10.10.10 Recipe Discussion Thread - The HBT Anniversary Series

[MacBruver]

I'm not quite jiving with some of you on the terminology; according to the BJCP a strong scotch ale = wee heavy and there is no "regular/traditional" scotch ale, people just drop the word strong because it is assumed. McEwan's, Bellhaven, and Alesmith are all listed as examples of the style. I don't know if some people are getting confused with scottish ales.

Maybe the BJCP isn't giving me the whole story.

Labeling is somewhat inconsistent. Even though McEwans has a "wee heavy" they just call it "Scotch Ale". The rest of their beers- 60, 70, export- are all ales, too... confusing to say the least. The only people who really use the wee heavy designation seem to be craft brewers in the states.

Guidelines: BJCP 2008 Style Guidelines - Category 09
Explanation of "shilling":

Light (60/-) was under 3.5% abv
Heavy (70/-) was between 3.5% and 4.0% abv
Export (80/-) was between 4.0% and 5.5% abv
Wee heavy (90/-) was over 6.0% abv
(/- is read as "shilling" or "bob" as in "a pint of eighty-bob, please")
Beer in Scotland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kilt lifter is 6% ABV, McEwan's scotch ale is 8% ABV, AleSmith Wee Heavy is 10%. While kilt lifter and mcewan's scotch ale by definition are wee heavy due to 6%+ ABV, the type of brew I think people are referring to is something more like alesmith's. At least, that's what I'm thinking...

 

[flyangler18]

Wee heavy or strong scotch ale is a little different from a traditional scotch ale.

I have to say that you're mistaken here, Hopaholic. There are Scottish ales (the shilling classification) and the Strong Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy. There is no intermediate style as a traditional Scotch ale.

And it bears repeating: NO PEATED MALT IN SCOTCH ALES! That faint smoky character comes from the yeast and local water, not distiller's malt....you may now return to your regularly scheduled programming. And as much as it pains me to admit this, a touch of that horrid peated malt actually works in Old Chub.

 

[MacBruver]

I have to say that you're mistaken here, Hopaholic. There are Scottish ales (the shilling classification) and the Strong Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy. There is no intermediate style as a traditional Scotch ale.

Yeah, the more I read the more I'm realizing that. I stand corrected. I made the assumption based on how different the beers truly are, that they would be in a different category.

 

[mmb]

Yeah, the more I read the more I'm realizing that. I stand corrected. I made the assumption based on how different the beers truly are, that they would be in a different category.

With those assumptions, that be beer-isum!

Back on track: I'd be down with a Dubbel, Tripel, Scotch Ale, a massive American Stout, anything with Rye, an "Imperial" Schwartzbier or whatever. Even lagers now...

Looks like I'm getting my dirty paws on a working coke merchandiser.

 

[KingBrianI]

Or, here's a crazy idea: everyone brew whatever they want, as long as it fits in the 10/10/10 spirit. I like that X X X idea and it makes me want to make the biggest dirtiest nastiest beer I can and just let it age for a year and a half to let it calm down. Maybe throw in some gruit spices.

 

[MacBruver]

I think the advantage (and the reason) for choosing one recipe is that you end up seeing the differences in people's technique versus just trading a bunch of beers. I mean I'm all for trading beer (once I've brewed some worth sharing!) but that was my understanding of the "spirit" of the HBT anniversary brews.

 

[BierMuncher]

I think the advantage (and the reason) for choosing one recipe is that you end up seeing the differences in people's technique versus just trading a bunch of beers. I mean I'm all for trading beer (once I've brewed some worth sharing!) but that was my understanding of the "spirit" of the HBT anniversary brews.

Agreed.

Plus...24 months from now when someone posts on the "What are you drinking now" thread and refer to sipping their last 10/10/10, everyone will know exactly what they're talking about.

 

[KingBrianI]

I've been throwing around my big and dirty idea in my head and I keep coming back to kind of an imperial old ale hybrid type beer. OG would be something like 1.110 or 1.130 (xxx is 30). I'd use a bunch of rauch malt, some treacle or molasses thrown in during high kreusen, use the old ale blend with brett from wyeast, gruit herbs during the boil (hops too though), elderberries for some interesting flavors and tannins in secondary, age on oak. In other words, a big-ass motherfreakin' dirty, complex, tannic beer that tastes like hell when young but after a year or 10 is one of the best things you've ever experienced. Come on, who's with me?

 

[Ragutis]

I'm thinking a Tripel would be in order with the three X's. Tripel XXX.

 

[Saccharomyces]

I'm thinking a Trippel would be in order with the three X's. Trippel XXX.

Hmmm... 1.100 -> 1.010, 100 IBU Belgian Tripel IPA with 3, 10%+ AA hops? 10oz of hops, 10 hop additions?? :rockin: :cross:

Messing around in BeerSmith... 1.100 OG @60% efficiency, 100 IBUs, 10oz hops, 1.010-ish FG. I'll brew this up for 10/10/10 on my birthday regardless of what happens in the swap.

18# Belgian Pils (80%)
1# 10oz Biscuit (7%)
12oz Caramunich (3%)
2# Turbinado sugar (10%)

1oz Chinook (mash hop)
1oz Simcoe 90
1oz Magnum 90
1oz Centennial 15
1oz Cascade 15
1oz Amarillo 15
1oz Zeus (DH 10 days)
1oz Simcoe (DH 10 days)
1oz Amarillo (DH 10 days)
1oz Cascade (DH 10 days)

Mash 148*F for 100 minutes. Boil for 100 minutes. 1 gallon starter of Wyeast 1388 Belgian Golden Strong Ale.

Drool.

 

[Coastarine]

Well done, sacc. That's a lot of 10's.

 

[IrregularPulse]

Hmmm... 1.100 -> 1.010, 100 IBU Belgian Tripel IPA with 3, 10%+ AA hops? 10oz of hops, 10 hop additions?? :rockin: :cross:

Messing around in BeerSmith... 1.100 OG @60% efficiency, 100 IBUs, 10oz hops, 1.010-ish FG. I'll brew this up for 10/10/10 on my birthday regardless of what happens in the swap.

18# Belgian Pils (80%)
1# 10oz Biscuit (7%)
12oz Caramunich (3%)
2# Turbinado sugar (10%)

1oz Chinook (mash hop)
1oz Simcoe 90
1oz Magnum 90
1oz Centennial 15
1oz Cascade 15
1oz Amarillo 15
1oz Zeus (DH 10 days)
1oz Simcoe (DH 10 days)
1oz Amarillo (DH 10 days)
1oz Cascade (DH 10 days)

Mash 148*F for 100 minutes. Boil for 100 minutes. 1 gallon starter of Wyeast 1388 Belgian Golden Strong Ale.

Drool.

Agreed Lets's Do This.
Never heard of Zeus hops before.

 

[Coastarine]

I've had one commercial high IBU belgian, and it was good, so if those who have done them well can say that that will be good then I'll give it a try. If I took a tripel recipe and just threw a mountain of hops in I think it might taste like a bag of dicks, so I need some folks to reassure me that this would be good.

 

[mmb]

Agreed Lets's Do This.
Never heard of Zeus hops before.

Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus are generally used to describe the same type of hops. Tomahawk is a trademarked name for one growers Columbus and I've seen Zeus tossed around in there interchangeably.

 

[Saccharomyces]

Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus are generally used to describe the same type of hops. Tomahawk is a trademarked name for one growers Columbus and I've seen Zeus tossed around in there interchangeably.

Millennium too. They are all different variants of the same hop which are bred to be tolerant of various diseases.

If we do a hoppy beer IMO we should buy the hops in bulk and divide them up, 10oz of hops would be murder to buy at most LHBS prices not to mention issues with availability.

 

[Saccharomyces]

I've had one commercial high IBU belgian, and it was good, so if those who have done them well can say that that will be good then I'll give it a try. If I took a tripel recipe and just threw a mountain of hops in I think it might taste like a bag of dicks, so I need some folks to reassure me that this would be good.

I have all the hops on hand except for Chinook, I could do a small pilot batch.

I've been wanting to try my hand at a Belgian IIPA ever since having the Stone Vertical Epic 8-8-8, that beer is truly Epic..

 

[epimortum]

Stone Vertical Epic 8-8-8, that beer is truly Epic..

How does that compare to Arrogant Bastard? That had too much hop bitterness for my liking but that's just me.

 

[Saccharomyces]

How does that compare to Arrogant Bastard? That had too much hop bitterness for my liking but that's just me.

The 8-8-8 is 65 IBUs, pretty close to AB.

With the hop bill I posted you won't notice the bitterness since the hop flavor will numb your tongue.

 

[TerapinChef]

Nobody's really commiting to a particular style yet? I hate to rush, but it's about time to start thinking about brewing this thing...or at least a series of starters for it anyways!

 

[Brewpastor]

I think we need something BIG here, a good 1.100 at least. Belgian Golden maybe? Wee Heavy is not heavy enough IMO. Triple Grande Cru! Deca, Deca, Deca.

I agree it is time to get going.

 

[BierMuncher]

I think we need something BIG here, a good 1.100 at least. Belgian Golden maybe?

I likey.

Nothing says "noteworthy event" like a Golden Strong Ale.

 

[MacBruver]

I like this idea. I had some samples of bourbon and sherry barrel aged golden strong ale from a local brewery recently, and it was really, really good. It can hold up to some aging and some oak, making it a good choice, I think.

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

Hum, hadn't thought of a golden... Now that I have seen the idea I am liking it. What will it take to just finalize this decision and run with it since BP has rocked with the recipes with each anniversary brew to date?

 

[flyangler18]

Belgian Golden maybe?

I dig, I dig.

I have a recipe I can scale up.

 

[Yooper]

That sounds good to me! I think a big Belgian would be wonderful.

 

[TerapinChef]

Yeah I'm liking the way this is going. Scotch was not going to be epic enough, I feel.

 

[mmb]

A Big Belgian would be fun. I'm all for a Golden Strong Ale. Or a Quad. Or Saccs Belgian IIPA would be fun too.

Just not a farmhouse or saison. Never found one I really like.

 

[flyangler18]

[size=+2]Devil May Cry (10.10.10 Edition)[/size]
[size=+1]18-D Belgian Golden Strong Ale[/size]
Author: Jason Konopinski
Date: 3/30/09



Size: 6.0 gal
Efficiency: 80%
Attenuation: 85%
Calories: 337.83 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.102 (1.070 - 1.095)
|============================#===|
Terminal Gravity: 1.015 (1.005 - 1.016)
|======================#=========|
Color: 6.24 (3.0 - 6.0)
|=========================#======|
Alcohol: 11.51% (7.5% - 10.5%)
|=============================#==|
Bitterness: 51.8 (22.0 - 35.0)
|================================|

[size=+1]Ingredients:[/size]
15.5 lb Pilsner Malt
10.0 oz Belgian Munich
10 oz White Wheat Malt
3.0 lb White Table Sugar (Sucrose)
1 oz Galena (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 90 min
1 oz Goldings (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 30 min
1 oz Goldings (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
1.0 ea White Labs WLP570 Belgian Golden Ale (MASSIVE STARTER)

00:03:00 Dough In - Liquor: 5.33 gal; Strike: 161.97 °F; Target: 149 °F
01:33:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 90 min; Final: 147.3 °F
02:03:00 Lautering - First Runnings: 0.0 gal sparge @ 145 °F, 10 min; Sparge #1: 2.05 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 10.0 min; Sparge #2: 2.05 gal sparge @ 168.0 °F, 10.0 min; Total Runoff: 7.61 gal

[size=-1]Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.3[/size]

 

[Saccharomyces]

I'd suggest oaking in secondary, could be lip-smackin' good. Probably 2-3 oz of medium toast and let that sucka age.

Hopefully my 9-9-9 recipients will post impressions of the Triple Six. I oaked it with 1 oz of medium toast French oak for a week. That beer was bottled last October so it's now about seven months in the bottle, and is just coming around. I think the level of oak is just right. 2-3 ounces would be too much, I think.

 

[mmb]

I don't have Daniel's book handy. What is the Bitterness Ratio range for a Belgian Golden Strong supposed to be? Wouldn't want it to be out of balance.

Otherwise, I've already entered "Devil May Cry 10/10/10" into software. It's getting brewed, one way or another.

 

[flyangler18]

I don't have Daniel's book handy. What is the Bitterness Ratio range for a Belgian Golden Strong supposed to be? Wouldn't want it to be out of balance.

Otherwise, I've already entered "Devil May Cry 10/10/10" into software. It's getting brewed, one way or another.

I don't recall Daniels discussing Belgians at all, but I don't have the book in front of me either. Shooting entirely from the hip, .5 is probably pretty balanced so I'll have to adjust the hopping schedule accordingly.

Eric, I think you're right about the oaking. I've still got the Flanders Red on my brain. That'll get 2 oz of medium toast for 18 months - the wood will give the Brett something to chew.

I've updated the recipe.

 

[Saccharomyces]

I don't have Daniel's book handy. What is the Bitterness Ratio range for a Belgian Golden Strong supposed to be? Wouldn't want it to be out of balance.

I just looked through my copy of DGB and I don't see any Belgians in there.
BYO's Duvel clone and several other clones are 30 IBU at 1.069 OG for .43:1.

 

[CBBaron]

I'll skip this if we decide on a regular Belgian Golden Strong. However if we do an IPA Triple like Sacc posted earlier I all in.
I've tried alot of golden strongs but they have all been "OK" for my tastes. Not worth putting the effort into brewing a beer. However I recently tried Chouffe Houblon IPA Triple and really enjoyed the beer. I would love to make something similar.

Craig

 

[avaserfi]

I don't know how big anyone would want to go, but we could try an ice beer. That would result in a massive brew for the swap. Of course a 5 gallon batch would probably yield 2-2.5 gallons total...

02-20-09 Barleywine Ice Beer - Basic Brewing Video

 

[camiller]

Oaked Belgian Golden Strong sounds like something I'd be willing to have a go at, I've been liking some commercial Belgian and Belgian style beers lately.

 

[Coastarine]

Totally in for the golden strong, although to my knowledge I haven't had one that has been oaked and to be honest I'm not sure how great that sounds, but if that's the agreed recipe I'll definitely give it a try.

 

[flyangler18]

Totally in for the golden strong, although to my knowledge I haven't had one that has been oaked and to be honest I'm not sure how great that sounds, but if that's the agreed recipe I'll definitely give it a try.

Iron Hill Brewery did a bourbon-barrel tripel (stylistically similar to BGSA in many ways) recently; I thought it was exceptional. The oak lends a very pleasant vanilla note - just awesome. If you use the 570 that I indicated in my recipe, you'll get some soft vanilla, cinnamon and clove notes that would be extremely complementary to oaking, I think.

 

[MacBruver]

Totally in for the golden strong, although to my knowledge I haven't had one that has been oaked and to be honest I'm not sure how great that sounds, but if that's the agreed recipe I'll definitely give it a try.

It definitely works. The one that I tried was from a local micro, Bootlegger's Brewery. It's their "Golden Chaos", which clocks in at 8.5% if i remember correctly. What I tasted was two different samples- one from bourbon barrel, and one from sherry barrel. Both had been aging for 10 months. The bourbon was pretty over the top, almost too much bourbon flavor. It was a vanilla bomb. It would work well to blend that one with some unaged beer. The sherry was really, really nice. They're going to do a release of it next month, when it will have been in the oak for a full year.

But hey, not everybody has to do oak... having a mix of oak / non-oaked for the batches would be good to compare.

 

[BierMuncher]

I would lean toward the "norm" being a clean Golden Strong (if we go Belgian). Oaking can be very unpredictable.

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

I would lean toward the "norm" being a clean Golden Strong (if we go Belgian). Oaking can be very unpredictable.

+1... I am still unsure about oaking a golden and would be unwilling to risk my entire batch to it. However I would be glad to smaple someone elses