Belgian Dark Strong Ale Double Drunk Monk Belgian Dark

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kinkothecarp

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2009
Messages
204
Reaction score
11
Location
Michigan City
Recipe Type
Extract
Yeast
Rochefort Yeast (Wyeast 1762)
Yeast Starter
None - Wyeast Smackpack
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
1.093
Final Gravity
1.020
Boiling Time (Minutes)
90
IBU
25.4
Color
Deep Amber/Dark Red
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
7 from 62-69, raised by a degree per day
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
3 at 55.
Tasting Notes
Rich plum, followed by toffee and slight hints of dark currants. Amazing.
10 lbs Pilsner Liquid Extract
1.3lbs Belgian Rock Candi Amber
1lb Carafa III
8oz Biscuit Malt
7oz Special B
6oz Aromatic Malt
1oz Chocolate Malt

Hops:
60 minutes: 1oz Northern Brewer @ 8.5AA
30 minutes: 1oz Styrian Aurora @ 8.0AA
30 minutes: 1oz Hallertau @ 3.1AA

Boil: 3.0 gallons
9.7% ABV / 8% ABW

Steep Grains. I didn't pitch a starter and the beer worked perfectly. It's rich and smooth. You can drink this young (3-4 weeks) but really deserves age (4-6+ months).
 
What did your scoresheet from the state fair look like on this one?
Thanks!
 
kinkothecarp said:
10 lbs Pilsner Liquid Extract
1.3lbs Belgian Rock Candi Amber
1lb Carafa III
8oz Biscuit Malt
7oz Special B
6oz Aromatic Malt
1oz Chocolate Malt

Hops:
60 minutes: 1oz Northern Brewer @ 8.5AA
30 minutes: 1oz Styrian Aurora @ 8.0AA
30 minutes: 1oz Hallertau @ 3.1AA

Boil: 3.0 gallons
9.7% ABV / 8% ABW

Steep Grains. I didn't pitch a starter and the beer worked perfectly. It's rich and smooth. You can drink this young (3-4 weeks) but really deserves age (4-6+ months).

This looks delicious. What yeast and OG please?

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Home Brew Talk
 
for the rock candi...did you just add that into the boil or did you add that into secondary? I think I'm going to use Turbinado sugar and invert that, since my lhbs doesn't have and Belgian rock candi.
 
Yes, this was the big beer I had for my wedding reception! Didnt have as much time to condition as I was hoping, but I got nothing but good reviews on it. One of her uncles was saying it was his favorite of the beers (an ipa, choc. stout, "Cream of three crops", and this), so it went great, I'd say! Still havnt had a chance to try one myself, though, so I'll have to get back to ya on my own thoughts. :mug:
 
Wow! That's an honor! I never imagined others would be serving my recipes at weddings. I feel like an accomplished recipe maker-uper! :)
 
Haha, ya it was a pretty well welcomed! Mine turned out at 10.3% :mug: and now has a distinct rich malty tone with hints of toffee at the end. It's a bit thinner than I was hoping for, and has something of a banana flavor (guessing that's an off flavor? no one else seems to notice it...) but otherwise is an excellent brew. I've had less abv beers that tasted hotter than this one, so that's awesome!
 
Any tips to watch out for as I would like to do this one this weekend as a double batch since it sounds delicious!

Meaning would you recommend some Malto Dextrin to help with a more mouthy feel?
 
Well, it's definitely still getting better with age, so let it condition a good while at room temp. Ya, try out the malto dextrin and let us know the results! Kinda hard if you dont have one w/o to compare too, but I'd guess that could help it.
 
Think I'm going to brew this up for Christmas gifts this week. I was thinking a month in primary, a month in secondary and a month in bottles. Should that be enough?

I'll also probably go for a starter and the maltodextrin. One question I have is I actually already have a turkey fryer and huge pot, so I could full boil this. Should I add all of the ME at the beginning and go for a full boil? This will probably change up my hops utilization- what do you think I should do?
 
well, as far as fermenting goes, only a month in bottles will be kind of young, evenn though it's getting extra time in the fermenters: it definitely gets better with age! I did a full boil, and it worked out great for me.
 
Would you maybe shorten the time in the fermenters to say 3 each and tack the extra time onto the bottle conditioning? Or skip the secondary? I'm a bit new to all this.

The idea was to give everyone 2 750ml bottles of it, one to drink soon(ish) and one to drink way way down the road. I'd like to have it at least tasty in 3.5 months if that's possible.
 
I would prob just follow the recipe, but if you're partial to more time in the fermentors, then keep primary the same, and increase secondary a few weeks. It will certainly be good by xmas, but might still be a little hot and green. Something this big though, will mostly just be hot. Otherwise, I'd say you're good to go!:mug:
 
I would prob just follow the recipe, but if you're partial to more time in the fermentors, then keep primary the same, and increase secondary a few weeks. It will certainly be good by xmas, but might still be a little hot and green. Something this big though, will mostly just be hot. Otherwise, I'd say you're good to go!:mug:

Haha, ok. 7 day primary and 3 day secondary sounded a little short to me, but if the time in the bottles is what's important, that's what I'll do (OG/FG permitting, of course). Noobs like me probably shouldn't be fiddling with the recipes of award winning beers;)
 
ya the 3 day secondary hit me by suprise, too. In fact, if I remember right, my work schedule didnt work out well with me bottling after 3 days, so I'm pretty sure it was in there for a week. Let us know how it turns out!
 
Just an update: brewed this Saturday night WAAAAY late. We were up until 4:30 cleaning up. That's not all brewing, obv. We had a late lunch date with some friends and then had to cook and bake for a Sunday party. Didn't start sanitizing for bottling the ESB until around 9, and finally started brewing around 11:30.

Everything went exceptionally smoothly, save for a little scorching of the LME. That stuff is irritating to work with- I think I'm done with it. Hope it didn't affect the flavor too much- it smells pretty burnt/coffee ish, but it wasn't apparent in the gravity sample. Also missed the gravity (wtf) only by a few points, because I think I boiled too big and the boil-off on my pot/burner is actually pretty minimal.

Pitched a 2qt starter and after ~12hr lag it took off. It's been blowing through the blowoff since mid afternoon yesterday. Looking forward to this one:rockin:
 
In the recipe, you mention Wyeast 1762, but then in a later post you say you used 1214. Which did you actually use? :)
 
Just an update, the krausen kept shooting through the blowoff for about 5 days, then I switched it to a bubbler. Gravity was only about 1.040 and it's been bubbling pretty slowly since then, so it may take a while to get down to final gravity. Smells fantastic, but man, you can barely smell it through the alcohol. Might just end up doing a long primary of 3 weeks and then going right into bottles. We'll see. The waiting is the hardest part.
 
I am planning on brewing this up this weekend. It sounds great! This is going to be my Holiday brew to to hand out. Any new updates anyone would like to share?
 
Mine was only at 1.030 as of last sunday, which would be 2 weeks in primary. Not sure why it's so slow compared to OP, but it is a big beer so I'm not worried.

I've roused the yeast once, and may again this weekend (3 weeks in primary). Still the occasional airlock bubble, though, so I'll keep rousing and waiting until it's done. Tastes excellent, most of that ridiculous alcohol nose is gone- this should be a great beer in a few months.
 
Thanks for the update. So you decided to go longer on the primary. I typically go two+ weeks and then secondary but others have their thing too. I can't wait to get this going on Sat. Please keep us updated as mine will be coming in on your tailwind.
 
Just brewed this tonight. My LHBS didn't have either of the Belgian Abbey yeasts, so the guy there recommended using Wyeast 3787 (Trappist High Gravity) instead, and I made a 1.7L starter with 2 packs (according to Mr. Malty). I also had to substitute New Zealand Motueka hops instead of the Styrian Aurora.

The wort tasted pretty good, so I'm very excited to see how this turns out! It's my first "big beer" and I haven't done a yeast starter before, so it was fun trying something new.
 
I brewed this on Sat. I substituted the Syrian Aurora with more Northern Brewer (per the LHBS suggestion) as I couldn't get the other. I guess I'll see how it turns out. At 12 hrs in, it started bubbling decently and is still going strong. Didn't reach the OG listed (mine topped at at 1.080) so my yield won't be as strong. It will still be a tasty beer none-the-less.
 
Thanks for the update. So you decided to go longer on the primary. I typically go two+ weeks and then secondary but others have their thing too. I can't wait to get this going on Sat. Please keep us updated as mine will be coming in on your tailwind.

I only went longer on the primary because it wasn't done fermenting. OP says his was done in a week with no starter and then a 3 day secondary. If mine was done after 7 days, I might have followed his instructions, but it wasn't even close (I did a half gallon starter). I'm usually one to go at least 3 weeks in primary anyway, but OP seemed to think more time in bottles would be beneficial.

As of today, it's still in primary (3 weeks now) but I haven't checked the gravity since last week. When the SG finally levels out, I'll probably go straight to bottles and skip the secondary.
 
Mine went three weeks in the primary and I racked it into the secondary. I will most likely keep it in there for a couple weeks to clear and then bottle. SG was at 1.024. Smells great and tasted really good as well. It is really hot right now but I am sure a little aging in the bottle will smooth some of that out. This recipe might be a keeper for me but time will tell. Updates to come....
 
This brew definitely smooths out with aging, so imagine it with a quarter of that hotness.
 
I added a couple of ounces of sugar and some boiled yeast, and SG has started dropping again, a few bubbles here and there- around 1.026. I'll probably bottle it next week if it's stopped bubbling again. Pretty sweet and thick, but extremely tasty. I think if I brewed it again, I would actually leave out the malto (it's pretty thick right now), but the real test will be when the beer is carbed and conditioned. The flavors have really started to come together and its about 1/2 as hot as it was before. Can't wait to get this bad boy carbed up. Now just need to go raid the local brunches for champagne bottles.
 
I just did this brew and added a pound of orange blossom honey with the candi sugar at flameout. I totally forgot to take the gravity before pitching yeast (I was super excited :( and had a few beers) but the O.G. was 1.098. I'm pretty excited to see how this turns out.
 
I bottled this yesterday, after 4 weeks in the primary. It tasted great! There's quite a bit of alcohol, but I'm guessing that will mellow with time. This will be really great in a few months.
 
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