Belgian "Raison" Red

A new endeavor for me and my own concoction I believe.

I have not been too keen on recipe advices but, feel compelled to get some generalized feedback on this one.

"Api Neraka" aka "HellFire" shall be a base of Pilsen with Golden Raisin and Gula Jawa comprising (a combined) 15% of fermentables. Victory malt will provide a hint of a bisuity maltiness and a kiss of BP will bring out the Ruby tone. OG will be at 1.087 with a BU:GU of .44 attained through the use of strictly homegrown hops of German ancestry (Tradition for flavor and aroma, Magnum for the bitter punch). The bases malts will be mashed for fermentability and the raisins (chopped) will be racked onto in primary post cooling. The Gula Jawa will be added in the kettle at first wort.

The hops I expect to contribute some peppry, spicey notes combined with Fermentis T-58 pitched at 60-68*f and allowed to rise naturally through to a stabilized 75*F max.

I have never used T-58 but it'd description seems a perfect fit for this. However, my only concern is it's 75% attenuation (as listed in BS) which I calculate a FG of 1.022. However, the est ABV clocks in at ~9% which is well within this yeast tolerance so, I am unsure what level of dryness to expect. My hopes are for a malty presence with a balanced but spicey back end and no lingering cloying, umm, ness.

Well? See any obvious flaws. (aside from me pidgeonholing it as a Belgian Red with no Flanders souring).

sounds pretty interesting to me! I'd keep the amount of biscuit on the low side

GilaMinumBeer said:

Well? See any obvious flaws.

Click to expand...

Yes, I see one very large and blatant flaw. How will this beer complete it's journey and eventually reach my belly?

Seriously though, it sounds amazing. I'm not sure what the Gula Jawa (which I had to google) will add. Are you thinking to get some of the flavor from it, or will it mostly be for fermentable sugars? At 1.022 FG, it might come out a bit on the sweet side, but I think the hops will balance that out nicely.

The Victory will comprise 3 to 5% of the grist.

The Gula Jawa will provide mostly fermentables. However, this will be experimentable as I am un-sure just how fermentable it is. I am hoping for some flavoring ( I get a earthy caramel tone from it in teh raw) but am unsure how it will fare through the boil.

Think I should bump the BU:GU to .5 or .6 to compensate for the late extract (raisins) and the attenuation?

Bump.

Anyone else?

Very interesting brew! I wish I could provide input but I've never brewed anything like this. So I'll ask a question or two.

What is the reason for adding the Gula Jawa at first-wort?

Any contamination concerns with putting cooled, unfermented wort on chopped up raisins? I've only ever used zest and that was at end of boil.

SpanishCastleAle said:

Very interesting brew! I wish I could provide input but I've never brewed anything like this. So I'll ask a question or two.

What is the reason for adding the Gula Jawa at first-wort?

Any contamination concerns with putting cooled, unfermented wort on chopped up raisins? I've only ever used zest and that was at end of boil.

Click to expand...

My thought are for the gravity contribution and impact on hop extract. I am using only FWH and bittering additions for simplicity. All leaf hops.

I have also struggled with this in regard to the fruit. 1.024SG of gravity contributed by my rudimentary calcs. (4lbs Grapes @ 1.007ppg = 1lb Raisins) but the pectins.......

I have also considered either microwaving the raisins or macerating them in Grey Goose vodka.

I am afraid that if I boil the raisin I will loose their flavoring and solubilize pectins.

Thoughts?

I've read that freezing fruit helps break the cell walls for better 'utilization' and it also helps with contaminants but I doubt it completely removes them. And I don't know the effect of freezing on pectins.

I wonder if a UV light could be used? Not that any of us have a suitable UV light at home...but I do use them at work.

Was re-reading a BYO last night and fumbled through the letters section.

They mentioned "sorbate". Intended to keep dormant bugs, dormant but not affect any active yeast.

I'll have to look into this summor' as it may be the answer to my buggy pectin dilemma.

That, or maybe I just find my old carboys and secondary for once in a looooooong time. Gasp, I can only imagine how thick the dust must be now. They are somewhere in my attic. Hope I remembered to empty them first.

Not sure if the flavor profile fits here, but when Lost Abbey puts raisins into their dubbel, they basically brown them with a torch before going into the fermentor. Might get some caramelized flavors which may or may not be desirable, but certainly seems like it would sterilize them.