a couple times and didn't like my results so as far as that goes I can't offer any really sound advice. You can definitely leave it in primary longer it won't hurt a bit. I only secondary this one for the dry hopping. Most of my beers are primary only for a month.
 
Made this recipe in April and bottle it about 3 weeks ago. It is simply fantastic.
I wasn't much of an IPA person until recently, but I'm coming around. I love the balance between the maltiness and the hops. Will be doing it again very soon.
Thanks for the great recipe.
 
Hey guys, sorry I have taken so long to post the tasting notes from my silver medal win last fall. I have typed them up below.

I just rebrewed this beer to submit to a local brewery for consideration in the GABF pro-am. If they pick my beer from a field of six or sever other local brewers we would brew a commercial-size batch and submit that to the competition.

Wish me luck!

Patrick


Tasting Notes from The Dominion Cup 2011:
Category: 16E
Sub-category: Belgian Specialty
Final assigned score: 37/50

Aroma: 8/10
Strong hop aroma, bit piney some citrus, some underlying biscuit notes, very subdued. Touch of tartness. Low spice and esters - some lemon might be there. Hops are very American in style.

Appearance: 3/3
Copper. Clear. Thick, off-white, persistent head.

Flavor: 15/20
Flavor has more Belgian notes that compliment the Belgian quality nicely. Spicey and fruity with hop flavor in balance. Malt is toasty and biscuity; clove and pine, grapefruit citrus come together well. Not overdone. Sugars are light - might have helped dry it out. Finishes dry and hoppy.

Mouthfeel: 3/5
Medium body - could be thinner especially if candi sugars played a role. Creamy but not cloying. Smooth.

Overall Impression: 8/10
Very nice Belgian IPA with enough hops but not overdone. Good balance. Nice overall.
 
I don't quite have the equipment yet for an all-grain batch. Can I get some help with making this partial-grain?
 
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