I love Dubbels and I love the unique flavour of Special B malt. This beer lets me enjoy both. The recipe was patched together from many sources. Thanks to an interview with the former head brewer at Ommegang the spicing came together more clearly than in previous attempts.
11 lbs lager malt
2 lbs Special B
2 lbs Aromatic
1 lb 30 - 40 Crystal
1 500 ml bottle of dark syrup
1 oz. Hallter for the boil. Added after the first half hour.
.5 Saaz at 5
I zested two mandarin oranges and add at 15
.5 oz licorice root at 15
.4 oz crushed coriander seed add as I turned the heat off.
Mashing schedule was 130 for 15, 148 for 30 and 160 for 15.
Fermented with Wyeast Ardennes yeast at 72F in primary, 60 F in secondary.
This turned out really great. It is a big beer but is quite elegant and well rounded. Nothing really stands out, all flavours blend nicely.
The nose is spicy and malty. It is difficult to distinguish whether the spice in the nose is from the yeast or coriander or a blend.
Tasting it you first get fresh sweet malt and quickly after that the various flavours of licorice, orange, coriander and spicy yeast, all blending together.
It is almost black but shows red around the side of the glass. Nice tight head and looks great in a glass.
I'm curious how this recipe compares to the BYO and which one is closer to the real thing. Here is the Clone recipe from BYO first printed in September 2005.