I'm no expert on Belgian beer, but I really liked this one. (I'll admit - the label caught my eye in the store while looking for something new, so home with me it went)
9.9%abv, balanced hop character. I didn't see any clone recipes out there, but did find this:
http://smuttynose.blogspot.com/2011/07/homunculus-cometh.html
From which Brewtarget and me came up with this:
Homunculus Clone - Belgian Golden Strong Ale (18D)
Brewer Nobody
Date 09/01/2011
Batch Size 5.001 gal Boil Size 6.149 gal
Boil Time 1.000 hr Efficiency 75%
OG 21.2 P FG 5.1 P
ABV 8.8% Bitterness 42.8 IBU (Tinseth)
Color 7 SRM (Mosher) Calories (per 12 oz.) 293
Fermentables
Total grain: 14.500 lb
Name Type Amount Mashed Late Yield Color
Breiss 2-row Brewer's Malt Grain 12.000 lb Yes No 79% 2 L
Cane (Beet) Sugar Sugar 1.500 lb No No 100% 0 L
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L Grain 1.000 lb Yes No 75% 20 L
Hops
Name Alpha Amount Use Time Form IBU
Bravo 16% 1.000 oz Boil 1.000 hr Pellet 42.8
Sterling 4% 4.500 oz Dry Hop 1.000 hr Pellet 0.0
Sterling 4% 0.500 oz Aroma 0.000 s Pellet 0.0
Nugget 13% 3.000 oz Dry Hop 1.000 hr Pellet 0.0
Yeast
Name Type Form Amount Stage
WLP500 - Trappist Ale Yeast Ale Liquid 2.367 tbsp Primary
Mash
Name Type Amount Temp Target Temp Time
1 Infusion 3.441 gal 166.362 F 148.000 F 1.000 hr
batch 1 Infusion 2.233 gal 212.000 F 170.000 F 15.000 min
Batch 2 Infusion 2.204 gal 190.547 F 170.000 F 15.000 min
Instructions
1. Add 12.000 lb Breiss 2-row Brewer's Malt, 12.000 lb Breiss 2-row Brewer's Malt, 1.000 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L, to the mash tun.
2. Bring 3.441 gal water to 166.362 F, 2.233 gal water to 212.000 F, 2.204 gal water to 190.547 F, for upcoming infusions.
3. Add 3.441 gal water at 166.362 F to mash to bring it to 148.000 F. Hold for 1.000 hr.
4. Add 2.233 gal water at 212.000 F to mash to bring it to 170.000 F. Hold for 15.000 min.
5. Add 2.204 gal water at 190.547 F to mash to bring it to 170.000 F. Hold for 15.000 min.
6. Bring the wort to a boil and hold for 1.000 hr.
7. Boil or steep 1.500 lb Cane (Beet) Sugar, .
8. Put 1.000 oz Bravo into boil for 1.000 hr.
9. You should have 4.789 gal wort post-boil. You anticipate losing 0.000 tsp to trub and chiller loss. The final volume in the primary is 4.789 gal.
10. Cool wort and pitch WLP500 - Trappist Ale Yeast Ale yeast, to the primary.
11. Let ferment until FG is 1.020.
12. Transfer beer to secondary.
13. Put 4.500 oz Sterling into fermenter for 1.000 hr.
14. Put 3.000 oz Nugget into fermenter for 1.000 hr.
I didn't have Carahell added to my Brewtarget database yet, so I used crystal 20 for a mock-up run. (should've used crystal 10 since Carahell is 8-11°L)
I kept the dregs from the bottle and made a mini starter to check viability - after 2 days on the stir plate and a week in the fridge, it still tastes sweet. However, there is a lot more solid matter in there now than there was before, and there was positive pressure when I opened the jar. Didn't make enough to check gravity w/ my hydrometer, and I don't have a refractometer (yet).
Questions:
How did they get it to ferment out so dry using WLP500? Maybe used a champagne yeast to finish it off?
I originally wanted to use the yeast from the bottle, but with a $46 recipe, I might buy new. Should I try to pitch the bottle yeast?
