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A lot of 19th-century beers are week by modern standards. (And yes, that maple thing definitely would be.)

The cold conditioning step tends to make the yeast go dormant, so you won't get it to ferment much of the sugar. I'd give it about another week on the fruit before you cool it down - hopefully, enough to work its magic, but not enough to destroy the fresh fruit flavor.

True, although the Utrecht hopbier contains only wheat and oats. (Evidence suggests that this is highly unusual outside the low countries - many medieval beers were probably primarily oats, but with some barley.) Yeah, I really want to look at his primary sources on that one. (Although it...

It's worth noting that this distinction isn't made in all Germanic languages; in late medieval Dutch, "bier" gets applied to all the fermented grain beverages whether made with hops or gruit. Most Dutch beers of the day had oats as the primary ingredient, including many of those described...

Caramel malt and crystal malt are synonyms, except that some maltsters use the former term to describe the darker shades. I'm guessing their "caramel malt" is a darker shade of caramel/crystal malt, with more of a caramel-like flavor to it, such as C120.

Indeed, and honey will make it drier. If it wasn't completely dry last time like an extra bruit champagne, try tossing the honey in. Alternately, use a larger amount of continental hops such as Hallertau or Spalt. A Belgian saison is often a bit hoppier than that, but still not an...

That's a good suggestion. Consider also a higher mash temperature to drop the attenuation.

When I think raspberries and honey, what comes to mind for me is mead rather than beer. Doing a beer with raspberries and honey isn't a bad thing, but I think two pounds of honey per 2.5 gallons (enough to ferment to 4% ABV on its own) is enough that the malt flavor will feel like it's fighting...

Frankly, I think one of the major ingredients here may actually distract from the overall effect. And it's the malt. But no, honey only produces sweetness if you use so much of it the yeast doesn't metabolize all the alcohol. Like table sugar, it will increase your attenuation compared to...

Cider, without blending apples? The recipe is straightforward: 1. Press the apples 2. Pasteurize the must (optional) 3. Add wine yeast (optional if you skipped step 2)

I've found that a one-week primary for beers I expect to go fast and two weeks for the slowpokes, followed by racking to secondary until it's done, works marvelously. (Two weeks is a typical secondary fermentation time for me, and the alt happened to hit it on the nose.)

The sugar (typically about 15-25%) is an essential part of the style. By the way, clear candi sugar is a waste of money. Get plain white sugar from the grocery store. (The darker candi sugars, which are partially caramelized versions of the same, can be made at home for less money, but you...

I fermented for one week, did a one-day diacetyl rest, racked to secondary adding the gelatin, and then fermented for two more weeks before kegging. The beer would not suffer from a bit of aging, but it's already *delicious.* The gelatin is used as finings - I'm not sure on the chemical...

60-10 is not a bad hop schedule for a Belgian, though yeah, most of them have a 20 or so (potentially instead of later, if you're using noble hops - don't want it to taste grassy).

What's your fermentation schedule? That can be very important to Belgians. (I'm not brewing any high-gravity Belgians right now because in the wintertime I don't keep the house warm enough for the 75-80 degrees I like to ferment them at.) 3787 is my absolute favorite yeast for this sort of...

Almost everyone I've known likes it drier than IBA specs, though. The brand of bottled lime juice I suggested, Nellie & Joe's, is made from key limes.

I favor reposado in my margaritas. Blanco is the classic choice, and is what I'd serve somebody who merely said they wanted a margarita and didn't have known preferences, so it's also what I'd mix in quantity for a crowd (though really, I wouldn't likely do that), but for myself, yeah, reposado...

I've always been a fan of the simple recipe. There are three ingredients, and only three aside from the salt on the glass. First and foremost, the tequila. No need for the absolute highest quality (though it certainly doesn't hurt), but make damn sure it says "100% de agave" on the bottle and...

Yes. Yes it is. Just had the first of my batch last night. Fabulous beer.

Whether the OP is or not, your description sounds intriguing and I'd love to hear what went into it. (In case you can't tell, color beyond degrees Lovibond is something I've recentishly become interested in exploring myself and am mostly not so clueful about.)