Recent content by Belpaire

You can find tasting notes here http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1805/97758 but its made by Rock Art.

Per his Twitter feed, Yeast Geek has been shelved indefinitely due to losing his yeast tech. I want to add my thanks for the recipe help, my clone is almost fully carbed and really tasty.

Heady Topper Clone Brew 4.0 The fermentation chamber has been cleared of high-temp-needy Saisons and it’s time to brew another Heady Topper clone. This one might be a winner, it’s really close. For this 5-gallon batch brewed on 5/4/2013, the grain bill was 86.8% Pearl, 3.8%...

With the beer fully ready to drink I did a side by side between my second attempt and the real thing. Mine was 2 months old vs a 10 month old DeRanke. First, here is the recipe that I brewed: 6.61 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 52.01 % 5.42 lb Pale Malt (6 Row) US (1.7 SRM) Grain...

hodge, Don't thank me yet, you haven't tasted the finished product. Although, on a whim I entered my first attempt as a Belgian IPA in a local competition and got a 2nd out of 35 entries in the category. I didn't filter the hops out either and probably have a gallons worth of hop mass at...

The late addition is definately where you want the hallertau. The yeast is funny. I warmed it from 64 to 66 and all the flocculated yeast woke up and started working again. It is now bubbling away at 70 from its own heat only. I would say 65-66 would be a minimum temperature. Typically...

Just a quick follow up. The yeast culturing worked and I got a nice pitch of healthy yeast. I tasted a decanted sample and I'm going to say that De Ranke does not use a separate bottling yeast. The sample was dry with restrained Belgian qualities and a 80%+ attenuation rate using DME. It...

I have used 6 row in the past but just for adjunct beers, where its contribution is not very perceptible. I've not brewed a belgian with 6 row, but I don't think I've tasted any belgians that have the mild graininess of the XX Bitter. According to Markowski's Farmhouse Ale book, saisons...

ocluke, I can't imagine how hoppy a fresh bottle of XX Bitter would be if a 13 month old bottle is as hoppy as it is. I do plan to do another round at some point and will post the results. hodge, Definately let us know if you brew this. If you use the 3522, keep in mind I did a 147°...

I finally sat down and did a side by side. Here's a quick comparison The real thing is lighter in color and not overly carbonated. I had the mind set of most belgian beers and had the co2 too high. Their aroma is significantly more hoppy and has virtually no Belgian qualities to it...

I hadn't read up on the 3725, obviously. Didn't mean to spread bad info. Makes sense with what Wyeast's says about it. The sweet but dry description is confusing. I still haven't done the side by side, mostly because I want to tryu culturing the yeast, but the 3522 did work quite well for...

The 3725 is Fantome yeast and since Fantome is known for thier saisons, it may not be the best choice for XX Bitter. It was also the private collection yeast for Q1 2011, so you will likely not find any fresh packs around.

Hodge, I've been pulling together bits of information on this beer where ever I can find it. There are several references to De Ranke using dry yeast, likely T-58, since they stopped using the Rodenbach yeast. I've never used T-58 but all of the descriptions I've read of it don't describe...

There was no thought that this would be an exact clone but I wanted something to get close enough to start tweaking. From my recollection, the hops are pretty close in flavor. It has been a while since I had the original. I'm planning to do a side by side in a week or two so I can formulate...

I just kegged my first clone attempt at this beer a few days ago. I haven't done a side by side bit it seems relatively close. It is missing the graininess of the original. Here's my first go at a clone recipe. This if for 6 gallons at the end of the boil, and a target OG of 1.062. IBU's...