First time recipe design - advice welcome!

[DevilNuts]

I'm trying to learn how recipe creation works, so I can move away from kits. I got a free app on my phone that helps with some of the math, and I've been playing around with it and trying to understand how different ingredients affect the numbers.

Here's my test recipe for a Belgian-style dark strong ale - please look it over and let me know if I'm in the right ball park:

(EDIT: updated recipe is reflected in subsequent posts)

10.0 lbs 2-Row
3.0 lbs Caramel Malt 120L
3.0 lbs Victory Malt
6.6 lbs Pilsen Light LME

1.0 oz Tettnang 60 min
1.0 oz Saaz 15 min
1.0 oz Crystal 2 min

1 liter Wyeast 1388 starter

Batch size: 5.5 gal
Boil Volume: 5.0 gal
Mash efficiency: 70% (being conservative because I have undershot previously)

OG: 1.101
FG: 1.025
Predicted abv: 10.74
IBU: 14.4
SRM: 45.6 (someone please explain how this works, as every chart I've found online seems to max out at 40)

Now, that was all data generated by my phone. Here's where I fill in the blanks:

Mash at 158F for 60 min
Mash volume: 20 qts (Is this right? I did 1.25qt:1lb)
Strike temperature: I dont even know how to calculate this.
Something something mash out, something 170F...
Something sparge, something something.
Boil for 90 min
Primary: 14 days at 66F
Secondary: 7 days at 72F
Cold crash: ?? couple of months, until I feel like bottling



I selected the ingredients based on the app's description of flavors, and my vague attempt at matching the desired style, plus I am aiming towards a final ABV of 10% or more, and relatively low bitterness.

Should I brew this beer? Or is there anything important I have overlooked? Any suggestions, advice, or clarification will be greatly appreciated!

 

[chickypad]

A few things. 3 lbs of c-120 and 3 lbs of victory are way too much for a 5 gal batch. In general total crystal malts for a recipe you want to keep to 10% or less. Occasionally I will go a little higher in something like an amber ale, and some beers should have much less or none. As far as choice of crystal, if you're buying ingredients and not using up your in your inventory you may as well go with ingredients more appropriate to style - for dark crystal a Belgian like special B or a German crystal like Caraaroma. They will be better at getting you the characteristic plum, toffee flavors in this style. Sometimes combining a lighter and darker will give some complexity, so something mid spectrum like caramunich would be good. Belgian strong ales also typically have a good amount sugar in them to thin them out, dark candi syrup is a good choice for this style and would replace some of the color from the crystal.

Victory I would use sparingly until you get a feel for it, and in this I'd actually consider swapping it out for something on the munich/aromatic/melanoidin spectrum. You want the maltiness, but don't go crazy with the amounts especially aromatic or melanoidin. For base malt I would go Belgian pilsner, or if you can't find it German pilsner.

You will want to mash Belgian ales low, like 150 or so. Have you made an all grain or partial mash before? Sounds like you need to do a little research on process, how to calculate volumes, etc.

You certainly picked a fairly complex brew for your first attempt at a recipe. You may want to go through some of the recipes in the database or other reputable source for comparison. A couple good resources would be Brewing Classic Styles and Brew like a Monk. Ray Daniel's Desingning Great Beers is a bit dated but also a classic, though it doesn't include Belgian styles.

 

[aprichman]

Honestly this recipe is quite a mess. WAY too much crystal and victory. No Belgian candi syrup. Mashing at 158. Using a 1L starter for a beer gravity of over 1.1. Calculating with 5.5 gallons in the fermenter and 5.0 gallons in the kettle. It's almost hard to pick where to begin.

My first suggestion is that you go out and buy a recipe book and familiarize yourself with some of those. That will give you a starting point for many styles.

Next, scrap that recipe and replace it with this one (calculated for 5.5 gallons in the kettle which should get you 5 gallons in the carboy):

11.0 lbs Pale 2-row
1.50 lbs Caramel 40

2.00 lbs Dark Belgian Candi Sugar (boil for 10 minutes in kettle) [this can be reduced if you desire a lighter beer]
1.25 lbs Table Sugar (boil for 10 minutes in kettle)

0.33 oz Warrior hops @ 60 minutes
0.50 oz Mt Hood hops @ 30 minutes
0.50 oz Mt Hood hops @ 5 minutes

2 packs WY 1214 or a 2L starter of 1214

Should produce a beer that is ~9% ABV and after bottle conditioning it will be closer to ~9.3% ABV.

Mash the beer at 149F. You want a thin bodied ale for this style which is why you need to mash cooler. The sugar which is highly fermentable will help further thin out the beer after fermentation is complete.

Keep an eye on fermentation temperature, temperatures in the mid 70s should be fine for this yeast.

 

[DevilNuts]

Okay, I've been getting advice from a friend on FB as well and he beat me up on a few of the same things. I made my adjustments, this time using the tastybrew calculator:

10lbs Belgian two-row pale
1 lbs Belgian Pils
1 lbs Belgian Special B
6 lbs Light DME (switched from LME)

I didn't have the bitterness to balance out the sweetness, so I upped my 60 minute addition to 1.5 oz, bringing IBU up to 36.

Dropping mash temp to 150F

Raising pitching yeast volume to 2L

Considering changing my yeast to Wyeast 3944 Belgian Witbier.

Does this look better?

OG: 1.104
FG: 1.026
Abv: 10.1%
IBU: 36
SRM: 21 (more reasonable)

 

[DevilNuts]

Honestly this recipe is quite a mess. WAY too much crystal and victory. No Belgian candi syrup. Mashing at 158. Using a 1L starter for a beer gravity of over 1.1. Calculating with 5.5 gallons in the fermenter and 5.0 gallons in the kettle. It's almost hard to pick where to begin.

Haha it's easy. I have no idea what I'm doing.

 

[chickypad]

It's much better, but you need some sugar. I would maybe drop the special B to 0.5 lb and then swap out 2 lbs of DME for 1 lb dark candi syrup and 1 lb table sugar, or 2 lbs candi syrup, something like that. The lb of Belgian pilsner seems like a waste if you're buying it separate. May consider munich there or something like aromatic in a small amount.

 

[DevilNuts]

Thanks for the help and advice everyone! My final recipe looked like this:

Mash:
10 lbs. Belgian Pale 2-Row
.5 lbs. Aromatic
.5 lbs. Special B

Boil:
1 lbs. Amber Candi Sugar (60)
4 lbs. Light DME (60)

.5 oz. Warrior (60 min)
1 oz. Hallertauer (15 min)
Whirlfloc Tablet (15 min)
1/2 tsp. Yeast Nutrient (15 min)

1 oz. Hallertauer (5 min)

Yeast:
2 liters Wyeast 3944 Belgian Wit

Stats:
Volume in primary: 5 Gal.
Pre-boil gravity: 1.050
OG: 1.100
Expected FG: 1.022
Expected abv: 10.2%
IBUs: 28.2
Color: 18.7 SRM

Notes:
This was my first time using the mash tun, and it is basically a bottling bucket with false bottom and blanket wrapped around it. I mashed in with 3 1/2 gallons (using 1 1/3 quarts per pound as a guideline) a strike temp of 165F, expecting the temperature to settle to 155F (which it did). I was also expecting the thin blanket around the thin plastic bucket in my cold garage to cause a temperature drop of about six degrees (which it didn't). After the hour was up I was still setting at a warm 151F. I sparged with another 3 1/2 gallons at 170F, bringing my boil volume to just over 5 gallons.

I realize that this is still a rather high mash temp for this style of beer, although the science of why still eludes me. I've been told that because of my high mash temp, I might only expect my FG to be around 1.024 - still waiting for clarification on why. My pre-boil gravity reading was spot on - exactly what I was shooting for. Other than that, I'm not sure why the mash temp should affect my FG.

I will be fermenting in primary for a week at 66F, and then another week at 70-72F (room temp) before switching to secondary. I am doing this because - please correct me if I am way off - I want to allow the wit yeast to impart a little of it's spicy/fruity flavor characteristics at the warmer temp, but not as strongly as [I suspect] it would fermenting entirely at 72F.

I plan to cold condition at 45F for a few months in secondary, and then bottle condition.

Any follow up thoughts or suggestions are most welcome!