Three Philosophers clone help

I know, right? Two years, no brew. I kept coming up with other (cheaper, easier) things to brew. Honestly I think I was trying to save enough bottles to cork and cage, but then I'd need a corker.

Besides, this gives me the opportunity to research the current recipe.

gio said:

Why wait to add the sugar? And why not more sugar so you can hit your target ABV (which is about 10% if I remember correctly).

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I beleive it's a technique used to maximize overall attenuation on HG beers.

I seem to recall this being discussed durring one of the brew strong high gravity episodes...can't remember which guest brewer was talking it up, but the idea is to hold off because simple sugars are easiest for yeast to consume, and those will go first if given the choice. You want to give them the toughest part of the job early on, so they don't run out of steam.

Also, mentioned on part 2 of the BNA 2011 awards I think. Forget who again, but one of the brewers nominated for an award was talking about this trick as a way to get Saison's to finish very low and dry.

I am currently brewing the Three Philosophers. I have the quad in the secondary and am adding sterilized (not boiled) cherries to condition for a few weeks. My plan is to add Lindeman's Kriek to the last portion in the bottling bucket, just in case I get exploding bottles. I may also experiment with different levels of bottling sugar due to the sugar present in the Kriek and maybe some in the cherries. I dont expect it to taste just like the Three Thinkers, but it cant be bad. Maybe I will give an update in a couple months, being that this clone is such a mystery.

rrayriver said:

I am currently brewing the Three Philosophers. I have the quad in the secondary and am adding sterilized (not boiled) cherries to condition for a few weeks. My plan is to add Lindeman's Kriek to the last portion in the bottling bucket, just in case I get exploding bottles. I may also experiment with different levels of bottling sugar due to the sugar present in the Kriek and maybe some in the cherries. I dont expect it to taste just like the Three Thinkers, but it cant be bad. Maybe I will give an update in a couple months, being that this clone is such a mystery.

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How'd it turn out?

I made this recipe which is a 3 phils clone
http://www.brewtoad.com/recipes/three-philosophers-clone-1

It is my second beer to make so I am unsure how good it will be but I am looking foward to it.

How close does that recipe compare to the one on here?

That's my recipe. Didn't realize I'd made it public. Oops! It's more or less the same recipe, just adjusted to try to match the proportions in the book.

After almost four years, this one will finally be brewed THIS SUMMER! Hooray!

eulipion2 said:

That's my recipe. Didn't realize I'd made it public. Oops! It's more or less the same recipe, just adjusted to try to match the proportions in the book.

After almost four years, this one will finally be brewed THIS SUMMER! Hooray!

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Nice! Thanks For Sharing!

So when do I transfer to the second fermentation bucket?

EverydayDiesel said:

Nice! Thanks For Sharing!

So when do I transfer to the second fermentation bucket?

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Honestly, I've pretty much given up on secondary. Most of my beers are 3 weeks in primary, then bottle. For this one, maybe 4 weeks fermenting around 75 F, then bottle or keg.

eulipion2 said:

That's my recipe. Didn't realize I'd made it public. Oops! It's more or less the same recipe, just adjusted to try to match the proportions in the book.

After almost four years, this one will finally be brewed THIS SUMMER! Hooray!

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Did you brew it yet? Certainly you found a job a couple years ago and had reason to celebrate. Plus this year its summer!

It certainly is summer, and I've been planning a quad. Perhaps I'll do this one. For whatever reason I always forget about this one. Really need to pay closer attention when I make off-the-cuff "promises." Of course, I have the grains for the one I was planning, so we'll see.

EDIT: The biggest problem I'm having brewing this recipe is that my LHBS sells by the pound for all specialty grains. If I brew this recipe, I'll have a lot of leftover grain. My other recipe is much simpler: pils, Belgian pale, and D-180 syrup.

What is the new recipe? What do you think about brewing it and adding the kreik as a three philosophers "inspired" brew? I also have an issue spending a bunch of money on specialty grains and having half or more of them left over so I understand the logic behind not brewing it. Id love to do a good quad and try adding the kreik. The malty, Belgian, cherry, is fantastic and even if not a clone of Three Philos I think it would be great.

MikePote said:

What is the new recipe?

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It's a recipe out of BeerAdvocate from a few years ago called "Simplicity at Noon."

11 lb Belgian Pils
5 lb Belgian Pale
2 lb D-180 (or D2 depending on brand) candi syrup

.75 oz Magnum (14%AA) - 60 min

WLP535 Abbey Ale or Wyeast 3787 Trappist High Gravity

Mash 150 for 60 min
It doesn't specify boil time, but I'd go with 90 minutes.

What do you think about brewing it and adding the kreik as a three philosophers "inspired" brew?

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I think I'd split the batch, do 2.5 gallons straight, 2.5 with kriek. That way I can see which I prefer.

That recipe was identified here as a Westvleteren 12 clone.

Yup. The intent of the BA article was that you don't need complex grain bills to make complex beer, citing the rumor that the brewers at Westvleteren use a recipe similar to the one above. Since I'm a big fan of simple, I've been eyeing this one instead of the Three Philosophers clone. But what MikePote was asking is, could you add kriek to it to make a Three Philosophers 'inspired' beer, not a clone with that recipe.

Has anyone made this beer?

I'm just finishing a 3P and want to put this into my brew schedule.

Thanks.


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