Happy New Year - Happy Brew Year!
Well I'm glad this break came around and gave me an opportunity to brew up this monster. In fact, it was a double brew day with a Belgian Wit being brewed first and the 20%'er being brewed last. Here's the final recipe.
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RO water, no salt additions
2 liter yeast starter
6lb 0oz Belgian Pilsner
4lb 0oz 2-row
1lb 4oz Munich Malt
2lb Amber DME
0.5oz Huell Melon @ 30
0.5oz Huell Melon @ 15
0.5oz Northern Brewer @ 15
Boil 3.5 hours, measured OG 1.142 @ 2.5 gallons post-boil yield.
1 pkg Wyeast Trappist 3787 Yeast, currently fermenting with temperature control (BrewJacket) at 66degF.
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I was slightly under my target OG, which is probably from several factors. I forgot my computer (read: intentionally left it at work over the holidays) so I didn't have my Brew'n Water spreadsheets for salt additions. I decided just to raw-dog it and go plain RO water. Also, I assume that since this is such a high gravity beer, any normal inefficiencies are just exacerbated.
Anyhow, I've got the 2.5 gallons of 1.142 wort in my BrewJacket set at 66 degrees, using a blow-off tube. The BrewJacket has pretty much been on non-stop since the fermentation started, likely due to the yeast activity created a considerable amount of heat.
The plan forward is to let this ferment out, check gravity, add wine yeast (if required) to get the target FG to around 1.010. Put in a barrel and let the sour bacteria bring it sub 1.000. That should get me to the upper teens (18-19%). It's not the 20% I originally planned, but I have opportunity still to reach my target by adding a little sugar, or with a fruit addition.