Help with my first Belgian Quad/Strong Dark...

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

KyleWolf

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2010
Messages
790
Reaction score
23
Location
Saint Louis
Hey everyone,

So I am piecing together my fall brew (currently brewing my summer brews...Lemongrass/Pomegranate Hefe, and little Maharaja), and decided nothing would work better than a belgian quad. So I am lookin some stuff up, putting something here, something there, and poof. So this is my rough draft and I will probably tweak it here and there out of boredom or OCD. but I wanted to atleast get the input of everyone here.

I am looking to put together a nice heady and easy drinking Quad with strong sugar/malty flavors with nice spicy and subtle but present hop profiles. Hoping to put the color at a dark amber red to brown.

4 Elements Quadruple
Belgian Dark Strong Ale


Type: All Grain
Date: 5/6/2010
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Brewer: Alchemic Brewing
Boil Size: 6.30 gal Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min Equipment: My Equipment
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0 Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00
Taste Notes:

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
14.50 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 80.56 %
0.50 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 2.78 %
0.50 lb Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 2.78 %
0.50 lb Wheat, Flaked (1.6 SRM) Grain 2.78 %
2.00 lb Candi Sugar, Amber (75.0 SRM) Sugar 11.11 %

0.50 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 16.7 IBU
1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] (60 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops -
0.50 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (25 min) Hops 3.3 IBU
1.00 oz Hallertauer [4.80 %] (25 min) Hops 8.0 IBU
1.00 oz Saaz [4.00 %] (5 min) Hops 1.9 IBU

1 Pkgs Trappist High Gravity (Wyeast Labs #3787) Yeast-Wheat


Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.092

Est Final Gravity: 1.019

Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 9.52 %

Bitterness: 29.9 IBU

Est Color: 22.3 SRM

I have not played with Aromatic, Special B, or Candi Sugar very much at all, and with that I imagine those are the biggest things I am most likely getting wrong...perhaps dumb down the candi and dish out a bit more special B...and I also feel someone will say I need caramunich of some sort...so I am curious.

So, also a question, with Candi sugar supposedly almost 100% fermentable, I if I wanted a slightly dryer beer, could I up the sugar and bring down my pils a bit? This is more theoretical and academic curiosity than anything.

Thank you for your time in advance.
Kyle
 
I don't speak from first-hand experience, but you might want a 90 minute boil with that much Pilsner to boil off DMS. That's what I plan on doing in my upcoming Dubbel and Kölsch.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if you saw 3787 chew through those fermentables down into the low teens (depending on your mash profile, pitch rate, ferment temp profile, and the rest).

Your recipe reads like an awesome piece of awesome awesomeness. Will you bottle-condition?
 
I recently brewed a Quad that had a similar grainbill w/ 2 lbs of candi syrup (which equals about 1.5 lbs sugar). I mashed right around 150F & used the White Labs Chimay yeast strain. The OG was 1.089 & the FG was 1.011. Using 2 lbs candi sugar, you will get a dry beer!
 
Your recipe reads like an awesome piece of awesome awesomeness. Will you bottle-condition?

Tough call...I have some kegs and the thought occurred to me or force carbing then bottling. In theory it is a "no hassle" option, but I have never tried it, so I can't say.

Either way, its goin in a bottle. trying to collect up on the Kasteel and Duvel bottles.

....to mkling...that was something I feared...and I don't want it necessarily really dry, but I don't want that cloying/malt-bomb sweetness...Think I should take out a bit of candi and replace with a handful of maybe caramunich?

Also, for a such a beer, should I ferment high or somewhat low?
 
....to mkling...that was something I feared...and I don't want it necessarily really dry, but I don't want that cloying/malt-bomb sweetness...Think I should take out a bit of candi and replace with a handful of maybe caramunich?

I loved the taste of mine (it's still bulk aging). If I were doing it again, I don't think I'd change the recipe, but I would probably mash a couple degrees higher -- 152 or 153F. That's the only change I'd make.
 
I would use dark sugar instead of amber. Also, I would skip the late hops.
Your grain bill is very similar to one I used on a beer I've got in secondary right now, but I added a few ounces combined of carafa special and chocolate, as well as 3lbs Munich. It's great, but I think that it's a little darker than what it sounds like you're after.
I would ferment low (mid50s) to start, then let it ramp up temperature naturally after a week or so.
 
Wouldn't the dark sugar put my SRM way over the guidelines for a strong dark (22SRM max according to beersmith)? that is unless you are suggesting I cut down my candi sugar to about .5lb or less?
 
how long are you going to let it bulk age?

2 months, then bottling. I usually keg everything, but I want to be able to see how this changes over years & don't want a keg & Keezer space tied up for that long. Also, Quads are usually bottle conditioned.
 
Wouldn't the dark sugar put my SRM way over the guidelines for a strong dark (22SRM max according to beersmith)? that is unless you are suggesting I cut down my candi sugar to about .5lb or less?

It won't because you won't get all the sugars or color out of your grain since it is such a big beer.

And I agree with maskednegator that you'll get more out of the dark than the amber.
 
gotcha, I will implement some dark candi into the recipe. I still want to maintain that reddish look so I think I will keep atleast some amber. maybe add some crystal 120 even thought its not really in true belgian recipes.
 
Back
Top