Belgian Dubbel Award Winning Dubbel XL (40th batch)

[DubbelDach]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

WLP530

Yeast Starter

Yes

Batch Size (Gallons)

5

Original Gravity

1.066

Final Gravity

1.013

Boiling Time (Minutes)

60

IBU

22.9

Color

32.29

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

2 weeks @ 65F

Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

4 weeks @ 65F

Tasting Notes

Deep dark fruit, chocolate tones... Very much a Rochefort 10 clone

10 lbs Belgian Pilsner
2 lbs Belgian Caramunich®
1 lb Belgian Special B
.25 lbs Weyermann Carafa I®

0.75 oz Styrian Goldings (Pellets, 6.00 %AA) boiled 60 min.
0.5 oz Hallertau Hersbruck (Pellets, 4.50 %AA) boiled 20 min.
0.5 oz Hallertau Hersbruck (Pellets, 4.50 %AA) boiled 5 min.

1 lb Dark Candi Syrup

1 vial White Labs WLP530 Abbey Ale

Mashed 60 mins at 154.

Took 3rd place overall in Appalachian Brewing Co. 2009 Homebrew Contest.

 

[claphamsa]

what do you think gave this chocolate tones?

 

[DubbelDach]

Carafa? Combo of Special B and Carafa?

 

[claphamsa]

hmm... I wanna enhance the dark fruit flavor, with minimal chocolate flavr! thats why i ask

 

[DubbelDach]

Then I'd up the Special B, and maybe eliminate the Carafa.

 

[claphamsa]

nice nice! thanks

 

[DubbelDach]

Let the thread know how it turns out!

 

[robbiex0r]

How did you handle fermentation for this? temps, time, etc.

 

[DubbelDach]

65F or so, 2 week primary, 2 week 2ndary.

 

[Lodovico]

Brand new to Belgian Beers. How do you think WLP500 would be in this beer? It's the only Belgian yeast I have access to at the moment.

 

[DubbelDach]

Brand new to Belgian Beers. How do you think WLP500 would be in this beer? It's the only Belgian yeast I have access to at the moment.

Sorry for the delayed response... Did you try it?

 

[runningweird]

placeholder.

 

[smyrnaquince]

When do you add the Candi syrup? At the end of the boil? Into the fermenter? Other?

Also, have you ever tried this with WLP540 Abbey IV Ale Yeast? I've seen claims that this is the Rochefort yeast. They White Labs site says that 540 is fruitier than 530, but less so that 500.

 

[Erroneous]

I'll be brewing this within a week or so. I'll be using belgian dark 2 candi syrup since I couldn't get it locally or from AHS.

 

[diablodawg]

Made this up yesterday- ended up with a SG or 1.075! Must have been my double milling (and use of blender) prior to throwing grains in the bag. Anxious to see how it'll turn out- smells very good and more hoppy than I expected.

*Update 12/12*
Took the hydrometer reading today: 1.022 for a ABV of 6.88! Taste is fruity, with a lingering smokey malt flavor and some good hop aroma. Very anxious to see how this tastes carb'd up.

 

[commander flatus]

Just brewed this yesterday. Looking forward to trying it.
Flatulently,

Update: racked, carbed, delicious!!!!!!'

 

[smyrnaquince]

hmm... I wanna enhance the dark fruit flavor, with minimal chocolate flavr! thats why i ask

Any success with your adjustment?

 

[redbone]

Any success with your adjustment?

Bumping this as well... results?

 

[Nyrkki]

this seems like an interesting beer. How long does it take to bottle condition? Im wondering whether this could be ready for xmas.

 

[Polboy]

Im making similar dubble (half of cara munich and 1/4 of specB but 1.5lb of dark sugar) and i like this beer very much (have 3rd batch in 2ndary right now), next time i may change it according to this recipe. And i dont think it will be ready for Christmas if you brew it now, for me its 6 weeks fermentation and long bottle conditioning (around 3months) for great effect

 

[Chris7687]

Saw this recipe earlier this morning, looked amazing, and picked it up at lunch. Substituted the #1/4 Carafa I for more Special B, also upped the Pilsner by #1. Went with the WLP530, was hoping for the 540 as other said this was fruitier but the LHBS didn't have it. Question, when do I add the candi syrup? Boil or Secondary? Can't wait to try this 4 months from now. Brewing on Sunday, will let you all know how my results turned out.

 

[Polboy]

For high gravity beers i always add dugar in prinary around 48h after pitching, but for a lot of ppl boil works fine

 

[DubbelDach]

Wow... 40th batch. Just did #102, haha!

 

[JordanThomas]

Did anyone ever do this with WLP540 or WLP500?

I think I am going to give this a shot (albeit slightly modified) with WLP540.

 

[Chris7687]

Hey guys, I think I ran into a little problem here! I brewed this beer on 11/9/12 and had a SG of 1.067. Just racked it over to secondary today and took a reading and it's at 1.026..... What can I do to drop this a little more? It's only 5.5%, I was expecting at least 6.5-7%. HELP!

 

[Erroneous]

Hey guys, I think I ran into a little problem here! I brewed this beer on 11/9/12 and had a SG of 1.067. Just racked it over to secondary today and took a reading and it's at 1.026..... What can I do to drop this a little more? It's only 5.5%, I was expecting at least 6.5-7%. HELP!

Warm it up some, add yeast if necessary. Probably give it some more time. I wouldn't have transferred to secondary since you weren't adding anything.

 

[Chris7687]

I just washed the yeast I used. I'll let it settle out for a little, try to make a starter, and repitch. I took it to secondary so it could age off of the yeast cake for a month or so.

 

[Erroneous]

I just washed the yeast I used. I'll let it settle out for a little, try to make a starter, and repitch. I took it to secondary so it could age off of the yeast cake for a month or so.

Sound enough reasoning but I recommend not doing so in the future until you're sure the yeast is done with everything. Pitching fresh yeast can help. Btw what was your mash temps and have you calibrated your thermometer lately? Did you aerate well? Did you add the sugar to the boil or to the fermentor at high krausen? What temp did you ferment at?

 

[Chris7687]

I am pretty sure the yeast has been finished with fermentation, as it has been about a month since I pitched the yeast. My mash temp was 154*, my thermometer is a brand new one and it agrees with the old fashion mercury thermometer I have. I can not remember if I shook it well enough, but I do not have a oxygen stone/tank setup (definitely looking into it now). I added the Belgian candi syrup during the last 5 of the boil. The sitting temp of my house is between 72-74 degrees, so it's going to be a little on the high side for fermentation. Looking to get a fermentation chamber, but after the winter is over (trying to utilize this cold weather).

 

[Chris7687]

Hey guys, so it has been about 3 months now since I brewed this beer (11/09/12). Wanted to bottle it in about a month, so I can start bottle aging it. Should there be enough active yeast in there to help carbonate the beer? Or should I pitch some yeast to help out? If so, how much should I pitch?